PRAISE FOR WAR EFFORT

Southland Times, Issue 25546, 14 December 1944, Page 6

PRAISE FOR WAR EFFORT

OFFICIAL OPENING The war effort of the farmers, and particularly that of the Southland farmers, was warmly praised by the Hon. Adam Hamilton, Minister in Charge of War Expenditure, in opening the show. The ceremony was held in front of a well-filled grandstand and the speeches were relayed through a loud-speaking apparatus throughout the grounds. The Southland shows, Mr Hamilton said, ranked high in New Zealand. It was these agricultural shows which were largely responsible for the _ high quality of the stock in the Dominion. The War Cabinet appreciated the help given to the war effort by the A. and P. Associations and also by the racing clubs. Many grounds had been taken over by the military, and Canterbury and Palmerston North grounds were

still occupied. Here, however, they could carry on in part. The War Cabinet’s policy was to meet any loss suffered by societies because of military occupation, but it was not considered desirable that there should be a profit from the occupation. No one could throw bricks at the war effort of the farmers, and that of the Southland farmers especially, Mr Hamilton said. There was still a big demand for all products from the farms, and in addition to butter, cheese, meat and wool there was a need for wheat, oats, potatoes, onions, eggs and honey. RESPONSE OF FARMERS Mr Hamilton quoted figures which showed how farmers had responded to the call for increased production. In butterfat the average production a year during the five years before the war had been 189,900 tons, and the average production a year during the war period had been 191,500 tons. In the same way meat had increased from 470,000 to 526,000 tons and wool from 134,000 to 148,000 tons. Crops such as wheat, oats, barley and peas had increased from 348,700 acres a year to 406,500. The American armed forces had been supplied with more than 256,000 tons of foodstuffs, valued at more than £20,000,000. Only 5000 acres of wheat had been grown in Southland in 1938-39, and in 1942-43 there had been 14,000 acres. Because of unfavourable conditions in Australia, Southland farmers would again be asked to provide an increased acreage of wheat during the next season. Southland was eminently suited for growing oats, and it could probably be said that Southland was the premier oats growing province of the world. An acute shortage of oats had also occurred, and Southland would be asked to increase the acreage of oats during the next season. INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT The growing of swede and turnip seed had been an interesting development in Southland. It had been the Southland farmers who had largely met in this way the shortage of imports from Britain. There were, however, differences of opinion expressed about the quality and results of the crops from this New Zealand grown seed, although the Department of Agriculture considered the locally grown seed to be comparable with imported seed. Mr Hamilton spoke about stabilization and said that it had been brought into force on December 15, 1942. That did not mean that everything stayed put as from that date. If costs rose from that base then wages or prices could be increased, but to save spiral effects the extra cost was met by subsidy. He then quoted a few subsidies affecting farmers between April 1, 1943 and March 31, 1944. These were: Butter boxes, £47,477; superphosphate, £1,182,570; fertilizer bags from India, £115,293; corn sacks, £82,760. There were also others, he said.

Up to March 31 of this year the war had cost New Zealand £400,000,000. Just about half of this had been borrowed. He was pleased to be able to say that recent returns showed that the cost of the war to this country was decreasing. With all the manpower difficulties, and there were many, the provision of reinforcements to relieve the long service men in the Middle East was still an urgent military necessity. ALLIED VICTORY AHEAD “During the stress of these war years we have simply striven to keep our association in existence by holding a one-day show,” said the president of the association (Mr W. J. A. McGregor) when speaking at the opening of the show. “Ere long we look forward to a complete Allied victory

and to peace. Then our Southland show will again stride ahead and assume its former position as one of the leading New Zealand shows.” He had recently attended what might be termed three of the association’s feeder shows —Winton, Gore and Wyndham—and each of them had been a distinct credit to the district it represented. Winton could be said to excel in light horses and ponies. Gore certainly excelled in a good show of sheep, while Wyndham excelled in worthy exhibits of dairy and beef breeds. Frequently they met some people who thought that shows were a waste of time. This, he contended, was not so. Shows, after all, stqod for competition, which brought the best in stock to the top, thus helping to uphold the name of New Zealand as a leading stud country and attracting buyers of wellbred stock from overseas. To keep this good name for quality stock, care should be taken of intended exports. “Farmers here have a busy time ahead of them to produce to their utmost to meet the needs of, a starving Europe,” Mr McGregor said. “No time must be lost and every possible assistance should be forthcoming to meet the urgent cry for food and clothing. Farmers should be encouraged to double their present production especially in dairy production, and regain lost ground. Above all, in this great little country of ours we should at lease be able to produce all the flour we need without depending on Australia to grow wheat for us.” CONSTIPATION DR MORSE’S INDIAN ROOT PILLS BENEFICIAL MEDICINE Mrs J. Maley, 260 Wilsons Road, Opawa, Christchurch, writes:—“Both myself and husband know the value of Dr Morse’s Indian Root Pills as a remedy for constipation. We found them quite satisfactory and would urge any similar sufferers to use this medicine.” W. H. Comstock Co. Ltd., Parish Street, i Wellington 18