The Price of Wheat

Horowhenua Chronicle, 4 January 1917, Page 4

The Price of Wheat

DISCUSSED BY MR WilliTTY, M.P. A ©hriscclrurch Star reporter has been interviewing 'Ml* Wliitty, M.P., on the wheat-growing problem. In the - course of his remarks, Mr "Wliitty said:— ■ "If our statistics are to be relied upon, there'is plenty of wheat in the Dominion at present and I feel strongly ' that the; Gov-erment should pom-* mandeer it at once at a fair, r.i.-iee. If tho wheat is not here, then the statistics are not worth the paper on which they are printed." Do you think that if tenders were invited for wheat-growingi many would respond? "Only if they can get a good price, when perhaps the tenderers would combine and fix the price. To my mind ihere is on'y one thing toi do. The Government has said to the young manhood of this -country, 'You must leave this countiy, 'and fight for tho Empire, and if necessary give full your lives.' Then surely the Government has a. right to say to> the landholder who is pica-ding that he and .his sons .as producers, should not be asked to go into (the trenches, 'You will l-.e compelled to grow wheat at a reasonable price for the general weal.' There- are hundreds of J thousands iof acres of good wheat-growing land in Xcw Zealand, and the owners should bo called to put a abated 'acreage under wheat, or pay additional taxation. The Government should become the purchaser of all such wheat; ua- private bartering should lie permitted under any circumstances. It should be borne in mind that every bushel of wheat imported, into the Dominion from the Commonwealth is reducing the quantity- available for the soldiers who -aire lighting o : ur -battles and foil* the poor at- • home. 1 know of one man who' has three years' wheat on hand and who refused 7s a bushel for it last year. 'He -said he intended to hold 1 it until lie could get 8s Gd. Another rman— who, by the way professes to he poor—has still got his year's wheat on hand. Why dees not- the. Government take it?"

What is yiour idea of the cost of growing wheat? Aire the expenses as heavy as some of the newspaper correspondents make out? "Without doubt the cost of production lias increased durng recent years but so also has the price. In the eighties I had between .300 and 400 acres under wheat year aflter. year, and after paying railage and storage I have frequently sold at 2s and over per bushel. •! never obtained as liigli as 4s. And yet I was able to Jive, and in this respect my experiences .linve been exactly similar to hundreds of tethers on the Canterbury Plains. And still we have managed to 'live. I was greatly amused with some of the figures quoted by Sir Richard Evans in a letter which appeared in the r.,yttelton Times so-me days ago, and was not aware, till then that he had been in the <habit of paying such high prJccs, Or that he .has during the last thirty years or so been- engaged in growing' wheat for philanthropic purposes. But wo live to learn.