VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1935, Page 7

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

VIEWS ON CURRENT TOPICS

SOCIALISATION OF CREDIT.

POSITION OF DAIRY FARMERS.' (To the Editor.) Sir,—Your correspondent “Hurry Up” evidently believes that one of the cardinal sins of farmers is apathy. This being so, I suggest to farmers that they take time off their long toil to look into their financial position before it is too late. It is well known that New Zealand depends almost entirely upon the money received by her primary producers; but, contrary to general belief, this money is not sent from Britain in exchange for produce; it is paid out on paper by the banks here. Now for every £1 sterling worth of our produce sold in Britain we receive about 7s in New Zealand currency, which means that we have to pay £3 for £1 worth of goods sent out from Britain. The £25,000,000 lying to our credit at Home can be transferred to New Zealand only in goods to that value, and when they arrive here it will cost us £75,000,000 to pay for them. Surely New Zealand farmers are being defrauded of their just due in money. Can any reader supply a reason for this? There is only one remedy for our anomalous position, and that is to set up a national credit authority to take charge of our money and pay us what we are justly entitled to. Then we will be able to rebuild our sheds, clean up our surroundings and exchange our produce for manures and implements and pay the labour so badly needed .on our farms to-day. Perhaps it is not generally known that recently in one State of U.S.A. 62,000 farmers were sold up in one day. Why? Not because of inefficiency but because the community had not enough purchasing power to buy their output. Although President Roosevelt has borrowed £800,000,000 and spent it on public works he has only succeeded in plunging the nation deeper into debt and starvation. Two years agothere were 12,000,000 people on. relief in U.S.A.; now there are 22,350,000, or onesixth of the population on relief J It is not production our farmers need to worry about at present, but the means for distributing and exchanging our produce. It is useless to spend borrowed poney on producing more and better butter unless we can get rid of it at a remunerative figure. I suggest, to farmers that they look into the proposals for the socialisation of credit, wherein lies their only hope for the future.—l am, etc., MORE FOR ALL. Hawera, April 10, 1935. (To the Editor.) Sir,—Your correspondent “Hurry Up” evidently thinks that if farmers had cleaner cowsheds that would put the industry in a more flourishing condition. But there are other important matters that need cleaning up as well as the cowsheds. ■ For instance, why are farmers not allowed do know the truth by the Dairy Division? Why are Government officials muzzled by the department when they return from England? Why are the grad-, ings of cheese at the different North Island ports not published? Why is the consumption of cheese so" low in New Zealand? Why is the Press asked not to publish the yields of different cheese factories? Why do co-operative cheese factories pay top price for second-grade milk?

Is not the answer to all these questions the fact that the Dairy Division does not want the public to know the truth? By its action is not the division playing into the hands of our riyals, the Canadians, Australians and British farmers? If the Dairy Division were, loyal to the country that pays it would it not try to stamp out all forms of corruption and not cover up reprehensible practices by. a hush-hush policy?—l am, etc., ’ i • '■ JOHN BULL. Stratford, April 10. - -