The War and the Farmer.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 266, 13 April 1917, Page 4 (Supplement)

The War and the Farmer.

HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF PRICES.

By the DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH In Tim London Daily Xws

TN a previous article I gave this ad- -■• vice: "First of all abolish the plan of fixed prices for various commodities." I have always thought it highly unsatisfactory to fix the price of agricultural produce. Limitation of price operate-; with dual effect. It encourages consumption; it discourages producton. This has l>een the experience of all Governments .which iiavo attempted to fix a maximum price of food supplies. In nearly every case tlio maximum price; of tho finished products oif agriculture have been fixed, while a Limitless pr'ce still prevails for a'l raw material employed. It, has been impossible, therefore, for an intelligent farmer to forecast the cast of production. Since no one can determine tiio cost of possibly decide what tho maximum production, by what process can you possibly decide what the; maximum price should bo for tlio finished product? jho farming community, i.e., tho nation's food producers, might find themselves heavy losers under this system.

"A DISHONEST PRACTICE." Now the whole effort of tho nation should bo to enable these men to make a profit on their industry, not for tfio purpose of squandering their profits at a later date on an enhanced form of living, but for the purpose of employing thoso profits for the further production of wealth in the years to come. You must put them in possession of a dynamic force, the operat : on of whicn ensures a greater output from tho soil. Tho Army, of course, lost sight of this fact. They started by commandeering, and fixing prices. It was a very bad principle, liecause it ma-'lo tho citizens feel that tlio authority of the military was paramount; that, in its collectivo capacity, it could do things which a private citizen would regard as contrary to the honest relation between trader and trader.

Commandeering at a fixed price is theft. It would lx> called theft in the caso of an individual. It is equally theft in the case of a public department. The plea is tho necessity of tiio State, but the State must have a moral conscience if it wishes to gain the respect of those who belong to it. If tho State permts its Government to indulge in d'shonest practices, tho citizen will say that tiio moral law which applies to the individual is not tho samo as tho law which applies to collective authority. So much for tho Army and their commandeering. 1 consider it a dishonest practice, and it should bo stopped.

PRICE FIXING. On tiie sceno now appear-) tho Food Controller, l>ord Devonport. Ho proceeds to imitate the example oi' the Armv and to force Mr. Prothero to fix a price for various commodities. It is the old story over again of industry attempting sharp practice with tho agrarian community. What do they t,ay in effect:' '"Bray understand, you agrarian), thero shall bo a limitless price for our industrial output, feeding stuffs, artificial manures,, et-., but you aro under-dogs, and less capable than ourselves; you snail have a fixed prico placed upon your finished products. Moreover, we shall very likely supply you with artificial manures below standard and below grade, while you aic paying the price of the higher grides, and you shall have no redress; whereas, if you supply milk to tho industrial community containing loss than the legal standard of butter-fat, we shall put you in prison." Mr. Pijathe.ro now into the arena, haded by ail as an agricultural erpert. Thero ia no such thing as an agricultural expert. No one man can know all the problems involved in agriculture. How, then, can he bo an expert? Hj may be proficient in one branch, or two, but not more. The man wiio knows all has yet to be born. And what does our expert say? He tolls us we are like a beleaguered city. If that is true, why did he make tho remark? We have it lrom Su- John Jellicoe that tho submarine menace, is likely to become more accurate. That involves less food supplies from abroad. That moans more production at home. Why then does the expert allow 30,000 men to be removed? The truth is that ho has not the courage to stand up lor tho Department over which he presides. nor to insist on an adequate supply of labour being preserved to ensure the productionvf home-grown food-stuffs.

LOOKING FOB TROUBLE. After this digression let mo complete my observations in connection' with prices. Note tho tangle tho State will bo in twelve months hence! Presuming tho price of wheat from America and elsewhere is h'gher than the maximum prico fixed in England, i.e., (>Os., you will bo paying tho foreigner a higher prico for four-fifths of your supply than you aro paying your own countrymen for one-fifth. 'Hie State will benefit very little by tlrs transact'on.

If, on the otiier hand, the prico of wheat falls below 00s., tho general community will ask : " Why are you making r, present of money by artificial means to the farming community?" The Stat.i will then wriggle, and practise tho usual dodge of the corn merchant who has bought above market prices. Samples of wheat will be thrown back on the humble producer with tho remark that they are not up to tho standard.

"Tlii-: is not worth 60s. The 00s. maximum wa>< for a marvellous grade of wheat. Your grade is below tlio standard."

Fancy the fooling of the small farmer who lias bean forced to plough up lii-i land by the importunity of n local siib-eomm;ttre, who lias grown with groat difficulty three quarters, and who is then told: "You will reoeivo but 505., and not 605., for your produce, Keeniisn it is not up to the quality of th.- official standard". Imagine the annoyance and the singer of this class of citizen ! Conceive the spectacle of Lord Dovonport examining the samples of "nosy" .wheat, and lix'ng their pr'w! Tt ii humorous enough in it'-e'f. hut tlrprocess will lead to violent ill-will throughout the agrarian eommunity.

PIMCrN AND PROFITS. What the ! .. should do. --.ml do a* one, is th ; s: Remove all tlio-*.* nvaxiniutn prices on agricultural produce: fix a minimum pr'co, and let the cs • and fall of prices operate. ''Ah!" yr-u will ?«iv. " V wo ilo tlii-'. ni'i(-e> will soar: there will l>o rigg'ng of the mar Ui't, the nonros! of tin; poo" will suffer, and t!io fanning oommuntv will nwk*

unduo war profits." 1 do not believe thai prices will (soar beyond the capacity ot tho British public to pay thorn. Witii regard to the profits whch might accruo to the agricultural community, tho Stato has a. perfect weapon in its possesion. If it is proved that agriculture has niado an undue profit out ot' the transaction, the State can recoup itself by increasing tho ss. m tho £ tax now imposed on farmers to 7s 6d. Tho thing is so simple. Thus is the right principle. You leave tho farming community ;i,lonc, which is all that they ask for; they do their-best in-a guaranteed market to produce for you in their awn way the maximum supply of food, and they will bo perfectly content if, in tho process, they get an undue profit, to reimburse to the Stato through tho income-tax the .".mount to l)o deeded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and h.s colleagues That is tho business way or doing things, but this perpetual wrangle day by day and week by \ve*k between the Food Controller, his assistant, the military authorities, and tho agricultural producers can havo but one effect —to sterilise tho activities of tho whole of tli.s agrarian population.

THE FARMER AND THE STATE. You will th:nk that I have written in very hitter terms. Mr. Prothero tells us that ho has reasons for all his action, and, lie might h:;ve added, which reason does not understand. I am telling you that which tho agrarian community would like. A resolution on tho linos mentioned, would, I fancy, ho parsed by every Chamber of Agriculture in tho country. And .why? The explanation is this: It is :> most delicato organism, the agricultural community. It la not like tho grocery trade, which is a mechanism. There you pO3SO?s a machine under your control. By a system of telephones and tho penny pos:- you can s't in your office, and control tho destiny of thousands, and assess to tho fraction of a farth'ng tho cost cf production. But in agriculture you must have goodwill; you must implant confidence in the hearts of all these involved. You must bo liked; you must understand the art of making people work for you. Your employees are not concentrated under your control; they are sprawling all over tho soil, and each and all require your constant sympathy, supervision, and affection.

It, seems ridiculous, but so it is. Has tho State, working through the Board of Agriculture, dealt with the agrarian populat'on in this manner ! J Certainly not by fixing prices. Mr. Piothero tells tho farmers co walk pigs and not pup-pio-s. Ay reply is: "Put on your gaiters, Mr. Prothero, ;;nd kill pigeons beforo prices. You will add far more to tho Mini total of tho wealth of England."

THE LAND AND THE LABOURER

Having, then, mado its deal with tho farmer by guaranteeing him a minimum price for his wheat during a period of years, tho nation would have to go to the heart of the agrarian problem. The heart of agriculture is represented by tho agricultural labourer. His position must bo improved: Irs wages, clothing, food, housing, and tho amenities of vil'.ago life must all bo dealt with. At present they are dep'.orabe. Unless you have lived among the inhabitants" of the cottages of tho villages of England, you will never understand the psychology of those in agriculture. There is more dignity of life to bo found in tho cottages of England than is to bo discovered in the cosmopolitan rc-taurants of Park Lane. 1 want to soo the agricultural labourer as a class possessed with the overwhelming vitality and energy exemplified by tho present Primo Minister. Givo me those men as real I've wires every morning of their lives, and I guarantee that the daily round and the common task will bo performed with far greater economy to tho general community. It is on this social effort that agricultural England must concentrate, and, until this is done, all tho Acts of Parliament, all the chattering of politicians, all tho incursions oi grocers, and all the spluttering of lawyers will bo of little avail.

Sir Henry Campbell Bannorman ol>scrved once that the land oi England should bo the treasure house of the poor and not the, pleasure house of tho rich. In my opinion ho should have said that the land of England should bo tho treasure house of thy rich and tho pleasure house of the poor. Landlords and farmers should bo m a position to extract out of the soil by their energy and ability all its possible wealth. Tho State should not deny them the opportunity. With the profits from this wealth, tho villages should bo improved, and the social life of its inhabitants should be ameliorated, so that tho pleasures and recreation of tho community could be shared by those who live in our hamlets.

"THE SPIRIT OF THE SOIL." In conclusion, let your readers rest assured, if they have any, fear that the members of the agrarian community are making large profits out of the misiortunei of their fellow-countrymen, that this is not the case. We can now control the soil, but we cannot control tho weather. The r'sks are enormous in tho death of live stork, and in the destruction of crops by adverse circumstances. The profits, measured by theso risks, are slender. Occasionally hero and there you hear cf a farmer miking a haul; do not generalise from this particular instance. If industrialism doubts my statement, consider for a brief moment who of tho.°e Hi the State havo made large fortunes? Who among citizen- of the last century have been ennobled? You may searoli in vain for the name of one man who claimed that ho was a farmer. T think my answer is complete. And now I have finished my theme: disjointed as it, is, it mav giro you' some impress'on (f tint wh eh T have already termed i( Tiie Spirit of the Soil." It is born in yon. it cannot I e acquired; yon must live on the so! to possess it. you must move among the peasantry of England, von miwt associate with the veomen who-e Torbca's have lived in the jonin spot sine." the Canonest and yon will then Itesin i-\ understand M.meth'ne of that which inn 'e England gre.it. birfore she developed a worldwide commerce.

Mrs. Bijjbv 'relating her exoorieneo v. itli a burglar) : I heard a *urt <> r a mi-,> and ov a !>iir rf f..-t sticking out from end-rr the bed. filler (Jracieus! ISiir<.<l"V J Mrs. Bi>r|>v: No. niv husband's. He had he'rd the noise, too.