FARMERS AND THE STATE.

Taihape Daily Times, 11 July 1919, Page 5

FARMERS AND THE STATE.

(Manawatu - Daily Times)

i If there is a. growing feeling_.in.the‘ community rtliat -the: farmers--as «a--_class~ ~ ‘are rather one-eyed"in-:th'eir"outlook, :- the proceedings’ -at-‘~ T'lle'S"(laY. ’s méétiflg of the N.D.Af' svivill"" not -‘‘tend‘- -to »diz‘-'.is‘*ip’-"" ateiit. We do"not blame’ '-the or§a;il‘is- ' ere’. of the ZN}D.A‘. for‘ their solicitukie l :f__<J:r_,ls7\l"l’l”l4il‘)'er One, "because - the man»"Wllo’ ‘ 'e’ami~*l:frfs‘- ”living' milking Daisy ‘gets his" rhoney ‘liiglla, «jiairticularly p‘ arduous ’ there "is .-aly'volys: the 'dif- ' ferezice3"'fjbetween-‘a fair “ thing‘ and _“walfltin‘é'{'°it“all.” Let us get down to - ‘tin-tacl€s_" The members of the N 4D}-Apt‘ die‘ unanimous that the action. of the!‘ Government iniarranging the equalisaltion ‘fund and fixing the local price ~ ?for butter was an “iniquitous” one; ‘some of them seem to forget that the idairymen were really parties to a bar|gain. ‘At the time that bargain was. -made the shopping outlook was ex-‘ trernely uncertain, and when the» Im-I perial Government took over the lsupplies at a price which gauged on al gpre-‘war basis, was phenomenal, and‘ Ithe money assured, a great sigh of lreliefi. was breathed by the rural |‘c-01n_Inu_ni’cy, when, as a result ofl ‘Uthe ; efforts of the British Navy and I !the 'Em‘pire’s fighting men the pres‘lsure was removed, the thing began‘ ;to ‘look a little different, The dairymen if-ox-got thcirprcvious anxieties, and the‘ bargain that had-been made, and be-I lg-an" to yearn for ‘the “open market.” i ‘They have been clamouring. ‘ever! since and they are now intent, thatithey should be reimbursed for their i“losses” out of the Consolidated Fund; We have no doubt in the world thatl the politicians will give way i‘r"‘t‘he pressure is sustained enough, although ‘the Minister of Agriculture, talking ;as. a farmer to fal‘m_9rs, has not con‘ccaied what his opinion about the lmatter really is. But here is anlothnr aspect of the whole question. ,At the very meeting at Which this lldemand is formulated, there are other demands: (1) Tluat the ~"Govcrnnlcnt lshall at once establish :1 State laboralory for scientific research in connection with the dairy industry; and l(2) That the Government shall estabElish schools ‘for the training of youths "for factory work_ Of course, it is in:tclldcd that the 1110n(;‘s»' for these pur~ lposcg shall come out of the consoli{dated revenue in the same Way that the various public departments devotled to the service of the farmers, the ‘experimental farms etc. etc.. are pro!vided for from the same capacious isource, The N.D.A._ talks about goifi ’in for banking and trading and cut‘ting into vested interests in various sways. That is quite an admissable ‘form of enterprise But when it asks so much from the State, surely it is not too much to expect every little inow and again from the people it re—ipresents a fair measure of recipro'i city! | ....._._......._: l