The Wanganui Herald (Published Daily.) MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1920. MEAT TRUSTS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160735, 23 August 1920, Page 8

The Wanganui Herald (Published Daily.) MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1920. MEAT TRUSTS.

Hawke’s Bay farmers held a meeting on Saturday at Dannevirke, and passed a resolution, with but one dissentient, expressing the opinion that it is essential in the interests of true progress and the development of the Dominion that the Government should take the necessary steps to stop Armour and Co. and Yesty Bros., or any of their subsidiary companies, from operating in the Dominion. Similar warning notes against permitting the Meat Trusts to secure a hold in New Zealand are being uttered throughout the Dominion; and it is with some astonishment that we find a prominent local farmer like Mr W. JV Poison advocating the issue of even a temporary license to Armour and Co. Mr Poison begins by recounting the misdoings of the American Meat Trust, and denounces it in very strong terms. After thus condemning it for exploiting both producer and consumer it comes as a surprise to find him urging the use —only temporary, it is true —of Armour and Co.’s organisation, as a matter of expediency. Mr Poison’s argument is that the New Zealand farmers should develop*the American market, and he gives several perfectly sound, reasons why they should do so. No one will deny the desirability of taking advantage of the American market; a day or two ago we urged the same thing. But, if in order to do so, the New Zealand farmers allow the American Meat Trust to get its claws into them—well, to put it quite bluntly, they will be the biggest kind of fools. Everything will go swimmingly for a while, no doubt, but after a while, if the Meat Trust controls the situation, it will have the farmers entirely at its mercy, and the latter will find that, for the sake of present advantage, they will have thrown away all future benefit. Mr Poison suggests the issue of an export license to Armour and Co. “for only twelve months,’’ hut at the end of the twelve months there are bound to be a certain number who will urge renewal of the license “for just another twelve months.” The firm may also be depended on to strain every nerve to secure support for the extension, not only once, but a second, and a third, and a fourth “twelve months,” until the extension becomes a permanent habit.

We do not doubt for an instant that Mr Poison is actuated by other than the best of motives, or that he is animated by anything but a sincere desire to assist his fellow farmers, as well as himself. But we are surprised that so shrewd a man as he should show himself so blind to the danger in such a proposal. His argument is, that while Armour’s can he controlled at this end their organisation will be useful at the other end, in America. But Armour and Co., and for that matter, the rest of the Meat Trust, are surely not the only capable and business-like organisations in America! The New York Globe newspaper, which has lately been “bucking” the Meat Trust, would, we are satisfied, he only too willing to assist the New Zealand meat producers in the matter. The Globe recently imported some meat shipments to New York, and disposed of them very successfully. It was not, however, the Globe’s editor, and reporters, and printer’s devil who

handled the meat and sold it over the counter. They arranged with certain reliable agents to do this for them. Could they not, therefore, recommend to the New Zealand farmers the names of similarly reliable agents to do the same for them also? We repeat that the giving of Armours an export license “for just twelve months” is fraught with the greatest danger to our farmers. The latter have a golden opportunity to develop" the American market, but let them do it themselves! If they give the job to Armours, he sure that it will be Armours that will do the developing and get the profit, not the New Zealand farmers! The New Zealand companies are surely not so ( incapable that they cannot handle the matter themselves. They have handled export to London for forty years; what, therefore, is to prevent them handling export to New York also. There are just as good agents ih New York as in London, and it will be no difficult matter to discover them.