LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2960, 26 December 1916, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Bir,—l am induced to write" upon this question first of all to affirm tho! principles of the leading article of (tho' Christchurch "Press' of the 20th. I. have, been closely associated with the industry all iny. life, both as a grower and a merchant, and so have naturally followed the controversy brought about by Mr. Isitt's letter to . the. Christchurch papers very closely. I was present at the conference held in Christchurch. by" invitation, not as a delegate, which the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, who was in charge of the meeting, decided to hold in camera, no doubt for Buffioient reasons, and as he Baid to encourage free speech. Had.. Mr. Isitt and Mr. M'Combs taken advantage of that opportunity much misconception would have been avoided. I can make no excuse for these membors, who, by courtesy of the Minister- were invited to the meeting held in camera; in his judgment, tl\e voom, . an'd immediately reporting the doings through the publio Press. Such conduct, in my opinion, is unpardonable, notwithstanding the resolution of the Sydenham Borough Council. It is little wonder that;it brought forth a rebuke' from. the Minister. The opportunity of their lives was given to. Mr. ( Isitt and Mr. M'Oombs to get any infbrma- . tion they wanted about the industry of wheat-growing. Reputable gentlemen were there present who had stood tho test of time of honest purpose, who were there for the purposo or discussing ,th© position and giving the conference the benefit of their experience; not as Mr. Isitt states, "to lino their pockets. Information from that source was surely more reliable than that gathered from the man in the, street; and I say the. farmers present are to be commended 'when they did not seek to advertise their patriotism , by referring to their patriotic doings, ,'Mr. Isitt's reference to this is an indirect insult to the honest toiler ten- , gaged in. wheat-growing,' and shows either want of appreciation or lack of knowledge of the position; of the response to the'appeal made iu August,. 1914, by the Prime Minister :to the farmers to. grow wheat, which appeal, although made so late as August (.a time when.' wheat growing is extremely risky), resulted .in the area being increased approximately by 100,000 acres, as compared .with the previous year. It is a-fact that 90 per cent; of those lost money by the ' venture, • their losses being due to the Government's action in prohibiting.the export in the interests of-cheap bread for the peo- ' pie. I know what I am writing about, and mentioned my views through the 'Press at the time that there was a surplus of wheat,- and waited: upon the . Prime. Minister, to endeavour to satisfy him to this effeot, without, success. 'After results proved'there was-at'least 750,000 bushels in excess of requirements. At this time the Government bought large." quantities"from the Canadian farmer/ at . 7s. per-.bushel which was never required, and upon which heavy, losses were. made, approximately . £150,000 of wh'ioh the ■wheat grower /was' called upon to pay bis portion (the irony of fate). When . submitting by to the Prime Minister evidence,,'of; a sur-

phis of wheat' existing, I made application that 500,000 bushels of the surplus be sold, to Australia, and pro- . auced indisputable "evidenco /|hat the market was there at 7s. per .Bushelf.o.b. New Zealand .for. shipment in September, 1915, ajid Australia was prepared to.sell back a similar quantity at 4s. 6d. f.0.b.; Australia for de- ; livery in: December, 1915, only three months later. Tho .profit . upon :' this , .-"would'have repaid' the losses-on-*'the' Canadian wheat '-without * any. risk" in V regard'to the food of : the peoplo."; " ■ What is the difference in .dispute after all? I think" few people:understand. It will be admitted tiat/no' item of food is as cheap as bread/ at, say, lOd. for a 41b. loaf, and I would , endeavour ,to show-its relation to tbo

'pnee,' of wheat. ; Approximately 3d. in the price of wheat is'equivalent- to 12s'. per ton in flour. Therefore 6s. wheat is equal to £14 Bs. flour; every 305.-per ton in flour warrants -}d. in a 41b. loaf, equal to 9Jd. It will thus be seen that 7jd. in the price of wheat means Jd. in the loaf. Taking six' bushels of wheat as the recognised consumption of each person and for all 'other purposes, 'fowl corn, pig feed, ' etc.,at 6s. per bushel equals 365. . plus cost' of milling' ayd baking -as each person's cost of bread per year. To what amount does 6d. or Is. moro or less increase or reduce the year's bread • bill. You can easily work it out, and. when doing so consider that a 10 per cent, war bonus is paid to the majority of consumers, who nave no tax to pay, while the (wheat grower pays 45 per' v cent, of his profits to cover the cost of the'war. (Christmas is here; peace and goodwill): ' i

The wheat production of New Zealand, and in fact of the world, has without doubt fallen below require-: mente, as proved by the Statistician's figures so far as the Dominion is concerned, and the reason being that other productions are more attractive.

The conference was called to discuss the position and to endeavour to' ascertain what price would be attractive enough to induce at least the'growing of sufficient wheat for the Dominion's requirements, jiot, as seems to be the impression of some, a bargain for the 6ale of the Dominion's wheat crop. The growers conferred, and who should know better than .they .at what price for wheat they can employ-their farm and .experience to better .result than the production of wheat. It is the very first duty of■ those people to get the best results from their farms if the war is to be brought to a successful issuo, and to grow as much of these products as possible. Shall some go to the pictures while others work from daylight to dark to provide food at a price equal to the bare cost of production without its contingent risks ? , Now whatsis the cost of production? I estimate it as follows, taking the land value at'£3s, to produce thirty bushels per acre:—

•fliirty bushels of wheat at ss. ' 5d., seconds included "8 2 6 The estimate is calculated on good dry milliftg wheat. Now,'what is the margin for contingent risks: fire, drought, cxcoss of rain in sowing timo, rain in harvest season, employers' liability and disorganisation of business by failure "of the crop. Surely, Is. per , bushel would 1 not ho excessive ohen it is compared to the small extra Ot to the consumer, as shown above, i? considered. It will be noted I have .allowed two years' interest on the land,

this being a long time laid down principle, to compensate for the uso of tho land which cannot be used for othor

purposes for nearly two years, arid robbing of tho land, wheat beiug a heavy robber.

There is ovidence from the English Prirao Minister's speech at {Eo meeting of tho now Parliament that the world's

harvest lias diminished very considerably. It is thorcforo tho duty of farmers to grow wheat; also the duty of consumers to assist towards its production by willingly paying tor bread a prico equal to the cost of production, in order that tho grain growers shall havo ample remuneration to reward their efforts, and stimulate tho production even to a quantity far in excess of our requirements, to assist in tho feeding of our moro unfortunate friends over tho sea, particularly wnen it is shown as above the sacrifice is so small in regard to cach person's bread consumption. I trust the above will assist to elucidate the position, and satisfy the minds of the public that the master is in good Hands, and I havo no doubt the Minister, with the assistance of his Board of Trade, will arrive at' a satisfactory solution of the position.— I am, etc.. ' H. S. BOURN. 42 Hereford Street, Christchurch.

£ s. d. Eirst ploughing ..•. 0 6 0 Discing or grubbing twico, at ■■ 2s. fid. 0 5 0 Tripod or tyne Harrowing .... 0 2 0 Second ploughing ' U 7 0 Disc harrowing 0 2 6 Tyne harrowing .; 0 10' Lbrilling 0 3 0 Harrowing ; .... 0 1. 0 Rolling 01 '6: Preparing seed 0 1. 0 Seed ; ; 0.12 0 Mann re ; 0 6 0 Reaping 0 5 0 Twine 0 5 0 Stroking 0 2 0 Forking 0.. 1 6 Stacking and carting 0 12 0Thrashing 0 12 0 Carting to railway. 0 5 I) Attendance tn, thrasher ■ 0 2' 0 Interest at Si- per cent, on £35 to cover two years .... 9 17 0 22,6