SPIRIT OF PIONEERS

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 15 (Supplement)

SPIRIT OF PIONEERS

< NOT DEAD IN TARANAKI. MR. W. J. POLSON FULL OF HOPE. “If one could plot the progress of our province with a graph it would show hills and valleys in it but the line would rise higher than ever after each descent. The pioneers knew it—they realised the hazardous nature of their business and the great element, of luck, which attended success, they prepared for the hill of difficulty and when it appeared they tightened their belts and set to work

with a grim determination to overcome it. “History is now repeating itself. We are in the deepest valley in our experience and the heights to climb look more formidable than any we have hitherto experienced. But the spirit of the pioneers is not dead in Taranaki, or in New Zealand, and we will climb them. It will mean some toil and endurance, some privation and somo heart-burning in the process but the Dominion is already readjusting herself and settling down to the job. “In New Zealand we possess unique advantages over other countries insofar as the dairying industry is concerned and if we persevere we must win it over our competitors. \- “Dealing with the mechanics of the industry no country that I am aware of can beat us for the cheapness and efficiency of our production. Tire dairy machinery we employ from the farm to the factory is equal to anything in

the world. When we consider too the specialised. transport and handling methods employed, and add together the sum of our advantages including the well-known ones of climate and soil, it is obvious that, given the will to succeed, we can. “I am one' of those who believe, that the law of supply and demand must eventually overcome national barriers of tariff and fiscal taxation and that as the ■ world settles down again this will become increasingly evident. By this I do not mean that I think we should sit still and do nothing. We will have to fight every inch of the way in every field. We must continue to use every effort to improve our product in spite of discouragements, never letting up, and we must make use of every argument and every reasonable device to improve our position in the markets of the world. We have sufficient genius to do these things and while the immediate outlook is not as satisfactory as we could wish it, the spirit of the race has not changed and the old slogan still prevails—carry on. I foresee in the future New Zealand’s primary industries, particularly • the dairy industry, supplying markets at present undeveloped as well as markets now closed to us, With ever increasing quantities for the use of the world’s increasing population. The future is full of hope for the dairy farmers of Taranaki.” . W. J. POLSON.