HUMAN LIFE V. BUTTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 229, 15 June 1918, Page 8

HUMAN LIFE V. BUTTER

Sir,—lβ there no limit to the greed of the farmers of this country? Surely they are doing well enough in getting Is. 4 13-lGd. for their butter (for which just before the war they got about lljd.).y Considering they are absolutely dependent on the Imperial authorities for, freight space to get it away, and considering that were it not for the British Navy not a pound of their precious butter would leave these shores—and then what would it be worth to them? It would really servo our farmers right if tho Imperial Government replied to their offer of butter at Is. !)d. "No thank you, we. do not want it." I think the poor working mnn here would then be netting his butter at well under Is. a pound. However, my main point in writing to you, Sir, is to refer to what Mr. T. 0. Brash, secretary of the Dominion Butter Committee, said at the South Tsland Dairy Association meeting recently, as reported in your columns. This worthy gentleman complained of ihe "arbitrary fixing of the price of butter," and stated that had the New Zealand equivalent of the London price of 2525. been paid the producer here would have received Is. 10d., "so this arbitrary price accounted for a direct contribution to the Imperial Government of jEI, 100.000. arid if. was entirely unjust that, this sum should harp been taken from the bntlnr producers." Good hoavens. Mr. Brash.do plea.se remove those blinkers, and look a* something beside that mirror that r"flecle only your farmers' interests! Is your, precious butter of more-saluo.-than

human life? The Imperial GovernmeglJ is conscripting your butter ut a {49" pence less than you iniglit yet on the open market in London, if (and please do not forget that "if") you could get it there (wJiich you could not do with-' out the British Navy). Are you quite blind to the fact I hat human lives are also being conscripted at very much undra- their value in the open market? Do you quite ignore the fact that many of the best of our men have given up iiosw tioiw of JJSOO to JJIOOO n year to risk! their very lives in the cause, of King, country, and the New Zealand farmer for' 5.5. a day? Can you possibly estimate the "direct contribution" these patriots have nudo and conscientiously compare it with tUe total value of your precious butter? J' think you will agree that their "direct, contribution" is far more than -£1,100.000. Apologising, Mr. Editor, for the length of this little blast, which 1 hope will help Mr. Brash and his farmer friends to see u little more clearly the true proportion of things in general, especially at this most critical time.-I