IMPERIAL PURCHASE OF WOOL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 268, 1 August 1918, Page 6

IMPERIAL PURCHASE OF WOOL

.Sir,—l. wonder whether certain politicians could for. the lime being/curb their desire to preach "Patriotism" to an intensely patriotic section of the community, and try to adapt their point of view respecting tho above matter lo that ot the wool-growers who do not see exactly eye to eye with tham. H may bo that tho most truly loyal and patriotic -to the Lmnire, to their own Dominion, and to themselves-arc those who, without any "sordid" motive, urge that there should bo no blind acceptance of the offer ns i| stands, but that ordinary business prudence should prevail, and '.he whole matter be tarel'ully looted into., It should not be necessary lo repeat that as regards the sale to the Imperial Government of the wool for military purposes, there is absolutely no divergence of opinion while we are equally whole-hearted in our desire that the Government should exercise such control of our produco that not' an ounce of it skill reach tho enemy. Even so, it admits of argument and consideration whether it is necessary or in tho best interests of this country to effect the sale, now, of two vvcol clip's after the end of the war. / Again, it is apparent that there is a serious lack of efficiency and 'business method in the disposal of our "surplus" wool, namely, that portion which the Imperial authorities do not require for military purposes, and which, therefore, they allot to., the woollen trade. In effect, that lack of business method puts into the pockets of the •.uanjfaeturers, according to tho evidence before us, a huge and •undreamed of profit, a large proportion of which should, we claim, bo realised for the benefit of the Imperial Government, the B.itish public who use the manufactured goods, jr the people of this Dominion. No argument can justify the renewal of an arrangement which perpetuates that sort ->f thing, and there is no reason in the wide world why such inefficiency in the handlin- of the business should be tolerated or condoned, I, for one, decline to think that it is tho intention or the policy of the Homo Government that .producers should 'be exploited to the undue advantage of tho manufacturers. The Minister of Agriculture, in his speech recently, declared that both sides of tho ense had, not been put. Whose fault is that? Mr. W. D. Lysnar has made and published* certain statements, and no attempt has been made by the Government or anyone else lc disprove or correct them, although his conditions are apparently based on official information and figures. I submit that it would have been a proper thing for. the Government, considering the importance of tho interests at stake, to call a conference of wool-growers, lay the whole position before them, and give an < pportunity for reasonablo discussion. Then everyone —producers and tho public generally— would be enabled to arrive at a clear understanding, and we should know what steps to tako to remedy (if remedy were found to be necessary) a business system whichlin any degree operates unjustly. . I venture to say that the sheep farmers of Southern Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay, parties to tho so-called "agitation" to 'which politicians allude, are just as loyal, and havo faced their responsibilities, and are prepared to face them, in J just as -patriotic a manner as any others in the Dominion, but they arc taking a broad view, in the light of evidence which has been placed before them, of a matter of wide Dominion interest, and up lo tho present their aims and objects have hecu both misrepresented and misunderstood. There is in regard to. the whole question much room for discussion, and the subject has so many important aspects that it is surprising that the Press of tins country has not looked into them more closelv. Had it been tho matter of tho expenditure of a few thousands in some Government Department we should probably have heard infinitely more about it. However, I hope that the forthcoming Farmers' Union Conference will afford an opportunity for further reference to the 'question, and that it may bo tho me s of onr arriving at a better understanding all rotind.-I am, etc., . SOUTHERN HAWKE'S BA\. Danncvirke, July 30.