DOMINION'S TRADE

Taranaki Daily News, 22 October 1926, Page 11

DOMINION'S TRADE

SILVER LINING IN THE CLOUD PRIMARY INDUSTRIES’ PART. ADDRESS BY HON. T. S. WESTON. In his address to the annual meeting ef the New Zealand Employers’ Federation at Wellington yesterday, the Hon. T. Shailer Weston stated, inter alia:— “The present trade outlook, no doubt, calls for hard work and caution. The seamen’s strike of last year has left the dairy and meat companies with accumulations of unsold stocks. On top of this the English coal strike, even if settled shortly, has curtailed and will curtail for many months yet the demand for these products. This has accentuated the fall in their prices which has been foretold for some time past, and which the resumption of the gold standard last year made inevitable. “There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud. The dairy farmers, with practical eommoneense, have individually grasped the situation and by better farming, herd culling and an extensive use of manures are doing their utmost to make up for lower prices by increased production. The recovery from the 1921 slump was much helped by the efforts of the dairy farmer. Let us hope he will play as good a part in the next two years and receive the reward his pluck' and industry deserve. Moreover, there has been no serious labour stoppages in New Zealand during the present year. This also is a good omen. It cannot be reiterated too often that at the present time industrial strife is a luxury which will assist neither the country as a whole, nor the worker. With the commencement of an era of falling prices, both employers and workers must realise that increases in money wages and money profits will be exceptional. Lower prices mean a diminished turnover and hence a smaller fund out of which to provide money wages and money profits. Money wages and money profits, therefore, can only •be retained at their present rates by increased effort on the part of the worker and improved and more economical management on the part of the employer. The business man who can still show the same nett return can congratulate himself. TWO BLADES OF GRASS FOR ONE. “To-day’s patriot is the man who assists in making two blades of grass grow in lieu of one. The Government by materially helping a reduction in the price of fertilisers and putting at the disposal of farmers the best agricultural advice and means of improving their stock, are assisting in the only manner that in the present circumstances counts. They have been reproached for not attempting extensive land purchases and subdivision, but, to anyone in touch with farming realities, it is clear such efforts at the present time would only have the same unfortunate results as the land settlement scheme for soldiers in 1919. No Government can purchase land on as favourable terms as individuals. Land values have not yet become stabilised on the basis of production. There are many shrewd farmers with the means to buy land still waiting for the right moment until farm values have reached a level in which buyers can have confidence. It would be unwise for the Government to enter the market. By giving a temporary fillip to the land market it would only put off the readjustment of values which is necessary before a steady market for rural land can be restored.

“From 1893 to 1920, a period of 27 years, rural lands in New Zealand slowly but steadily increased in value. Consequently, credit, however lavish, given to individual farmers, seldom led to losses by the lender. If an individual failed as a farmer, the rise in the value of his land protected the lender. In the final result it became almost the custom for men with slender resources to obtain dangerously large advances to purchase farms and stock. When the era of advancing prices ceased the essential unsoundness of the practice at once became apparent. The lesson has cost lenders dearly. Five hundred pounds capital in some cases enabled a man to become the owner of £lO,OOO worth of land and stock. The slump in 1921 ended this practice once and for all, and lenders learnt wisdom through heavy losses.

MORE SHAREMILKING AND LEASES. “The problem still remains: How Is the man with very limited capital to obtain land? The solution would seem to be in more share-milking agreements and leases of private land. A man with sufficient capital to stock a farm but not sufficient to buy land must be content with the latter; the man worse off with the former. To make this a success the land owner must be prepared to give reasonable terms while the sharemilker and the tenant, as the case may be, must learn to treat the land and stock entrusted to him with the same care and attention as if it were his own. The fact that for some years to come rural land values are not like’y to rise will assist to make men more content to do without the freehold of the lands they farm. There will be no or only a small unearned increment for them to lose through not being the owner. “I have dealt quite recently with the question of an industrial truce or peace. Tiie advantages of the suggestion then put forward are so apparent that it will be a pity if Labour leaders fail to appreciate them. With the increasing competition for our primary products any increase in money wages just now would iq the long run be of little advantage to Labour generally, although temporarily beneficial to the actual recipients. On the other hand, a combined effort on the part of both employers and employees by increased efficiency of production to cheapen the price of commodities and thereby reduce the cost of living will be at once felt by all classes of the community.”