THE FUTURE OF MEAT.

Taihape Daily Times, 25 September 1919, Page 4

THE FUTURE OF MEAT.

I Al‘ the -meeting Of Freezing Works shareholders, held yesterday, the Ch-air. imam laid ‘great Stress upon the coming Ifreezlng SoiiSon being a "particularly [good 0119.» both for farmers -and the ‘Freezing ComP3lly, but his manner of I reference to the season following tend- , ed to cause what will probably prove 'to be unjustified -alarm. Without quotling from reliable finance ‘and tmde journals published in meat-nla.l-keting ICoUn‘¢l'i€S. it may be said that there are indiofltions that meat prices may I slightly decline, and there are also indiIcations which, being juxtaposed, tend _ to convince that no appreciable change lin value of the ’me.a.t New Zealand farmers produce will suffer from either Ifluctuation in demand or value. There lis -certainly one great over-shadowing menace, and that is the manipulation of Shipping. Neither New Zealand Ifarmcrs nor their Government can in~ fluence the Shipping Combine to sendi Iships to take -away meat, so long asl ~ the Meat Trust has need for what ship- I ping is available. In this alone lies the price-mystery of meat in lthe 1920—1 21 season. Unless very radical changes. cvcntuate, the British Government will find it practically impossible to go on exercising control over shipping. Thcnl 9. perfectly venigmatical situation arises, and it is this aspect of the meat trade l that Mr Gordon so cannily refrainsl from expressing any "opinion upon. Ad. I mitting, however, that commercialism is now fairly destitute of moral influence, it is yet unbelievable that the people to whom all New Zealand-owned refri-I gerated shipping was sold can cold-I bloodedly lend themselves to a process of strangling New Zealand meat production by deliberately side-ltracking it while the American Trust gets full possession of markets. We are faced with the fact that congestion has been .getting_lno_re severe and serious up" id thep_r_esentl'. time, but is ‘Mr Massey’ playing‘ the game in saying he _be'lievesr, stores‘ will be cleared before the 1920-21’ season commences, if he has not some remote reason for niakirig the statement?’ Even as "Mr. Massey puts I it, 1 farmers are facing an almost insglv—l able situation, but no one will dcnyl crediting Mr Massey with stating what he believes to be the position. He has either good cause to say he is of Opin- , ion ‘there will be suificient shipping, or" lhe has not, and having told the ConI fcrence of Farmers in Wellington there _ I was a probability -of stores being clear-I Ifor the 1920-21 season, it must be as-I isumed he spoke from information he I possesses. There is nothing yet in I sight. tending to the suggestion that the shipping and meat trust combination. iwill endeavour to "virtually take .OVOI',I the commandeer the. British GOVCI'II-‘ ment at present cxlercises, therefore, for I the time being such an outrageous sug—gcstion need not be considered as likely I to materialise. If Mr Massey’s ship-I ping prediction is only half realised‘ the New Zealand meat business mustl continue to flourish. The fact is, however, the New Zealand farmers 31"? isolated on an island with no ships ‘fol get their produce to market, and un-I til they can control shipping they must continue to be ‘the shuttle-cock of those I they are dependent upon for s-hips.l Farmers would find it a Herculean task to fight the shipping combine, but ships I must, for the safety of produc‘tion, be made available, and it seems’ that this is only possible through the estab- I lishmcnt of a State Shipping ‘Linc. Mrl Massey says State shipping is impra-I ticable owing to the great cost of ships, I but if the loss this country sustains in, being compelled to sell its meat. at. less’ than half the trust. gets for its meat, it I is indeed doubtful whether Mr Mas-s-ey’s view. correctly states the 9359-1 To hope and drift is fatal, for Ncwl Zcaland farmers’ isolation will be in’ I creasingly exploited as the ‘l‘l‘llS’C and combine exploitcrs grow bolder.