The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, JULY 16, 1918. MORE WOOL PROFITS WANTED.

Taihape Daily Times, 16 July 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 1918. MORE WOOL PROFITS WANTED.

(With which is Incorporated The Taihape Post and WalnrarJ-jo News).

The general public of this Dominion will and do think that a good deal of untoward pother is being created by a few wool-growers and wool agents abtfut the price the Imperial Government has offered for New Zealand wool for the period of the war and for one year thereafter. The seat of the trouble seems to be in the Poverty Bay Province, where Mr. W. D. Lysnar is the disturbing element. The Imperial Government has simply renewed its offer to take our country's output of wool on precisely similar terms as those accepted last year, but Mr. Lysnar and a few others are not satisfied; he is afraid'that the war might end in the English autumn and that thereby the Imperial Government would get two clips in the one year after war at the agreed price, and he wants to limit the time to three months after the war. He doesn't seem to mention that his three months might mean nothing at all. He bases his trouble on surplus over and above what the Imperial requirements are. There was a promise, he argues, that New Zealand wool-grow-ers should have 50 per cent, of the profits on this surplus when sold by the authorities, and because there has been lio 50 per cent on the surplus sold, he thinks he is justified in refusing to sell to the Government at all after fighting ceases; he would add to the Imperial Governments troubles at such a time by peremptorily disorganising wool arrangements. There is one aspect of Mr. Lynar's case and that is he does not want any additional money for the producers, for he states that half the surplus profits over and above comma'ndeered prices would go to the .Imperial Government and the other half to the wool-grow-er, but the New Zealand Goverr—"nt would take the bulk of it from them. Mr. Lysnar's action is very praiseworthy if it is prompted by consideration and concern for purely public Interest, as he appears to want the people to believe; but he persistently claims that the producers would be making great sacrifices" by agreeing to the Imperial Government terms, which, plainly stated, are that the wool prices shall continue till June after the war, and for twelve months thereafter. He has a rather strong-smell-ing red herring which he mixes up with his contentions which seems Tather out of place, and so persistent is he that the thought is forced upon one that there is some ulterior motive. Because there has been no 50 per cent profit on surplus wool he, rightly or wrongly, assumes that the authorities must have been givinig the wool to English manufacturers at commandeered prices, and he is profusely lachrymose. not for the producers, but becnuse it is not in the best interests of the Government. We should thinte a great deal more of Mr. Lysnar if he boldly stood for the pockets of the wool-growers, and left his deep concern for the governments affected out of the question. Plainly, Mr. Lysnar wants that 50 per cent profit on surplus; he doesn't know whether there has been any surplus, but if there hasn't there ought to have been. It is that 50 per cent additional profit that Mr. Lysnar is after if it is there, if it isn't it does not matter to what trouble he has put the Imperial Government >at this terrible crisis in the Empire's history. Mr. Lysnar lives here in luxury while men at home are suffering all the hardships attending the most brutal and far-reaching war there is any knowledge of; he does'nt rare how people at home are rationed; whether they are fed or clothed at all; how their homes may be blown brick from brick: their factories razed to the ground; whether British people arc taxed to 75 per cent of their land wool goes to "clothe our distressed relatives in Britain, or wEether it £oes wherever it may out of the

Imperial Government's control so long as he gets his additional 50 per cent. We say this is "the view every unbiased eiti«en of this Dominion will get from following Mr. Lysnar's contentions. The British manufacturer is the bogey he parades and he belabours it logically and illogically. We would ask Mr. Lysnar how much the producers are losing if the New Zea-

i and Government stands to lose mi!- ! lions by ,; half-turn of the wool screw, and are not such absurd comparisons drawn, not for the Government, but for big woe J-growers,! and against the Imperial authorities who are fighting to give him the questionable liberty or standing out for his much-mentioned

50 per cent on surplus It does not help Mr. Lysnar against the Government to quote wool statistics; he says that in 1916 wool constituted 87 per cent of exports; he is correct; but he is estimating in value, not in quan. tity. The statistics are rather against Mr. Lysnar; he was not frank enough to say that in 1915 he was satisfied to take £10,387,875 for 196,570,114 pounds of wool, while In 1916 he cavils at £12,386,074 for 185,506,859 pounds. NeAV Zealand woolgrowers received £2,582,844 more in 1916 for the same quantity of wool than they did in 1915, and. we may add that 1917 values show somewhat that proportionate increase; where, we ask, would Mr. Lysnar and the few that think with him, stop in their demands for profits. When the Hon. Mr. MacDonald was in Taihape he made the wool situatiofi-'quite clear to his hearers in public meeting, and we do not believe there are more than three wool-growers in our territory that would exhibit such insatiable greed and want of consideration for I the powers that are making the preS sent high prices possible. The Britisn Government could acquire all the wool required from quite 'other sources, and for Mr. Lysnar to take the stand he Is doing is like demanding consideration for the blood sacrifices" this country has made in saving the Empire from slavery to Germany. The people may make the sacrifices but Mr. Lysnar and his fellows in greed want to reap 1 compensation in the 50 per cent additional profit that is being contended for. Mr. Lysnar wants wool affairs got back to normal instantly war closes, but why hurry about wool! 5 Why not attend first to taking the men who have fought into care: using shipping for the purposes-'of repatriation and for supplying necessaries to the people in the countries where millions will be gathered? We may get New Zealanders home in six or twelve months, but have we no responsibilities in regard to Servia, Belgium. Poland, Russia, Italy, and others who have suffered, and fought through the insane lust of Germany? The Imperial Government will have to see that starvation does not become rampant in all such: countries, and 3 r et Mr. Lysnar would have everything subservient to getting wool back to normal. By far the largest proportion of sheepfarmers are not consumed by'thsatf. able greed; they are not wanting in recognition and appreciation of wha« the New Zealand Government and the Imperial Government have done to render it possible for them to receive remuneration equal to what 'men' in countries much nearer the seat of war have got, and they have readily signified their willingness to accept prices similar to those paid last year, till the end of the war and for one year after the war. It is New Zealand's obvious duty to relieve the Imperial Government as much as possible when hostilities! cease, for then will be thrust upon them the colossal work of bringing everything back to normal; there will be forced upon the authorities many matters of incalculably greater moment than wool. In any case Mr. Lysnar is only striving for a "pig in a poke," for no one can tell whether wool conditions will be better or worse. We do know that there will be many milions of uniforms to be rewoven, sufficient to keep the manufacturers going at full output for some two years after the war. The Hon. Mr. MacDonald cautione'd woolgrowers to be careful about adopting the Lysnar proposals, and we are satisfied that the Minister was fully justified in so doing.