"IMPOSSIBLE SYSTEM"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 192, 31 August 1937, Page 9

"IMPOSSIBLE SYSTEM"

-Presa Associatxon.)

Criticism by _ Leader of Opposition WHAT WAGE WAS ALLOWED

(By Teleeraph-

f INVERCARGILL, Last Night. | Referance to the new guaranteed iprice was made by the leader of the Opposition, Hon. Adam Hamilton, in aa addrss at Wyhdham to-night. "Thfcre is no doubt but that the price will bo very disappointing to dairy farmers," said Mr. Hamilton. "In my opinion there is no other class in the community who have to work so hard and long for their nioney as the dairy farmer. It would be interesting to know what

actual wage tlie dairy farmer was allowed in the computation of the price. "The law says that the dairy farmer is to be given. a standard equal to other sections of the • Gommunity. It is now easy to understand why there have been so many dairy farmers in Southland selling their dairy herds. The price given uiay allow the dairy farmer to get what Mr. J. Roberts, of the Fcderation of'Labour, calls "fodder." The standard system is an impossible one. "The market price of butter and che6se, according to the law, is not taken into account in artiving at the price t0 be.paid,. nor the many years the Labour Party has stated that the price xeceived for our produce overseas should have praetically no bearing on our standard of living, now it is endeavouriilg to put that idea into practice. To most of us the price received for our produce overseas has a mighty important influence on the New Zealand standard of living. "It would seem, however, that the standard of living of other sections of the community was not the determining factor in setting the price for the dairy farmer. Consider t'ie skeep farmers' standard and tlie vtuge and salary standard. ' Let me quote a few figures from tlie Government 's owii statistics to sliow the' positien as at May, 1937, tho base belng the years 1909-1913. VYagcs

I are up 7-1 per cent., wool up 91 per ccnt., incat up G44 per cent., dairy produce up 8 per cent. "It is not hard to judgo from these figures how dairy farmers are faring iii the economic life.of Now Zealand. The prcsent rise in the guaranteed price will work out over all about 7 psr cent. The dairy farmer will, thcrefore, be well b'elow the average standard. One ivonders if the sm.allness of the rise is paftly due to the Government 's desire to keep the priee of butter and cheese as low as possible on the local ftiarlcet. "Has the dairy farmer, tlier&t'ore, goc to work at an aunost pre-war stanuar.T or for about 70 hcurs a week at lOd an hour to give chcap butter to the rcst of the community, who are o:i a standard over 00 per ccnt. above that levcl? "The solution lics, not' in guarante'eing artificial Standfirds, but' in adjusting our standards-from ihe farm ihrtead of to the farm."

GUARANTEED F.O.B. PURCHASE PRICES

1937-38 1936-37 - 1937-38 1936-37 * i Pence Pence Per cwt. Per cwt. , per lb. per lb. s d s d Finest, 94 pts. and over .. .. 13.375 12.6875 324 10 118 5 93 to 934 pts. (basic) 13.25 12.5625 123 8 117 3 First, 92 to 92J pts 13.1S75 12.5 123' 1 116 8 90 to 914 pts 13.00 12.3125 121 4 114 11 Second 12.50 31.8125 ' 116 8 110 3

Creamery Butter

First 12.25 11.5625 114 4 107 11 Second 11.75 - 11.0625 109 8 103 3

Whey Butter

Finest, 94 pts. and over .. . . 7.69625 6.9GS75 71 10 65 04 93 to 934 pts 7.665 6.9375 71 64 64 9 First, 92 to 924 pts. (basic) . . 7.54 6.S125 70 44 63 7 91 to 914 pts. ,, 7.4775 6.75 69 94 63 0 Second .. 7.29 6.562o 68 04 61 3

Cheese