The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1919. FLEECING THE FARMERS

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 478, 4 November 1919, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1919. FLEECING THE FARMERS

"We nothing extenuate, nor tet down auaht in malice

Now that our economic life is again running something like normal there is naturally ;i great expansion of trade and industry going on. For these new developments fresh companies are being formed and old ones are increasing their capital, and as the farming community is the economic backbone of a primary producing country like New Zealand these new ventures look to the farmers to provide the necessary funds. Elaborate plans are laid, and good shewing?; are made on paper, a favourite device being to make the new concerns ostensibly purely farmers' co-operative businesses, with promises of rebates, etc. as an added inducement to men on the land to subscribe. The example of dairying companies is Quoted as proof of what can be done on these lines, but the promoters are careful not to stress the fact that few of the dairying concerns are up against general competition by proprietary concerns. When some of these new ventures get well under way, they find a difficulty in carrying out the rosy promises made, and various "shifts" are worked in order to hide the real state of affairs, the promoters hoping to gain time to make good. For example, we are reliably informed of a certain so-called farmers' concern which paid its rebates last year, but, unknown to the most of the farmers interested, they paid such, not out of current profits, but from their reserve fund ! We may state that the company referred to does not operate in this district, the case being quoted merely as a general warning to farmers to be careful of investing their capital fn concerns which are likely to have to light for their existence against the splendid organisation of extremely 'wealthy proprietary concerns. And, even il both sides have sufficient capital, there is always a certain very powerful factor that is generally lightly reckoned on, namely, the personal equation. A successful proprietary concern isas a rule, beaded by men o 1 considerable force of character and commanding personalty, which qualities are instilled in a greater or lesser degree into all their principal employees, the result being that there is a solid personal pull throughout the whole institution. On the other hand, a large concern may become unwieldly, and may fail to instil thai valuable personal force so necessary to success, this being largely the reason for why, given anything like equal chances, a private firm will in most cases reach a liner state of efficiency than a large employer like the State. In an industry like that of dairying, where the main market is overseas, and private competition in the Dominion is negligible, the conditions are favourable to farmers' co-opera-tive businesses but the farmer who is asked to put capital into new concerns that are in direct and keen competition with practically nil the great wholesale houses, as well as the retail ones, will be well advised to go very exhaustively into the propositions before sinking his good hard cash in them, otherwise he may have to " whistle" for his returns