The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1920. INTERNATIONAL PRICE-FIXING.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3388, 17 January 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1920. INTERNATIONAL PRICE-FIXING.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post. and Waimarino News.”

The One Big Union principle is spreading; it has taken possession of the President and members of the New Zealand National Dairy Association, and it is now no longer :1 Labour monopoly. Thoseopposed to the One Big Union have said nothing could be more opposed to what; is just, because industrial circumstances in. any two countries can never be precisely sinl-ilar. We have opposed the One Big Unioll on those Very grounds, and on no other, but it seems as though the New Zealand Dairy Association is to be transmogrified into an International Dairy Association, for it was resolved that at a recent meeting that travelling agitators -be appointed‘ to proceed to Australia, and, if prospects warrant, to remain there pernl'anently, and to urge and advocate an increase in the price ofbutter, regardless of whether circumstances in the C-onnnonwealth warrant any such action or not. It seems rather like impudence for New Zealand dairy farmers to ‘ send delegates to -another country to "tell and teach farmers their ‘business, and we are not sure how a reciprocation of this action would be received here. If Australian dairy‘ farm agitators were sent to this country, on a reverse mission to New Zealand dairy farmers, to point out to them that prices already charged for dairy products were placing them beyond the power of people to purchase, while they l_l-IICIIISCIVGS were growing rich beyond. their most extreme anticipations, what would the New Zealand Dairy Association reply‘? Would they not very promptly tell them to go back to ‘their kangaroos and mind their own business? To send agitators 'to nobble another producing and selling country is quite a d'ifi°erent'mat-t-er to sending delegates to a marketing centre ill order to secure best nlarketing conditions. One is honest endeavour, the ‘other is nothing less than dishonest, arbitrary price-boosting, not for payable profits, but simply for profiteeringl. \Ve do not believe for a moment that New Zealand dairymen need "to adopt any such questionable methods to secure the market value for their produce. One Big "Union advocates have already noted that they no longer stand alone in their desire to secure international action in labour movements; they say they are waiting to see “IIoW the plute push” will deal with the ‘international action and agitation of butter farmers, if at all. Should neither the Commonwelath 01' the New Zealand Governments interfere, then they must for ever thereafter hold their peace about the poregrinationg of international Labourites. If the ideas of New Zealand producers are what Mr Morton says they are there is a, day of retribution as surely awaiting Mr Morton and his producers as that they new live to boost along that which cannot be called anything else but arbitrary price boosting. The common designation of arbi'f'rary price boosting is profifeering, a positively defeneeless thing from every“s'tandpoint.. Australian ideas do not correspond nor conform to New Zealand ideas, but this is nothing new, for some time ago, says Mr Morton, a delegation was sent; To bring Australian dairyfarmin-g ideas into :I_<:Col'd with New Zealand dairyfarming ‘ideas, but when tlle‘New Zealand men thought they had the Augtralians muzzled, the “Aussies” dis. covered a conscience, and were awe to distinguish between what constituted common honesty and common profiteer. ~inß': and, as Mr Morton puts it, the

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sum of 1110119)’ had been spent, all to =‘ no purpoS€.- fol‘ the desired price boosting did not eventuate. A larger sum ofabutter profits are going to be spent i on the next effort, and the agitators are ,to remaih in Australia, if necessary, to prevent a repetition ~of"that re-awakening of conscience, which] brought failure, chagrin, loss, and disappointment on the prior occasion. We as a_ people flaunt. a spurious patriotism; we read, and we advocate by pre. cept——not Itractice——what the Premiers of the British. Commonwealth, including the Honourable Mr "W. F. Massey,‘ in their New Year Message, addressed to their fellow citizens of the British Empire. In this message Mr Massey stated, “that. in recognition of the Fatherhood of God, the Divine purpose of the world, which is the central message of Christianity, will be discovered the ultimate foundation for the recognition of ordered harmonious life for all men. As that recognition could only come as an act of free consent on the part of individual men, everywhere, the message appeals to men of goodwill to consider the eternal validity of -the truth -of those spiritual forces which are the one and only hope for a permanent foundation of world peace.” Evidently New Zealandcrs have not reached that recognition as they do not seem to believe in ordered, harmonious lite coming to all anon by free consent of individual men, therefore it is understandable Why Lloyd ‘ George, tllessrs Bordon, Smu-tz,, Hughes and Massey appeal in vain to them to ‘act up to the eternal validit.y of the ;truth of those spiritual forces which are the one and only hope for -a permancnt foundation of world peace. The [sins of the people are the sins of the [nation; in countries where fraud and oppression were rife, in other words, twhcre profitecring and callousncss in the presence of starvation and death where practised with hellish abandon, -Bolshevism rapidly marching tto final victory. It is only a difl:’erence of degree, the t Allies sending a mission. to coerce’ Rustsians and New Zealanders sending a 1 mission to induce Australians to arbitrarily increase prices. Is it not an admissible fact that those who have’ abandoned themselves to dishonest, relentless profitcering, that. class which are wallowing in a contemptible, in-; human orgy of greed and extortion are I solely responsible_fol' the spread ofl Bblshevism in this. little land of plenty‘! A.wllole column report ap-I pearecl in :1 city daily newspaper yes-tei-day. of relief b_ein_g given to numberg oi’ starving men, women, and children in Wellington. In one case it] was nobody ‘S duty to supply the w-ants of a starving woman, and some organ- ‘ isa‘.-ion had to exceed its functions or the woman was to be left to starve. It is humiliating to have to add that these t cases were the result of men being| taken away to fight for our land, and‘ lilp t'l-eedom of its people. Alongsidel this report was one in which was re-. 1 corded the resolution to send men to Australia to agitate for an arbitrary! increase in the price of butter. Here! are the two cases, one undoubtedly‘ pl'oductive of the other. and the alarm- I ing feature is that this condition isl being boldly, widely, advocated, despite the "‘.\[c'~ssage” that Messrs ’»L‘lo_v'd.t George, Bordon, Smutz, Hughes and] Massey sent throughout the British} Empire. 1