Wise Man Does Not Spend All His Resources

Chronicle (Levin), 25 March 1949, Page 3

Wise Man Does Not Spend All His Resources

Press AssocicCtion)

(Per

WELLINGTON, March 24.. A wise business man getting reeord prices and with everything geared to full production did not spend all his resources^ Mr. B. L, M. Martin. ,toJd. the Court of Arbitration today. He was' giyjng evidenee for Federated Parmers in the application for a standard wage pronouncement. If the dairy farnier had to pay out ipore now than he was getting froni flnit.e.d Kingdom contracts how was he going be able to meet costs when prices receded? Mr. Martin ■ asked. • Asked by the secretary of the Pederation of Labopr (Mr. K, McL Baxter)' why he .expected a reduce.d dcmand for New-. Zealand produce- in the United Kingdom, Mf .• Martin -said he anticipated5 th'a:t by 1952 'Britain would be able to supply hCVself ' with - a great, deal of what she imp'orted today. Englishmen were the best salesinen in the. world, Mr. Martin said. He agreed they were alsC very good customers for a great many years. New Zealand had not for limited periods received fair prices for her produce. Mr. Justice Tyndall asked: £Don't you think we might have been well paid in other ways? We might not have existed without Great Britain. Mr. Martin: Yes, I agree. The bulk purchase agreement between Britain and New Zealand could be diseharged or altered by agreement, Mr. Martin said, replying to further questions by Mr. Baxter. He was pessimistic about the agricultural price situation. At the begining of the war New Zeala.nd had 600,000 carcases. of mutton whi'cli she could not 'seil anyhere. That might. happen again. There was not , aii, in'exhaustible economic market in Britain. The improvement in the international supply of f ats and oils had to •be; taken into acc,QU]at. He thought there would be a fall in agricultural prices befol'e 19u2 wlien the Marshall Blan ended. Mr. Baxter asked: "If the money in the Stabiliastion Fund . were re'leased would it inflate currency? Mr. Martin said it had already been t put into circulation in such works as State houses and publie works. Mr. Martin said tlie onlv difference was that it was spent by the Government and by the people the Government paid instead of by the farmers. Advances to farmers from trading banks had; in-^ creased. Farmers were borrowing more today than even in pre-war times, klr. Martin said when asked if farmers wei'e not better oS today than ever beforeV S :n' " ! '' * ' ■ ,