LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 30 January 1918, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CO-OPERATION Sir, —I noticed in the papers and also saw a photo of Mr. Massoy standing at the door of a co-operative factory giving an address to the dairy furmors and congratulating them on joining together in this industry so as to get a more uniform article. I must iay Mr. Masscy was quite right in his remarks, but why not be consistent? There is a cooperative factory at Featherston. When a shareholder iu the company has sufficient milk to supply the factory from September 1 to May 31 he must do so. After years of explaining to the dairy farmers they have realised that it would .have to be done for the interest of the factory, so as to make each one pay for the upkeep of the buildings in Droportion to the milk supplied. After they have accomplished this they have the military authorities going round amongst the suppliers telling them to put in a tender for the camp milk supply, that they will see that they have no penalty to pay, for they will remove all that, and the successful tender will be exempt from all rules and by-laws, so that he can go back to the factory after the contract expires. When you see the military authorities going amongst the "cow jockies" asking thorn , to compete amongst themselves and cut one another's throat, it is a nice state of affairs. I would just like to quote a.few words of a millionaires speech given in America ie co-opera, tion. This is how he starts off: "lou farmers like to hear the truth about I yourselves sometime, and I am going i to tell you that you are a lot of fools. You would like to be a millionaire and live in a castle on the Rhine, but you can't. You won't stick together; you won't co-operate. We millionaires come along and offer you a little more, lou take it, and so break up your co-opera-tion " This is quite true. In the face of this is it the right thing for tne milk to-be drawn from the factory ! when everyone is doing his share tor the upkeep of the factory, and would it not cause ill-feeling among the suppliers?—l am, etc., TRUE CO-OPERATION. ■ P.S.—I hope-Mr. Massey will see that this company's rules are not broken by the military authorities.