MR SCRIMGEOUR AND FARMERS

Southland Times, Issue 24005, 21 December 1939, Page 7

MR SCRIMGEOUR AND FARMERS

PROTEST AGAINST CRITICISM Support for the Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union (Mr W. W. Mulholland) in his attitude in asking the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) to dissociate tht Government from the quoting of certain passages from The Standard by the Director of Commercial Broadcasting (Mr C. G. Scrimgeour) is accorded in an open letter to be sent to Mr Savage by the Mid-Canterbury executive of the union. Mr Mulholland addressed a letter to Mr Savage about attacks on farmers, alleged to have been made by Mr Scrimgeour in recent Sunday broadcasts. The decision to send the letter to Mr Savage was made at a meeting of the executive. The letter is signed by the president of the Mid-Canterbury executive, Mr C. A. Campion, and is as follows: — “The members of this executive are perturbed by the fact that no reply has been received by the Dominion president to his letter of December 9 addressed to you about the attacks made upon farmers by the Director of Commercial Broadcasting in his recent Sunday evening sessions.

“We can assure you that the 33,000 members of the Farmers’ Union are solidly behind their president in tht action he has taken, and request that he should be granted the common courtesy of a reply to his letter. “We are willing, and, indeed, anxious, to co-operate with the Government in an endeavour to increase production to enable the Empire _ to carry the war to a successful conclusion. To this end even now many farmers are working from. 60 to 70 hours a week, whereas other sections of the community insist on retaining their 40-hour week. At the same time, we do expect the assistance and co-opera-tion of the Government in our efforts.”

The dipping of the Southland Hospital Board’s flock of sheep will shortly be carried out on the board’s own property at Kew. The well, the exit from it and the floor of the drying pen have been concreted, and all that remains to be done is to board up the race and pens. The work was inspected by members of the board on Tuesday, when it was stated that the flock comprised 407 ewes and lambs and that five bales <~f 00l had been secured this season. The medical superintendent Dr H. Hunter, is keenly interested in the board’s farm operations and has been supervising the erection of the dip.