THE MEAT COMMANDEER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 273, 7 August 1918, Page 8

THE MEAT COMMANDEER

\ COMPANIES DESIRE EXTENSION. j It wag announced '-by tjio Hon. I. ' D. H. Guthirie, Minister in ! Charge of. Imperial Supplies, to' a deputation on Saturday that the pro- ■ posal had been made to him that the !'' requisition of meat should ! Ijo coiitinn&d : until the expiry of the wool commandeer, :• • which is to continue for twelve months ! from June 80 following Hie termination ! \ of'the war. Tho Minister has since then '■ been in touch with the chairman of the I Freezing Companies' Committee (Mr. W. ; ■ G. Foster). Mr. Foster, in his turn, has i .communicated with the companies, nnd he has received replies from practically ! nil of them. These replies show that the companies are almost unanimously in ; • agreement with the proposal , . As a '■ matter of fact, only two companies have j declared against the proposal. One of • them is a farmers' company, and one ; ■ of them is controlled by one of the bigi gest buying agencies in. the Dominion. ■ In conversation with a Dominion ' reporter on this matter last evening, Sir. ; Guthrie eaid that the result of the α-e----i ference of the question to (he producers nnd the others interested in the trade : was just what might have been expect- : ed. "If the Imperial Government," ho ■ faid, "can be induced to extend the re- ' , quisition for the term asked for, it certainly will be in the best interests of the I Dominion. It probably will havo the ; effect of enabling the industry to 'be car--1 ried on without interruption during a ' period of great Tincertainty.' and of al- ! lowing conditions to be stabilise!! gradually before trade can resume normal r channels again. And if it should hapI. pen, as some people expect, that a period : of extreme financial stringency will follow the end , of tho war, such nn ar- ; rangement as this will protect llio X BW Zealand producers from being exploiter! ; by big companies or groups of companies : controlled abroad, and possessed of limitJess financial resources. In this respect it will benefit all interests in tho meat trade,, freezing companies, and growers olike.'