FARMERS' CO-OP. SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1916, Page 3

FARMERS' CO-OP. SOCIETY.

WELCOME TO XICW UEA'LKAL MANACUK. The directors of the Fanners' Co-op. Organisation Society gave a pleasant little dinner the other evening to their employees in this district on the x-cas-ioii of the arrival of the Associaton's new general manager, Mr. Lynskey. Employees and directors were present from all the main centres in South Taranaki. Mr. A. Huntei, chairman of directors, presided, and after dinner briefly welcomed Mr. Lynskey. They would ail, he said, join with him in'extending to Mr. Lynskey a hearty welcome to Hawera and to the Taranaki district, and in that 11761(101110 he would associate also Mrs. LVEr.ke-y and family. He trusted their sojourn in these parts would be a happy one, and he believed they would find warm places in the hearts of the people of this district. They would soon find, too, a place in the social life of the place. Mr. Lynskey was not too old yet to make friends, and ho would not suffer the disabilities of an dderly man in again making loyal friends. He trusted that he and 'his family would make as good friends in this part of the Dominion as they had made in the place they had come from. (Applause). In his native district (Canterbury—Mr. Lynskey had held his own in the various walks of life, both in business and in sport, and had siiown his public, spiritedness in connection with the various concerns down south. In sport he had proved himself to be a good athlete; he had represented South Canterbury on the football field «.nd was a champion runner, having won championship events on two occasions. He had officiated a s treasurer of the A. and P. Association in Canterbury, and the remarks made by members' of that association when he severed his connection with it were very complimentary to him. In the matter of business he (Mr. Hunter) could not do better than report the remarks made, to him by a well-known Canterbury farmer and breeder when lie heard that Mr. Lynskey was coming to manage the Farmers' Co-op. here. "He will make a success of it," said this farmer; "at least, if he does not it will be the first thing he lias not made a success of." (Applause). There was one litth matter he (Mr. Hunter) felt he should refer to. It was rather a delicate subject, but he must speak of it. When it was given out that Mr. Lynskey had been appointed general manager of the Farmers' Co-op. here, remarks were made that he was a old German. "I wish to give that an empliatic denial," said Mr. Hunter. Mr. Lynskey is a New Zealander, born in Canterbury, and his father was clerk of the court at Kaiapoi for many years, and originally he came from Ireland. Mr. Lynskej ha:, some Polish blood in his veins, and every Briton is proud to recognise anyone from Poland. (Applause). Some of the most famous men in history owe their parentage to that country; the people there had suffered more at the hands of the nation responsible for the present war than any other nation in the world, not even excepting Belgium." When he used to play football he remembered that on getting a .representative team together at the opening of the season the first thing the manager had to do was to introduce members to one another. That was somewhat the position of their Co-op. that evening; some of the members of the staff and the directors had never met each other, and the directors thought it would he a good thing to embrace this opportunity of bringing them all together. There had been a good many changes in the personnel of their staff right from the time of their taking over the business; the war had made that inevitable, and besides that the concern had been a rapidly developing one, constantly necessitating the iilling of new positions, and this had made the work of the staff more difficult. In older concerns the,\ had trained men to take hold of the work, and it was consequently much easier for them to carry on the business along certain lines than it was in a new concern where tue business had to be made and a policy laid down. In conclusion, he would just say that he was voicing the sentiments of all the directors of the Association when he stated that they thoroughly appreciated the way that their staff had risen to the occasion and carried on the business in the face of all these difficulties. (Applause).

llr. Hobbs said that lie had very much pleasure, on behalf of the staff, in welcoming Mr. Lynskey as their general manager. In regard to their general managers of the past they had been rather unfortunate. They started with Mr. (jillics, but his health soon broke down, and then Mr. Holder's health also broke down; he trusted Mr. Lynskey had a stronger constitution than these two gentlemen, or that the stall' would behave themselves better. (Laughter) It was unfortunate in a growing coiice I .* that they should have been deprived of a manager for so long an interval, bui they seem to have drifted along notwithstanding, and drifted pretty well, too. They had had a big season, more particularly in dairy clearing -,ales, and he would say, without fear of contradiction, that no other firm in Taranaki had taken a= much money in June and July as the Farmer.;' Co-op. (Hoar, hear). That spoke very well foi both the inside and outside stall's. From his own experience he could say that the concern had a very energetic, painstaking and thoroughly conscientious stall' from the office boy right up: they were all genuine "trye-rs," and the new general manager would find that they ivere not quite as rough as they might look. (Laughter). Mr. Lynskey thanked the speakers cordially, for the welcome they had given him. He would assure Hie members of the staff that anything he could do to promote their interests lie would do. (Applause). Of course, his first duty would certainly be to the firm, but his second duty would be to the staff. In the old firm, he, had worked right up from office boy, and the five and twenty years he had spent with them had been the happiest lie could possibly have had. He had most pleasant relationships not only with the directors, but with the stai'f also, and he hoped he would meet with a similar experience here. He came to Taranaki full of confidence; he believed they had a district here most abundant, and a Co-op. Association which would pull together. He felt eertain they would win out in the end, ajd range themselves alongside their sister institutions in the south and become, av big as they were. The co-op. movement in the south had been going many years longer than the Taranaki Association, but" in reviewing their figures and considering that they had been in operation only three years," lie considered they had made marvellous strides. With the cooperation and assistance of .the staff he had every confidence that they would be able to drive this Taranaki Association along to a successful issue. Speaking for Mrs. Lynskey and himself, he felt confident that their association with Taranaki would be of the happiest nature. (Applause )j j