MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3180, 3 September 1917, Page 6

MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM

(To tho Editor.) Sir, —I iviis voxy- piuiisod to read Mr. H. 1). Vavasour's loiter on the above subject in your issue on. August 23. Tjiu country is not only suffering from "liysterioal patriotism" ,but also "swelled liead." Our rulers seean to Uinlc tnat becauso a few millions of extra money have found their way into tho country since the war that we can stand any strain they oUoose to put upon us. A. young leoruit cannot stand tho strain of an old veteran, - nor can a young country stand the strain of an old one, especially when it comes to finance. If we had been borrowing from ourselves tho last twenty years instead of g<;ing to the Old Country for our money, wo might have been able to get aloug a bit better, but as we have borrowed abroad we have to send out of the country the interest on'the debt, the. interest being paid by tho export of our produce. If production is chocked (as it certainly has been), and our cxpovls fall off, where shall we find ourselvfjs in time? Whj„ in the "elough .«* despond" up to the neck, and we 9hall find it much easier to get there than to get out again. Wo are in our swaddling clothes as yet, but we aro proceeding as though wo had reached maturity. As a rule, in times of national stress, a leader crops up to lead the nation through 1 its trials and troubles, but so far we in New Zealand have no leader; on the contrary, our would-be leaders ' iish ior public opinion before acting. If the Government continues to send away our agricultural and pastoral hands, there will soon be "not a man to till the ground" nor to get in oup sheep. The iirst-class farm hand of to-day must be* a man of high iLtelligence, and have a good knowledge of mechanics. Modern machinery has put "Hodge" out of the running altogether. if we farmers are to lose all our skilled labour, how can we be expected to carry on? One might as well take all the skilled mechanics out of a factory and expcct the manager to carry on the business just the same with a lot of apprentices. The jact is, we have undertaken more than \»e can perform in this war, and the country seems to be waking up to that foflt. If the war lasts three or four years more, and there is every indication of it doing so, what will be the consequence if we keep going at the present rate, with a falling production? Bankruptcy is the only outlool* I noticed in the sheep returns that tho South Island is some 200,000 short. Ths reason is, those sheep have been loft on the hills through lack of mustorars, and they represent a dead loss to the pastoralist. Skilled labour comes in again there. Unless a man has had sqiqg yeara of experience on rough hill country lie cannot get in the sheep, consequently they are left to die in tho snow through weight, of wool. As Jlr. Vavasoflr says: "Our mistake is irrevocable," we cannot fet the men back as they have done at [oiue. Last year if we had had a catchy seasou in this'district not half the crops could have been harvested, through laekl of labour, consequently many of the farms have been put into grass, and in some instances are left to run wild, because the farmer will not take the risk of a crop with no labour to get, it in. It is almost impossible to get a ploughman now. It seoms as though the Government set up the Efficiency Board with a mere pretence of doing something to organise labour. Now they are quarrelin" with the board. While they are ] quarrelling time flies, anjl we shall have shearing and harvesting on us, and nothin" doing in the way of organisation. It is" the farmer and the pastoralist who feed and clothe the nation, and pay the greatest part of the interest of the debt, and they are being left in the mire, to extricate themselves as best they can. I do not wish to pose as a "Cassandra, I am only looking "facts in the face. —I am, etc., LISSAMAN. Alton Downs,.. Seddon, August 27.