The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1920. MEAT MARKETING MYSTERY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3416, 21 February 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1920. MEAT MARKETING MYSTERY.

4 With which its incorpx',.‘.tc-" “The Taihape Post. 3:.) W&iB1&1iflO . Newl.""

_The British Board of Trade has pub-lished-"what purports to be a denial of the statement that the Government had purchased the whole of the Patagonian meat output, but on the most casual analysis it is nothing of the kind. It does, however, inform us that the Imperial Authorities have been buying Patagonian mutton at a considerably higher price than that it has paid for New Zealand mutton. If thatmeat is '-being purchased under an agreement entered into in 1917, it is a pertinent question to ask when that arrangement is terminable, and why is New Zealand mutton left to deteriorate, and to congest stores to a menacing degree While tonnage is found to proceed to the southern extremity of the American Continent? The cablegrarn received from the High Commissioner is a denial and an admission; it denies that a new contract has been entered into, and it admits that the British G-Overnment is taking the whole output under a somewhat ancient understanding. but we may be quite sure. whether this» understanding is new or old, it is a contract that. is distinctly binding on both parties thereto. We have to realise that the whole of the Patagonian beef and mutton" is going int_o the ilmperial Government"s possession while ships should be available for clearing storage here, and that is the troublesome featfire. Utterances of the Prime Minister, and of such powers behind the throne as Sir Walter Buchanan, leave no doubt about the reality of this menace; the essence of their words is that farmers must depend upon their own meat-mm-l«:eting efforts, and arrange for’ their own shipping; they have no right to depend upon the Government for either. We may be right or wrong, but from the moment this attitude was assumed by the autom-ats behind “Re'fo~rm’F we concluded that our farmers and their meat were being jettisoned from the State ship into a school of meat trust sharks. Mr Buchanan has talked a good deal about meat trusts, but the Government of which he is a secret engineer, do not. move anything but the,il' Wllgues in laying the trust. fiend. Both. admit the trust is at Work In this land in their own name and in the name of others, and here they are going to remain for all the present administration will do to move them on, At the critical moment. when -the requisition ceases, farmers fina rthemselves without ‘markets’ and Without ships. and it should be 1-eailised that farmers have to help tlierfiselves if they desire to avoid something worse than what the commandeer fur-

lnished. The conditional portion or ithe Patagonian purchase‘ must concern our farmers; the Imperial Authlorities say they have purchased the iAmerican meat conditionally -on hav[ing tonnage to fetch‘ it away, and we have no doubt about this being an iindication that New Zealand meat would be purchased under somewhat isimilar shipping conditions‘ and prices. If tonnage is not available we may be sure that Patagonian meat gr-owers are not storing ‘the meat at their own ‘expense while waiting for ships as long as New Zealand farmers have to wait. We think our farmers are justified in wresting from the Imperial Government a plain statement on the meat marketing question; they have up to the very last moment kept‘ farmers apprehensive of some ar-% rangement, the Prime Minister plainly aflirming his belief that the com»! mandeer would be continued. The’ [question now seems to be, will New‘ lzealand farmers sell their output on‘ precisely similar conditions as those‘ governing the Patagonian purchase’?! if they do accept such arrangement} ‘what position will they be in when! the Authoritiesfllease to end it? Will I they be kept in doubt. about the fuai ture that will leave them in a ndless I V parlous plight than that in which they I now find themselves? The Patagon-I ian purchase in 1917 explains why New Zealand farmers had to find large ] sums of money to increase meat sror--age at their respective works. Ships that should have taken our meat had ano'ther supplier in South America to: wait upon.‘ The fact that New Zea-I landers were fighting the world’s com- i mon enemy, and that New Zealanders! were contributing millions of moneyl should have influenced the Tfnpeiiax Government in favour of New Zealanc, at least such a thought is pardonabvle, but business is business, and, for some I reason, Britain bought, and found ships for the higher "priced. meat.‘ Patagonian meat disclosures have. mystified the whole meat situation so! far as this country is conéerned, and it would be rank idiocy to assume and act upon anything other than the very worst that is to be drawn from it,‘ meanwhile hoping for the best. A trap is doubtlessly being prepared by the enemies of meat producers, and It may. in all seriousness, be asked why‘ men like Sir Walter Buchanan are hitterly opposing a Commission that is' composed of farmers, going Home 1-e~ presentative of farmers, men eleetecl by the Sheepowners’ Federation and the Farmers’? Union, to secure markets E and marketing justice for farmers.' Let us ask wha-t men in the New Zealand meat trade caused legs of prime 1 Southdown miftton to be hawked from 1 door to door at -one shilling each and . oftimes sold at sixpence; what ineni were in contro] of meat—freezingi works in those days when farmers] were forced into actually biuilrlmg! large boiling-down works be] cause it was more profitable to sell sheep in the form of by-pro-I d‘ucts—tallow, hides, bonedust mm} other manure-———than as prime muttonr; There is no imagination about this! state of meat -growing ‘and marketing, it is an incontrovertible fact, and we" now see thoseenemies of the grower! bitterly opposing a farmers’ Commits-l sion going Home Fri‘ took after ‘the! vital interests of the industry. The Q Buchanans and Masseys “cannot _pre- , vent a representative Commissican go-I ing to England, but let it be notedl that Mr Massey has blocked Mri Reakes. the country's export, fromi going with that Commission. Tliei lj‘armers’ Commission has no syn:-i path? from the Government, for‘ pre-} ‘sumably, it does not suit Lvlr Pm-:laan t an’s private business interests. Is! the New Zealand Governineni. more’ concerned with Mr P»ucllall:.iu's= il..ter-, ests than it is =.7't‘l the peoples’ -.'.ndl producers’ interests‘? Sir VValter! _Buchanan and Mr Massey are opposr-cl to farmers seldi.:_:: Home :..uyho«ly.i These two men urge that no Coli~.m‘Zs- I sion will be acceptable that :3 not appointed by ‘the Government, in other words selected by Mr Bucliamin, andi 9~Dpoillt€d by Mr Massey. Let i‘arnl€l‘S go back in the history of their 111- 5 dustry and ascertain why their Ir.u|.ton ‘ was unsaleable at freezing works, in‘ stock markets, and why was tiiorp a] glut in retail trade, at one period; i let them inquire why boiling down. works were built to absoiib surplus, SlleeP,- and they will find that [)l'iC-‘::‘s: were offered that barely paid for skins E and offal. Luckily, there were patri»l O‘5S 31110118.” farmers, amongst whom I the name of Beetham stands out pro- i lllinentll’, who were determined thei farming industry should not be ex; Pléitedx and up Went boiling-down l Works, and they Were kept up tin! down went the monopoly, and farm-" 91'-3 W€‘l‘e gllaranteed a fair and just. mice for their fat stock. Farniers must stand firm in their own right and the I>eople‘s best interests to day if disaster is to be éfvoided, We may, to some extent be anticipating the worst, but in such trade warfare‘; asi well as in other forms of war, the worst must be provided against. Chaos reigns and not even the Government will, or can, act as adviser. Sir Walter Buchanan and Mr Massey stand.

as adamant for a Government. appoint-

ed Commission, but note what they do about shipping. Sir Walter stalked at Masterton, this week. that farmers must not depend upon the Government for shipping, they must put their hands in their own pockets, and help themselves. Depend upon Government for 9. Meat Commission, they say, but depend upon. y"ourselves for shipping. The greatest enemy producers have unearthed has been rrom their own ranks, and that experience! is likely to be repeated.