A STRANGE STATEMENT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 267, 21 March 1911, Page 7

A STRANGE STATEMENT

CONCERNING NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCTATION. The following, which iB from the Sydney Herald's London Correspondent, is interesting in a general way, and of particular interest for the reference which it makes to the home representative of the National Dairy Association. , Mr. J. R. King (says the Herald's correspondent), who represents the Coastal Farmers' Co-operative Society, Ltd., ami the Farmers' Co-operative Distributing Company of Queensland, Ltd., on the' Australian Butter Committee here, questioned as to the work of the committeefj stated that it had done some very work in regard to steadying the market and maintaining prices. He said : " At, the present time we control fully 60 per cent, of the Australian butter, and Mr, Ellison, New Zealand representative, is 'with us in sympathy. I have it now definitely that he is joining the commit-. 'tee next season, which will bring the,: amount of butter controlled by the com:' mittec to upwards of 80 per cent, of the, Australian and New Zealand produce. On these grounds I say that we can, and do, steady ,the market When speculators were forcing the market down raii; mediately before the holidays we he'ld %. .meeting of our salesmen and that no further reductions should take,; place. With' the heavy arrivals and poor, demand during the holiday week, specur, lators expected to be able to buy shillings; under the rate ruling before Christmas ; but were disappointed, owing to the ac : tion taken by the committee and theis. brokers. From the holding of that meeting, the market firmed. I think, if you interviewed the houses with whom we 1 are dealing, you will find their views on the .power exercised by the committee, to. be entirely opposed to the speculative element in Tooley-strcct. We do not pretend to modify'the natural conditions of the London market. All we are here to do is to see that the producers in the. Antipodes get a fair remuneration for, their labors. Strong efforts have been made by speculative houses in Tooleystrcct to break up the policy of direct consignment which we have taken up in its entirety, as it is against their interests to have a steady market for any length of time. What these people like is prices up one week and down the next, so that they can get in at the bottom and out at the top many time? during the season."

The statement that Mr. Ellison was joining the Australian Committee was referred to the National Dairy Associa 1 -' tion's chief officer in Wellington (saysthe Dominion) and was totally discredit', cd, on the ground that nothing whatever had been heard of it by the Association. Moreover, the local officer is very strongly of the opinion that the Australian Committee does not and cannot control 00 per cent, of the colonial produce.