The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5, 1942 GREATER PRODUCTION URGED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 87, 5 August 1942, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5, 1942 GREATER PRODUCTION URGED

STILL greater production was the keynote of official communications to the meeting of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Primary Production Council yesterday. The instructions were from the Minister of Primary Production, Hon. W. JPoison, and briefly the district covered by the Council (Whakatane and Opotiki Counties, roughly) is expected to attain the maize production level of the 1940-41 season, to ' plant 100 acres of potatoes, find a greatly increased yield in pig meat and make an intensive effort to assist forward the Dominion-wide endeavour to produce more eggs and poultry-meat. The greatest difficulty and likewise the greatest bone of contention will be 'maize.' Bitter memories of the last endeavour of farmers in this district to be 'patriotic' are far too fresh in the minds of growers to be easily overcome unless some water-tight arrangement in black and white can be given, assuring them of a guaranteed market within a reasonable period of cribbing. So dampened was the natural enthusiasm of farmers by the experience of eighteen months ago that they can only be expected to approach with the new appeal with the greatest caution. The other requests will be systematically grappled with r and we hope achieved more or less automatically. Maize, however is, and will remain for some time, a very 'sticky' subject in the Bay of Plenty. It is only fair in dealing with the above subject to point out that the Government is: fully aware of the labour problem; and is now employing far-reaching measures to release from v military service those land workers who will be needed in the forthcoming dairy and planting season. A special committee will shortly be set up to contact all farmers in this area, who are short-handed and as soon as this is done producers are asked to take immediate steps to present their cases which will be met, wherever there is a genuine need with a minimum of delay. The history of the Government's dealings with the Primary Producers of this country during the present war, will not, when it is recorded, be a happy one. From the very commencement of hostilities, the farmer seems to have: been shown the least consideration of any one section of the community. Battered from pillar to post, uncertain of what he is to produce from year to year, the object of last minute, fervant appeals for more, and still more, deprived of manpower to an alarming degree, he has yet stood by .his guns and turned out year by year production figures which are at once a credit to his tenacity and a national achievement. PUBLISHING U?yDER DIFFICULTIES WITHOUT seeking to make any excuses for our apparent shortcomings over the past few months, we are taking this opportunity of explaining some of our difficulties to our readers. It has been quite impossible with less than fifty per cent of a normal staff to give the same news coverage as in the past. District news is what we thrive on and it is by addressing ourselves thus that we would ask secretaries of social, sports and other organisations to co-operate in the matter of its collection. Under the present circumstances, with our difficulties enhanced by Government obligations, travelling restrictions and Home Guard duties we are endeavouring to carry on as usual. We can, and will continue, to give a broad portrayal of the community's activities, but contributions and news items which will be welcomed, can greatly assist towards improving and maintaining the service until the installation of a normal staff is again made possible. TO HELP HIMSELF IT might have passed un-noticed in the stream of court procedure were it not for the fact that the judicial finding was recorded by the single, and unusual word, for the bench—'granted.' The incident was a simple application to the Whakatane Magistrate's Court "by a Maori who desired to take of his own free-will a prohibition order. Had the case arisen out of a police charge and calculated to mitigate against the harshness of the sentence, it might have been more easily understood. But, as it stood, it meant merely that at least one Maori has had sufficient manliness to take the step himself in an effort to cure the habit of the 'Waipiro.' Here is a sample of character which restores ones faith in the Maoris' ability to overcome, or at least control the widespread drinking habits which are steadily eating into his manliness and pride. THE RED CROSS SHOP! DO you patronise the local 'Red Cross' Shop ? This is a question which housewives of Whakatane generally should ask themselves. For the past two and a half years members of the Red Cross -Committees have consistently staffed the well-known shop on the Strand, raising thereby a timely revenue which goes towards the town's effort. The most outstanding fact, is however the poor patronage which is afforded the shop by the public at large. Members complain that in the main their customers are invariably drawn from their own ranks. In other w T ords the same workers are not only expected to staff and stock the shop,, but also to be its customers. This sort of thing is too good, even for a war effort and we appeal to the Whakatane housewives to give the establishment a thought next time they are in town.