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Hokitika Guardian, 23 June 1927, Page 2

Thu decision of the Dairy Produce Board to abolish absolute control will , he welcomed and approved by a majority of dairy farmers and by the country at large. Tile experiment of compulsory control, combined with price fixation, which has been in operation for the past eight or nine months, has proved a disastrous failure, and is now abandoned Irecause it has inflicted very heavy loss on our primary producers and has gravely injured the prestige of the Dominion in the produce markets. It lias taken the Board a long time to learn its lesson. But that the new policy will have the support of the pastoral community is made sufficiently clear by the recent elections to fill the vacancies created by retiring members of the ‘Board. The decisive defeat of Mr Forsyth, in Taranaki, and of Mr Thacker, in Canterbury, shows plainly the trend of popular feeling i’ these important districts. It is true that Mr Goodfellow has been returned again for Waikato. But Mr Goodfellow openly advocated abandonment of what was left of the policy for which he was so largely responsible. The decision reached last week was made b,v the old Board, and the free marketing side will be strengthened when Messrs Hino and Chapman take their seats. Tt is very satisfactory to know comments an exchange, that tTie Board though late in the day. has withdrawn from an impossible position. Then? is, however, plenty of legitimate work for it still to do, in the way of providing all possible facilities for our exporters and securing for them the utmost possible advantage on the Home markets. There has never'been any doubt of the good intentions of the Board, and now that it has boldly faced the situation, it is to be hoped that the acrimonious tone in which dairy control controversy has been c---ducted will (lisappesr, that personal

rivalries mid enmities will lie forgotten and that all concerned "ill work together harmoniously in the common interests of the primary producers and the Dominion.