REDUCE COSTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 134, 29 January 1932, Page 5

REDUCE COSTS

n.z. posnrroN INTERESTING COMPARISON v/ITH ARGENT1NE CONDITIONS COMPETITION WITH DOMlNION Land values must be l&wered materially, every possible assistance must be given tO: the. man on the land.^ri meet his difficulties, and the cost of Iiving-must b© reduced, particularly to the working if New Zealand is to meet and successfully solve its problems, according' to Mr, W. S, Lambe, a.prottiinent Argentinian business man who is at present visiting Rotorua,. Mr. Lambe was for 17 years in charge of the Smithfield and Argentine Meat Company one of the largest meat export firms operating in the Argentine, and in an interview with a "Post" representative yesterday, he made some interesting comparisons between the I'espective positions of New Zealand and the Argentine. These comparisons.were part- ' icularly interesting in view of the f act that the* Dominion and the Argentine as primary produeing countries, are in compet-ition on the world's markets. Even with the decrease which has taken place in land values during the past year, values in New Zealand are still much too high for recovery, according to Mr. Lambe. During the boom years 1'ound about 1920,- land in the Argentine could be bought for £12 to £15 an acre but during that period New Zealand values had appreeiated to a vary r-iuch greater extent. At present the best Argentine land could be bought at less than the • nr ice cuoted, but New Zealand- had still to defiate very considerably before prices would return to a practicable level. High land values were the most severe handicap which the primary producers were being called upon to face and together with their other problems were making matters very difficult. In Better Position In the Argentine, with lower land values and lower labour costs, workers were very anxious to go on the land and the country was being very fully developed. The Argentine at the present time was in a much more advantageous position than New Zealand from the point of view of primary production. It had comparatively few unemployed as the majority of the available labour could be absorbed on the land, and as a neutral country during the war, it had not the after-effects which hellegerent countries were being called upon to survive. There had been a depression in the country, but Mr. Lambe expressed the opinion that this should really not have been experienced. The present Uriburu dictatorship was the most satisfactory Government which the country had experienced for some time, and what depression had been encountered had largely been the result of faulty administration and not of economie factors. Immigration Policy The immigration policy in the Argentine had played a very large part In the development of the country and it was largely as a result of this, that labour conditions were so satisfactory. There was very keen competition among the steamship Iines operating to the Argentine, and as a result of this passages for immigrant labour had heen reduced to a remarkably low figure. Workers could travel from Europe at a cost of only £4 a head. \t the present time, as a result, these immigrant workers had built up an excellent population hasis. The great majority were excellent workers, and being used to the more unpretentious conditions of rural life on the Contjnent, were ^eny thrifty. A land worker in the Argentine would earn between 30/- and 40/- a week and on that sum could comfortably keep a family -and maintain a satisfactory standard of living. Every man would work from sunrise to sunset and very many of them had succeeded in attaining independence through their energy and thrift. The large ranchers had in many cases allotted to these workers blocks of several hundreds of acres and the men had worked these. until they became their • own property. Shipping Competition The shipping question, Mr. Lambe stated, was, in his opinion, one of vital importanee to New Zealand. The keen competition which had resulted in such low passenger and freight eharges to the Argentine, was* not existent so far as New Zealand was concerned and until competition was increased and eharges reduced, eharges in this direction would continue to militate against development and recovery. Mr. Lambe paid a tribute to the efficiency of,New Zealand farming methods and said that in his opinion, the New Zealand farmer stood second to none. At the same time, his observations in different parts of the Dominion had impressed him with the fact that the New Zealand primary producer would require a great deal of assistance to weather the present difficult time. Taxation 'must he reduced hy every possible means, and every avenue of assistance to the farmer should be explored. A lot 6f good work had already heen done in this direction, hut further assistance WOuld he required.

Dairy Competition The Argentine would never he a serious eompetitor with New Zealand on the dairy produce market, Mr Lambe stated, owing to the ravages of the "aftosa" disease, a cattle affiliction very much akin to foot arid mouth disease. "Aftosa" brou'ght about serious ulceration on the te'ats df milking eows and made it alniost impossible to milk the herds. The disease was very prevalent and until it could he properly eombatted, would very seriously handicap the counti'y. In the meat export trade, however, the position waS very different and New Zealand would have to look to its laurels to meet the chall'enge which was being issued by the Argentine. Frozen lamh from the Argentine was commanding a price very little below J New Zealand lamh on the Smithfield