The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1903 A WARNING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 51, 28 February 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1903 A WARNING.

In the course of a letter addrrssed to tha editor of the Hawera Star Mr P. W. Wilkie, who is a well-known settler near Kaponga arid a member of several local bodies under the above heading writes on the subject of dairy farmers going into business n.a storekeepers, The matter is of such general interest that we thi'k Mr Wilkis's views should have the widest publicity possible. Mr Wilkie says: " Sir,—Kindly allow ma through the mvdium of sour papnr to brirg before those interested a few facte in connection with a veiy itnpiitant question which is to be de tit with during the next few days. I refer to the ptoposal amongst dairy companies to r-fcirt storekeeping on fh-ir own account. I kuow that hero to begin with the name storokeeping would be objected to by those who are promotiug the scheme, but I believe in the goad old English custom of calling a spade a spade, and it is difficult to find ia what respect it will differ from the ordinary run of storekeeping. We are told that no stores will ba kept, or, if eo, only one central store or depot, in, say, Wellington, and that when the farmer requires a pair of boots, or a few pounds of staples, or any o-h< r commodity of a s-imilar nature, he will require to send in his order with a very ehbor&te description of tho articles requited, and in the course of a week or two rtceive ths articles he rrderid, or the nearest ap-1 proach to them that happrns to be in stock, ar.d the option of paying their return fare to Welling on if they do not sui'. Thissys em would be absurd and uuworkablf, and would immediately le*d to the eatiblisbing of stores in conjunction wi'h the various butter factories, which could only Ire done by an enormous outlay of capital. Now, I cliim to be as staunch a supporter of true progress as any man iu i'aranaki, but whet it comes to co wdorii g a S'herae that will imperil thu fu uk! welfare of tbe dairying iudusry cf tbis c jlony, a scheme that, is not progr ssive, but rather r&trograd iu its application, I would call on every thiukiug farmer to consider well tbis matter before he vo'es for tbe incurlitig of so far-raaching a responsibility, lake tbe present financial position of tviOS"- of the dairy companii s in Tarat.aki. Etch company has its score or •o of freehold gu.ivanto s that the bant?: would ca'l good, These ma", although sound, are mos.ly mortgaged, som;heavily; they are responsible for some thousands of pounds on th.ir factotite, they sre rcspon-ib'o i sr tho Motorua trtezing works, they are responsible for he Elth ■m butter-box wt- ■ks, Aui now com* s th" proposal for ih ) gre'ites l responsibility of all; tho establish want f store®. It may he said tint mo-it o* 'beho ro-poti-ibiJit!-s ar-.i litni'ed t j « Ctrl»in amount. This might apply to. the first-named responsi 1 ili'ies, bir. t« apply it to the las'. >;anud would b suicidal shor6-s ; giitt.du-. s«. If the guarantors pledge themselves, sa)', fot £2OOO eacb factory to i.tart with, and • hj« st-ne business comes down after a y=ar or mo, and says, " We must have)

more money, or fail, what can the respective companies do bu 1 ; pledge themselves still more deeply. It has been the incessant cry of cvfry concern of a similar nature ; more capital wanted; and this would not be an ex-! cep'ion in this respect. There are numerous reasons that might bo brought forward to show the inadvisibility of farmers becoming storekeepers. But what I would earnestly point out to the munbers of ths vmous companies is, that by pledging yourselves finance an undertaking on the lines that are proposed, you will be saddling you companies with a yoke that wi'l never be lifted from your necks. You lo k forward to the day when your guarantee to the bank wi'd no longer b9 required, when you can go to the banker and demand your signaturts •a hi oh he has had locked in li'S safe for yearp. But if you pledge your companies lo this proposal that day will never come. If there are farmers iD Tarsnaki who have more capital, more euergy, ar.d mo:e brains than they can fi-id a sc ipe for on their farms, let the m go into this, or any otter scheme, but Ut them fioacce it ou its own bottom, and not jeopardise the dairying industry in experiments of this kind " Commenting on the above editorially the Ha'-vera Star says :— '■ In another column to-day we print a letter from Mr F. W. Wilkie, on the subject of dairying companies entering into the storekeeping business. We are very glad that Mr Wilkie has written straight out, without adopting a nom de plume. As a farmer who has had a long connection with the dairy industry, and a representative man in several capacitiep, his opinion is entitled to a good deal of weigh l- , and his letter wi,l h'ave much more influence than would or,e from an anonymous source, ■ which would probably ba set down as proceeding from a storekeeper, or one of his connections. The whole subj-ct ! deserves very careful attention before dairy companies enter into a business which, if not altogether in the nature of a speculation, at any rate carries wi-h it a large element of rsk, arising mainly from the circumstance that, while dairymen and factory employees bring to ti;e p?ifo"mance of ttaw. own pirticular woik special knowledge, they are not likely to do so in the case of storekeeping. Very few of the cooperative companies in this district, have been a success when they have I gone into business which their mem bars did not personally unders l acd, f and it is not at all unlikely that if cooperative companies formed to conduct business which, more or less, '-very member dors understand, make an fx- ! cursion into branches which they do not understand, and cannot personally aiid dir.-c'ly criticise, they will not bo successful. At any rate, iu the pie- " tent p'.'eition of affairs, Mr Wilkie's warning seems to come very oppori' tunely, and should bo thought ncer ! before any irrevocable step is taken,"