The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1926. PROMISE OF BETTER CONDITIONS.

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1777, 1 July 1926, Page 4

The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1926. PROMISE OF BETTER CONDITIONS.

A PROMISE of better conditions for the farming community in particular and therefore for the whole Dominion in general is held out by men in close touch with the financial and trade situation. Much has been heard, of late weeks about the alarming excess of imports over exports in New Zealand, and the opportunity has been taken by those in authority over us to urge the 'Dominion populace, and particularly the farmer, to superhuman .endeavour that the primary production of New Zealand shall very, soon be at such a high standard that , the position will be reversed. It is only natural that the nation should look to its husbandry as the most likely source of salvation, and especially is this so in the case of

New Zealand., And the call to higher

and better production has not fallen on deaf ears.** Rather, it has had an effect, and will continue to have a beneficial effect on the export industries of a country whose very life depends on the Wealth to be derived from the soil. But apparently when a revival of interest and endeavour on the land is brought about there are some •who feel hound to write or say something just depressing enough to quench, or at least affect, the dawning enthusiasm of the country which is just as easily affected for bad as for good. There are always those who must make a poor mouth and discount effort because the 'position is almost hopeless. Though things are by no means in the flourishing condition we would like, the man on the land is heginning to rise above the troubles which followed in the wake of the speculators, whose criminal greed caused land values to soar sky-high, compassing the ruin of many a new landholder -whose life-work was shattered when he was compelled to "walk off" owing to prohibitive prices for his land.

There are many still hale and hearty who remember the days when 4d per pound was paid for butterfat and wool went for a song compared With pre-sent-day prices, and these old-timers have seen the revolving wheel of time going forward and not back. The agricultural and pastoral industries have been revolutionised and, the cost of living has reached a high level, and though the standard of living may recede it will always remain high, enough to provide a constant demand for farm products. Fluctuations in the values of farm products, and in in farm lands also, like the poor, will he ever with us, but the harrowing tales of many who constituted the flotsam and jetsam cast up on the rocks after the tidal wave of speculation receded will stand as a grim warning to speculators and to those who foolishly paid ridiculous prices for farms or who took up land knowing little of its handling or management. It would he foolish to try and deceive ourselves that the effect of those boom days has been shaken off. It certainly has not, and not the least alarming aspect of the position is the undoubted moral effect the boom has left in the minds of financiers, who ieye askance any suggestion of the investment of money in rural ventures. It is hard for farmers to get money even yet. •

Commenting on the situation, a wellversed authority in the South, says the complex problem created by the abnormally inflated land values of war and early post-war days has not yet been solved, but the position is improving, and the nation can emerge from the mire successfully by the exercising of a little care. After a comprehensive tour of the Dominion, the .Minister of Lands (the Hon A. '.D. McLeod) found that he could say with every confidence that 90 per cent, of the Dominion's farmers were on a sound footing and could face the future with little trepidation. About 10 per cent, he thought were confronted with difficulties which, however, were not insurmountable, but he added that he was afraid that the* percentage would not remain at 10 for long unless things, improved materially. Bankers, loan companies, and farmers' agencies, have maintained with great insistence that a marked deflation in land, values is essential to the restoration of normal, stable conditions in primary industry.

This unanimity of opinion among those qualified to speak with authority has brought home to us the danger which still threatens the country, and although in some circles it may produce a despondency, it has far greater effect for good in that it must discourage further inflations or any recrudescence of the speculation that has already Avrought su,ch havoc. Also it has the effect of producing in many cases through fear, a more stable condition of things which must result in a longer tenure of farms. Land is not changing hands as rapidly as was the case a few years ago, or even months ago. There is a great difference between the well considered warnings voiced by those Avho know and the dismal croakings of the pessimist who no ray of hope in the darkness* at pi. The country is still in the throes of a critical period in its history, but the road is not as dreary as it was only a very short time ago, and the position is one that can easily be turned to profit by the enthusiasm of a husbandry alive to the difficulties confronting it, yet not discouraged. Of course, the way out of the slough i s hard, and progress will be slow. Many an honest, hard-working settler will "go to the Avail before the muchdesired stability is attained. This fact in itself predisposes a falling in land, values in some degree. Though, the position will undoubtedly right itself in due course, this is no .excuse for a policy of passivity and calm Avaitjng for the better era. The farmer Avas never better placed than he is now to benefit by improved policy and method for the utilisation to the utmost of his land. A comforting thought is that producers generally have realised the high prices for produce are an unsound basis for a stable rural outlook. This can be seen by the philosophical manner in which growers accepted the

inevitable in regard to wool, values last season. 'Moreover, soaring prices for produce give a false guage of land values. The only sane means to arrive at land, values is surely per medium of returns taken over a number of years., A iSummed up, the position is briefly this. The present state of affairs on the land, though far from ideal and needing great improvement is not hopeless, and the farmer can safely look toward a return to stable and prosperous conditions. One point stands out above all others, however. The surest and speediest route to the desired stability at present is the development as rapidly as possible of better farming methods, which will increase not only the quantity of production per unit of production, hut the quality of the article produced. On that and that alone lies the hope of the most successful exploitation of the produce market.