FEDERATED FARMERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 18, 18 April 1947, Page 6

FEDERATED FARMERS

ADDRESS BY BAY PRESIDENT SOME LIVELY ENCOUNTERS The meeting*convened by the Opotiki branch of Federated Farmers in St. John’s Hall, Opotiki, had m&ny lively moments when opinions clashed, but on the whole good humour, and a firm hand on the part of the chairman, Mr H. S. Holmes, prevented the meeting from developing into a wrangle. Mr Holmes extended a welcome to Mr Friis and Mr Vosper, and also to Mr Wardlaw and Mr Wylde, president and Secretary of the Waimana branch.

Mr A. L. Friis, President of the Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers, proved himself a most fluent speaker. He traced the growth of the movement which sprang up as a result of the necessity of welding the various farmers’ organisations into one strong body. Near the end of the meeting when Mr Friis was questioned by Mr S. Maxwell, he described the strike weapon as a dirty, dastardly method which reacts against innocent people. The worker had only his labour at stake and he would hesitate to ask the farmers to strike. Farmers had much more at stake, and the economy of no two farmers was the same. However, Mr Friis made it clear that it was useless to talk of strike until they had welded themselves into a strong organisation, and then it would be for the farmers themselves to formulate their own policy. Mr Friis said that he was no wolf in sheeps clothing, nor did he represent vested interests. It was his object to dispel any illusions. He wanted to appeal to the farmers, not through the rule book, but by common sense. It was a long story which must be condensed into a few minutes. They would have to go back to the turn of the century when the country was dependent almost entirely on grazing, and the Farmers’ Union was formed. A different branch was formed to represent each branch of the industry as it came in. The maor organisation began in an age when specialisation was unknown, and that was so until 1935 when private enterprise came to an end and a policy of socialisation was embarked upon. Then began the trials and tribulations of the farmers who were being left behind in the race of organisation and militancy. Farmers who had pursued a policy of private enterprise were going to the wall and would have to knuckle down. Mr Friis deplored the dispute which had arisen in the Auckland Province.

Mr Friis referred to the last hope of settling the dispute and the refusal of one party to accept the result of the plebiscite. Six years of war could only be met by six years of hard work, and no section could button on the farming community and get away with it. That could only go on with the difference between what the farmer was paid for his produce and what the government got was paid to the militant section. The archpriests of greed and selfishness would have to be replaced with a policy of tolerance, goodwill and justice.