The Daily News MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1930. CO-ORDINATED EFFORT.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1930, Page 8

The Daily News MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1930. CO-ORDINATED EFFORT.

The statement made in the House of Representatives on Thursday by the -Minister of Agriculture, the lion. A. J. Murdoch, in reply to a question from the representative of Patea, Mr. H. G. Dickie, must have been read with some gratification in Taranaki. The Minister said that his attention had been drawn to the reports of 'the recent meeting at Hawera of the Taranaki Federation of Dairy Factories, arid he warmly commended the decision to adopt the system of premium payments for quality in cheese. It ivas not, of course, the purpose of Mr. Dickie’s question to obtain a pat on the back for this province, but rather to seek an expression of opinion from the Minister concerning other decisions of the meeting. The federation is asking the Min-, ister to set up a committee to inquire how thorough co-ordination may be brought about between the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture and the scientific organisations in the Dominion that are> working for the improvement of the dairy industry. The federation suggests also that the investigation should cover the nature of the knowledge imparted by the Dairy Division through its instructors, the possibility of improving the grading system, the effect on cheese, quality of the Arbitration Court’s awards, and the advisability of transferring to Massey College the work now undertaken by the departmental laboratory at Wallaeeville. In his reply to Mr. Dickie’s question Mr. Murdoch naturally did not attempt to traverse all these points, as he will do, no doubt, when the time comes for him to reply by letter to the federation’s communication on the subject. He contented himself with a reference to the scientific research that is being carried on, and he said enough to indicate that he has already made up his mind to promote the co-ordination of effort which is obviously the first desire of the federation. In co-operation with the Minister in charge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Mr. Murdoch proposes to take the first step of calling together all scientists engaged in dairy resarch in order that they may jointly advise the Government as to the means that may be taken to improve the quality of cheese. It is very .satisfactory to have a promise of this kind from the Minister, for it suggests a permanent combination of all the interests concerned in united effort for the betterment of the dairy industry. If the scientific work can be organised and co-ordinated the most important objective of the federation will be gained, and the unifiI elation of interest. may well promote a.desire on the part of the Minister of Agriculture and his advisers to effect a firm alliance between the Dairy Division and the industry. Tt would be unwise for the Minister or anyone else to try to blind himself to the evidence that is apparent just now of a certain tension of feeling in the industry with respect to the division. This feeling is, of course, the result of the very extraordinary blunder made by the Director of the Dairy Division, Mr. W. M. Singleton, at the National Dairy Association’s conference at Hamilton some weeks ago. Mr. Singleton described as an attack on the division the report on openness in cheese prepared by the Taranaki federation’s scientist and devoted a very large part of a long addrexss to tin attempt to discredit Mr. Veale and belittle the federation’s work for the industry. Though it was reported at the time that Mr. Singleton and Mr. Veale had shaken hands after Mr. Veale had replied in kind to the director’s address, the impression seems to have been left that neither the federation nor its scientist can expect anything in the nature of cordial co-operation from official quarters. The suggestions that have now been put to the Minister of Agriculture by the federation will afford him an admirable opportunity to dispel this impression. It is not to be supposed that he will regard them as an attack upon his department, nor will his officials be likely to misinterpret them. The Taranaki federation is neither more nor less than a voluntary organisation of daily who are seeking, at some cost to themselves, to help the industry in their own province and throughout the Dominion. Neither the federation nor any other agency ‘that is trying to solve the dairy farmer’s problems can claim a sovereign right to be the industry’s sole guide and counsellor, nor it is to be hoped would any-of them dream of putting forward such a foolish claim. But if means can be found of pooling the wisdom and resources of the various agencies they should be able together to lead the industry into a better position than it occupies to-day.

I THE INVERCARGILL CONTEST. , What must strike every impartial observer i is the similarity in aim of the two cantli- ; dates in the Invercargill by-election. Mr. I Vincent Ward, epeaking as a supporter of [the party in office, naturally claimed that j it had gone some way on the road to deI velopmenc indicated in its pre election unJ dertakings. His opponent is just as certain the United Party has failed to honour its promises to the electorate and claims that the increases in taxation are proof of extravagance and lack of wise administration. Those, of course, are the party lines of demarcation and may be taken as a matter of course. But the respective programmes outlined by the candidates could almost have been tire work of either without any apparent loss of political principle. Both of them see in a bold and progressive land policy the only cure for unemployment, and they are agreed’that standard wages must apply on relief works for those at present unemployed, though, how the Reform candidate, Mr. James Hargest, will reconcile this attitude with that of his political leader remains to be seen. Mr. Hargest suggests the creation of a State monopoly of the supply of petrol. Were the State the sole buyers, he says in effect, it would be in a position to make better terms, the Railway Department could look after the distribution of supplies, thereby adding to its revenue at a time when it is sadly in need of more earning power, aud the consumer would reap the benefit of an elimination of the merchant or middleman. Here again the candidate would seem to have a peculiar way of supporting the Reform Party’s slogan of "less Government in business,” The history erf monopolies, State or private, has never been very cheerful from the consumer’s point of view, nor does there seem any likelihood that to give the railways a monopoly of handling petrol would benefit the public to any extent The contrary would be likely. Massed buying sounds attractive as a method of cheapening prices*. It has a habit, however, of developing mass selling too, and when a country is known to be dependent upon supplies from overseas it. is the seller who often decides what the price of.his commodity will be. Healthy competition is a bigger safeguard against exploitation of the public than the most benevolent State monopoly, from jvhich it is almost impossible to divorce political considerations. Perhaps as the by-election campaign proceeds the points of difference between the United Party and. Reform will be more definitely indicated. On the programmes so far enunciated it looks as though the electorate can decide the issue upon percon'al or any other but political considerations without doing violence to the opinions expressed by either candidate for its suffrages.