PETROL RESTRICTIONS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21220, 17 September 1940, Page 7

PETROL RESTRICTIONS

(To the Editor) Sir,—Petrol restrictions are definitely retarding increased production of primary goods in this country. The farmer is expected to use the same (or very little more) benzine for his car than the man in town who uses his car solely for pleasure, although he has access to the trams, buses, trains and taxis when his coupons are exhausted.

Benzine to the farmer is one of his most essential raw materials, without which his position in many cases is hopeless, as he has not the horse to fall back upon now, as most farmers depend solely on mechanised power to work their farms.

If the farmer wants to go to town, should he ride a horse if he has one, or walk, to save benzine (even although it may take him all day to do so? The same measure applies to horses versus mechanical power. If the farmer has a sickness in his family, stock-ills, or a breakdown in any of his machinery, no provision is made for this.

One would think a license for benzine was given for nothing; instead we still have to pay 2s 9d a gallon, so it is not likely we are paying this price for the sole purpose of wasting it.

To sum up, the farmer goes to the controller for a license. He fills in a form for his requirements, and then the controller arbitrarily cuts that quantity in half or giv’es onethird of the requirements; the farmer goes away in disgust sooner than argue the point for his rights, and makes his work fit his allowances; or, in other words, does onehalf or one-third of his work. Usually by this time of year I would have chain-harrowed some hundreds of acres, but owing to petrol restrictions this year I have done none. The farmer is trying to increase production, which incidentally creates credits overseas, and then has to go “cap in hand” to ask if he can have more petrol to create more credits overseas.—l am, etc., DISGUSTED FARMER. Otorohanga, September 14.