UNITY AMONG FARMERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 73, 16 May 1944, Page 4

UNITY AMONG FARMERS

Sir. —In reply to your correspondent,, J. Nielsen, I would like to add the following qualification to his remarks. The Union can deal so effectively with every question raised that the Government ignores its every recommendation, and so expeditiously that it can never get a decision from the Government, until the season is too far advanced' for that decision to be acted upon by the producers, with anything like the desired result. The Farmers' Union is so democratic that its leaders appear quite happy to say "Yes Sir!" to Mr Nash every time he denies the producers a fair price, and that, without any reverse contact with its members. It may appear democratic to Mr Neilsen that, after sending an organiser round the country and accepting subscription fees from sharemil'kers, the Farmers' Union, at a recent meeting denied a sharemilker, who had joined, the right to speak on the ground that he was not a landowner. The Union is apparently quite capable of managing our affairs with our financial assistance (only). I suggest that, were the Farmers' Union capable of doing the job it has undertaken, there would be no dissatisfied gentlemen, and we would be able to get on with our job without diversion. Mr Nielsen claims that the Union's present attitude is due to a strong sense of loyalty. I would ask, "Loyalty to whom." Is it loyal to the primary producers to always agree with the Government? Is ife loyal to our fighting men to allow the freedom, for which they fight, to be filched away behind their backs? The only other alternative is loyalty to Fraser, Nash and Go. who have made dupes of us all for too many years. Perhaps your correspondent meant the latter. But, Mr Editor, although the Farm' ers' Union has not been the huge success it has claimed to be, I will not deny that, with its present organisation it could be a very powerful factor inside the proposed "Dominion Primary Producers' Federation." I would like Mr Nielsen and all who are of the same mind, .to study the policy of constitution of the D.P.A. and criticise, it to their heart's content, but really, Sir, it seems to me a waste of time thanking the Farmers' Union for what it has done. Yours etc., WM. I. WALLACE.