PRODUCTIVE TARANAKI

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 866, 12 July 1910, Page 8

PRODUCTIVE TARANAKI

[To the Editor.] Sir, —I was much interested in reading your article in the column under Farm and Commercial News entitled "Productive Taranaki." Having been a resident of New Plymouth a number of years ago I well remember the time when everything was stagnation, and butter was i<l. to sd. per lb., and of very inferior quaiity. Not much money appeared to bo in circulation at that time, and a system of barter obtained for all kinds of dairy produce, etc. Since the advent of the dairy factories the progress of Taranaki has been marvellous. If is quite true that the forerunners of tho factories were a daily company, but that company was run by a few speculators (modern name, trnst or combine), who realised a large fortune out of the hardworking cowspaukors, who are always slow, to combine for their own benefit, and I believe that the co-operative system was first started at the small village of Leppertan Dy Mr. John Kelly, who had great trouble m persuading the farmers of that district to start and work the local factory on the share system, instead of allowing the combine to take a considerable amount of the profit of theiT hard earned labows. The banks, especially the Bank of New South Wales were a great help else, as they advanced money to the farmers on the. security of the joint and oeveral gnarantee of the shareholders—l am, etc., , SCOTTJS.