ORGANISATION OF FARMERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1917, Page 2

ORGANISATION OF FARMERS.

To the Editor. Sir, —In reading through the columns of your Thursday's issue, I came across the par. reproduced from one. of the Wellington papers re the backblocker from Taranaki (designated as a cowjuice extractor), who had been taken down by a would-be smart storekeeper ai. the capital, and this was made to appear as a {treat joke, Now, Mr. Editor, as a primary producer, I think I can say I am voicing the feelings of scorese of my fellow settlers when I say wo have had quite enough of this rot served up to us. From past experience, we know nowadays that we have nothing to gain from the towns, and expect when we go into tlio cities to be taken down, il not pretty careful, as whereas we are making our way by hard work and brains, the city people mostly are living by their wits. Who is it, I should like to know, that is keeping this country going? ; Not the smart townies, I am sure. Tou will no doubt think lam raising the country versus town question, but whilst admitting perhaps my letter may appear somewhat strong, I can assure you that there is a very bitter feeling, especially in the dairying, at the treatment we are getting meted out to us, and the more young and thoughtful are only bottling up the treatment until the war is over, and our best and bravest come back, and then f hope you will see things on a better and more business-like footing. The day of organising will surely come, when most of the small storekeepers will, be down and out, and the whole of our wants will be in our own hands with our own shipping, and freezing works, and instead of a dozen small storekeepers in one town we will have large distributing houses owned by the factories and situated at the chief ports and run by real men. • Why, it would pay the Taranaki farmers, who produced £2,5C0,000 la«t year, to get a good man, a tip-top organiser, I mean, if they had to pay him .C.'iOCO, to plan the whole thing out, and get started to show our boys when they come back that we had not been sleeping. They will see how things are organised there. It has taken the war to show' us what an expensive and obsolete system we have been carrying, when one observes the empty shops and cottages in the smaller towns throughout the country which we really never required. No, Mr. Editor, it is time the farmers put some go into their affairs and took their correct position as producers and exporters. Statistics read about 37 per chit, of the exports of New Zealand come from the land, and are produced by about HI! per rent', of the people, so that if we could reverse the position with regard to tiltlatter and put Id per cent, on the land, what a hit we could make! We hear a great deal about education just now, but in my. opinion if the-'Press per-Nt* ill holding up to derision our pioneers from.the back country, the very men who are making Xew Zealand, why all the real smart hoys who should have every encouragement and incentive to go on the land, where the chances are seven to one in their favor (according to Professor Hoard), would shv at being thought a "cowjuice-extractor." Dairying, as one of the essential necessaries of life should be placed on a higher footing, which up-to-date machinery, concrete and factories have placed it amongst the iinesfc industries of the world to-day. As it is generally understood, the Taranaki papers are the farmers' champion, ive trust there will be no more skite of a like nature.—j am, etc., WILLIE J. FR-EETH. Pukearuhe, "March IS.