CONTROL BOARD ELECTION

Taranaki Daily News, 6 June 1927, Page 11

CONTROL BOARD ELECTION

MR. FORSYTH AT NEW PLYMOUTH.

There was an attendance of less than 20 persons at the meeting addressed by Mr. T. H. Forsyth in New Plymouth on Saturday when he gave his reasons for asking for re-election as a member of the Dairy Control Board. Mr. Kurtz was elected chairman.

The candidate broke little new ground in his address, but stressed again his desire to see “moderate” control continue with a price fixation policy quite ruled out, and, possibly, a change in the London managership. lie admitted the board had, to quote Mr. Downie Stewart. rushed its fences, but they had profited by their experience. He did not think, if moderate men were elected to the board that any return to price-fix-ation would be likely. He claimed that if the board had made a levy amounting to £<>o,o6'o, it had saved £BO,OOO in commission and large sums in lesser rates of insurance and lower shipping freights, so that it could claim to have a. balance of at least a quarter of a million on the right side.

Mr. Forsyth said that although he did not know the London manager, Mr. J. B. Wright personally, and from correspondence he appeared to be a very able man, there was no doubt as to his unpopularity with the trade, and they could not look for improvement in the industry unless they had the. co-opera-tion of those who bought their produce. Otherwise they would seek other sources of supply. He was opposed to premiums being paid on superfine cheese. Mr. Forsyth said he had no objection to three grades, but it would be better to have only twi, as there was, in his opinion, no advantage in having three grades. There was no reliable evidence that cheese grading 93 was going to bring better prices than cheese grading 92. Butter was in a different position. The better the grade of butter the better it carried -on shipboard. Cheese was only really curd when it was shipped and it altered considerably in character on the voyage until it arrived on the consumer’s table. Cheese should secure to the factory only its market value at the time of sale. If, for argument’s sake, in a consignment there was 10 per cent, of first grade and 90 per cent, of finest, and finest bad to pay 2s more than its actual value, where, he asked, was the money to come from? It was a mistake to allow the grading to be done at this end, and the old system should be thoroughly tried out before making any change. Free marketing meant nothing else but anti-control, said Mr. Forsyth, and they would have to revert to the two and a half commission. Besides, they would have no power to make any levy, as well as being unable to regulate the goods on the market and make allotments to the merchants. They would be back to the. old order of things when they allowed the merchants to have as much produce as their agents were able to procure . This often meant that a firm bought more than it could well handle, which meant stock must be got rid of, and down came the price of such stocks, often dragging the whole market with it. To go back to this would stultify the energy and the good work they had been striving for for many years. The Danes had changed their methods time after time until they had arrived at their present system. It took them 50 years to do so; and they had profited eventually by the little mistakes that had been made in the process. He pleaded for the board to bo given a further trial, for, provided there was no further attempt at pricefixing, he was certain there was much that only such a board could do to obtain the best’results for the industry.

After some words of praise for the improvements made by the board’s inspectors as to carriage and storage, Mr. Forsyth said that so far as direct shipments were concerned he was at all times ready to support the claims of the port of (jew Plymouth in which he now had every faith. The Control Board, however, regarded this question as one rather for the port authorities and the shipping companies to settle between themselves. Ke concluded by saying that Mr. Winks, a fellow member of his on the Control Board, Mr. J. G. Knuckey, of the Eltham Dairy Company, and Mr. G. H. Buekeridge, who had just returned from an investigation of matters affecting the dairy industry in England, would also address the meeting. Mr. T. A. Winks said that the election of Mr. Forsyth would assure the producers of an essentially sane and moderate representative on the board. He did not think the mistakes of the past warranted putting the board out of existence. It could still do good work for the country and for the industry. In his opinion it was not the past errors of the board that were so important as its future policy. lie supported what Mr. Forsyth had said about the great improvement in handling, carriage, and storage, which tl. board's inspectors under Mr. Grainger had brought about. Storage facilities in London had in the past been appalling. He thought a control board must continue to make the allocations of our produce and to do so it must have compulsory powers. Only such a board could properly regulate supplies and insist upon proper storage and treatment in London so that the produce could reach the consumer in the best possible condition. Such a board should consist of moderate-minded men and Mr. Forsyth had just the qualifications required. Mr. Knuckey spoke on similar lines, urging a further trial of the board. If it could not make good in the course of a year or two then it would have to goMr. Wright (late of Manga toki) asked to what did the candidate attribute tlie board's breakdown? Mr. Forsyth replied that he did not admit a breakdown, bat the board had had to face opposition at both ends, a very bad economic position in England and a lot of stored butter. Mr. Wright: What had the 1,000,090 boxes of butter in store to do with it.? Mr. Forsyth: It meant five weeka’ v supply and made the market difficult. “

The board took no blame for this stock being on hand; had the board been in existence it would not have happ ned. Mr. Wright: Mr. Hine said the board had done the sama thing. Mr. Forsyth: No. The board would have advised, to the contrary. It sold all produce to the end of November. It held about ten per cent, for tlz next three months, and luckily this produce which had been held back had struck a rising market, though the board did not claim particular credit for this result. Three times during the past month New Zealand butter had fetched more than Danish.

Mr. Avery: Was not the abandonment of price-fixing a great mistake? Mr. Forsyth: The time was not ripe. The time may come when, with proper administration the board may be able to suggest or name prices with the cooperation of the trade. People are not ready for such a policy, and the board must recognise the opposition which exists and act accordingly. Mr. Avery: Were there any reclamations made in regard to last year's holdings ?

Mr. Forsyth: I have heard that there were, but the board has no authentic records in regard to this. Mr. Avery: Does not limiting suppKes allocated accomplish the same as price-fixation ?

Mr. Forsyth: It would have a big effect but not in the same manner as price-fixation, especially the latter in wrong hands. Mr. Avery: When price-fixing eeased butter was ICG’s. Within a week it dropped to 150 s. Did the board not make a gift of this to the Tooley Street merchants?

Mr. Forsyth: The fixed price 160 s was one above the economic position. When prices fell, as the board knew they would, consumption was stimulated, the decks were cleared and the industry had benefited ever since. Several questions in regard to matters of detail having been answers I, the chairman called upon Mr. G. tl. Buekeridge to address the meeting.

He was there, said Mr. Buekeridge, at the suggestion of several factories in South Taranaki to whom ho had given information, supported absolutely by written evidence, which they thought would be of service to North Taranaki producers also. He thanked Mr. Forsyth for giving his the opportunity. The speaker then proceeded to detail the conditions he found in England, details of which, he said, had been published in Saturday’s Daily News. After detailing these, Jfa Buekeridge recounted his personal experiences with the board’s London manager (Mr. J. B. Wright) and other evidence that had the conclusion that lie was not the right man for the position. He also desired to contradict a statement made by Mr. Grounds, that the consumer had reaped the benefit from the fall in prieos when price-fixing ceased. The retail price of butter dropped from Is 8d to Is 6d per lb, and by this means consumption was stimulated, trade became active and prices improved. There were two other points upon which he wished to speak. The first was pastuerisation. In his opinion this was unnecessary. It would be better to adopt the system now followed by some factories and ensure good raw supplies. There would be n® difficulty then in making first-class cheese. In Somerset, the home of Cheddar cheese making, it was manufactuned from unpasteurised milk, and they held there that only from untreated milk eould they get the real “Cheddar” flavour. The same opinion was expressed by the research laboratory of Reading University, and he was convinced that the process here was unnecessary.

In regard to the superfine grade for cheese, he had always considered the Director of the Dairying Division was wrong in his judgment in this matter, and investigations at Homo bore this out, Traders said the difference of 1 per cent, in grading was too little for them to bother about, and demanding a higher price for superfine simply meant u was the most difficult to dispose of. The result was that "finest” had to be stored and ultimately sold at a lower price than "first grade.” He quoted figures showing that in three shipments “finest” made 1555, 1525, and 156 s respectively, while "first grade” all brought 1725. Owing to unforeseen circumstances Mr. Buckeridge's remarks upon this matter had to be curtailed, but in answer to a question by Mr. Knuckey, be said he was emphatically of opinion that it would be to the advantage of the industry to maintain a control board without any price-fixing, and one composed of men who would use their powers in a common-sense manner. A vote of thanks to Messrs. Forsyth and Buekeridge terminated the proceedings.

MR. HINE’S MEETING. Mr. Hine continues to meet with excellent receptions at his various meetings. On Friday afternoon he spoke at Midhirst, Mr. W. Vickers presiding. Considerable interest was evinced and many questions were answered. He received a hearty vote of thanks. The same evening he met producers at Te Kiri, where there was a good attendance. The chairman, Mr. Collins, in moving a vote of thanks, remarked that they eould express their confidence in the ballot. Pihama was visited on Saturday evening, Mr. Conaglen presiding. The candidate again spoke on lines previously reported, and at all his meetings emphasised the fact that the question at issue was whether dairy companies should manage their own affairs or whether they should again be mismanaged by the Control Board next season. He also contrasted the miserable advances made by the,, board with the liberal payments of last year, and showed how the promises made by Mr. Grounds and his colleagues that the board’s system of finance would be much superior to pre-control methods, had not materialised. Mr. Hine, alluding to the differences on the board, warned hia hearers that many costlier "wild cat” schemes would yet be im-

posed on them, unless they returned members to the board pledged to free marketing. On resuming his seat the candidate received a hearty round of applause and a vote of confidence waT unanimously accorded him. Air. Hine’s next meeting will bo at Eltham on Tuesday afternoon.