The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1920. THE TIMBER EXPORT PROBLEM.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3491, 20 May 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1920. THE TIMBER EXPORT PROBLEM.

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

i \V'hatever may be the specific pur- | pose or pretext for such comprehensive | gatherings of men eonductin-g any par[tieular industry as that of those enlgaged in the timber ind.ustry, held last night. in Taihape, they are uni deniably productive of better understanding, mtore unifoi-n1 action, eoi’operative fellowship, and real pro- , gross. That demonstrated fact abundi an:t-1y justifies such. gatherings; but they iare productive of something further, ljfor the Press is not excluded there- } from. and whatever is said relative to, 1 or affecting the public weal is duly re.iported. There is a freedom of discussion and a spirit of abandon that never by any chance prevails at exclusively business meetings. All restraint, all ea-cannin:ess,:all the sllarpness of business wit have no place hi such gatherings, and the baring of minds is given and taken in that spirit of trust and camaraderie which one could wish deeply tinetured proceedings at all business meetings, to the exclusion of the altao_g.ethero too prevalent cut-throat argufying. The many speeches made disclosed the basis upon which the -timber industry ‘is operating with far greater convincing clarity than would, or could have resulted at any meeting of dil'C<:.l‘ol':s or executives, becafisé those speeches were of far wider significance, beingi made in the presence of importers] from overseas, b:mkers, and others who are in one way or another closely‘ linked up with timber proi,lu<ltion. If such men as those coxnprising -.1 depu- I tation who \\'2lif4’od upon. the ]'.:-ime. Minister the other day, with a View to having a complete stop put to the export of timber had been present. at the gatheringrlast night they would have!

‘gone away much wiser men, .whether ,or not the :ieeulnuhl.ted \\'i.~:('!(ilz'l were lxapplied to undoing mischief .r.esnlling ‘from want of the inforninti.-,'».n that matt.er:~:. It would have ::ppe:ll'ed strange to them that -their desire to {prohibit exportation of timber h.>.:.r.i not ‘the slightest disturbing effect. on the ‘men who should be most deepi.-y eonleerned, until they had been made _~awa~re that there were almost unmisjwerable i'e‘a”sons why export.at'io.n should continue. Apart from eo)l\':ineing evidence casually adduced, the people of this count.ry‘Tn'fi§f not be permitted to overlook the iniperutive necessity to export all the produce possible while the period of high _pri.('es eont.inues.- ‘There are other things it is‘ rincaleulabiy more important to stop! the export: -of before stopping the ex~J port of timber is mentioned eiien. Money ‘is rapidly becoming of short‘ supply, but because it is not yet. visibly so, the I.W.W. tools of interested peo-I pie pay no attention thereto. We who I live in timber-producing country can View the arguments used by the anti-1 exportation of timber deputation aslittle more than no’n'sense. It is well understood, and no intelligent person who cares, is deceived about the supreme desire of the deputation being tr, cut “I 0 J'US’fly remunerative prices the development of an export trade has resmtcd i“- It 5.9 untieniable that

prices obtainable for exported timber are causing square miles of li.m'oercLl land to be Worked that would have been left to be swept. by bush fires. Tliese men who want o.\;port prohibited are still failing to realise that one of the best assets possessed by this country has largely gone up in smoke, because it did not pay“i:o mill it-, and now that sawmillcrs have found for themselves a market enables them to will the most unpromising timber forests, to turn them into the gold this -‘Dominion is in direst’ need of; an illinformed section of people woulrl‘deprive millcrs of their market, and stop the flow of money for timber coming into the country. It is not. sufficiently realised that: timber is not standing on nice, easily-accessible land alongside good highways, and if those who urge the stoppage of export with resultant slump in prices of timber would take a trip into the almost inaccessible country from which millcrs are

I tempted by reiniinefative prices to extend their operations into at great cost and considerable danger, their minds would be completely disabused of the idea. that permanently cheaper timber is possible. Is it’7lot a fact th-at export with gratifying remuuerative prices involves millions of feet 01’ tim{ber that is not valuable for building (purposes, while -fire and smoke carried ‘ ofi": thousands of millions of feet of the best timber without one penny Coming ltherefrom? Knowing something of the average timber country, are contend that with prohibition of ex,pol‘t more I timber wouldpbe lost than is now eit‘ported. In any case, no timber is being exported that is urgently wanzted for house-building, the Board of Trade sees to that aspect of the question. It is virtually unthinkable that the Prime Minis,'ter will pander to the parboiled (importunities of‘ men who have obviously failed in "undeirsta-'niling the real situation. Mr Massey is Well “aware that stoppage of export would not mean cheap timber, which is what the deputation and tixnber middle-men !are primarily after. Mr Massey -alsol knows that the cutting out of export‘ lprices would also soon result in many ‘ millers cutting out, for no inducement ‘ would be left.- for tackling areas among ‘ mountain tops, whicll,.to ordinary peo- l ple, seem to be positively inaccessible. , Mr Massey will undoubtedly, decide‘ upon a timber export policy that will operate in trees being rescued from every seemingly impossible place, and converted into timber with .a View to] making good the slump in value” otl other exports. These are ullsettleds times; extraordinary conditions prevail ' as a result of the war; this Dominion 1 is shouldering a disaster fraught debt; that there is no escape from. but, through the one a.venus"o.t' utmost possible production, :aecompanied with a‘ careful adlninistl'£lt'ion of public affairs generally. To adopt a timber export policy detrimental to millers could only result in dismantling -of mills that’ much higher prices than those now prevailing could not induce recreation of. The timber so lost would be greater than. that eXpol’to(l_. and this Dominion would be the poorer, both in money andpin building timber. The desire to stop timber export is prompted more by speculative avarice of the people who engineered the deputation! to the Prime Minister than by any; intelligent: wish .to conserve and pro—' vide building timber for the people, { whose. misfortunes‘ they are trying to l make capital out of. The Y timber industry may long be I

active in the mountain tops olmil'c.ling the huge "Paihape «listri<=.t- if meddlesome, lill-informed people nre not ])rerm}t’r,e(l to engineer ifs destruction. It is an industry this dis« tricf cznnlot afford To take any (-lmnC(‘.< with. mid we llfl‘\>'(‘ n.'rmo.<’r. ujol]flll(‘n(‘.(.‘ in tho Prinlc Minister In2l.l<in;l‘ himself so (:ngllis:lhf of all bearings of the ‘(im}.m.:' pmblmn that will fully convince‘ lxim of the f'all:lciou:=no.<:s of the confoutimr. that sloppage of export would tenrl to pCl‘lD=lnl;‘l]tl_Y cllcar-an or in

cl'eu:'~:e HlO .<upp]_v, but on We other hand that if woulfl I':lthel' condnco to Ic:~'s tinlbcr being nfillod :uld highor ])v'i(:§*.<. boinsg‘ ne(:o.~':n'ily ('hnr_;rm}.