CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 May 1917, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

AMALGAMATION. To the Editor. ■Sir—Tn your issue of Saturday there appears a letter signed by "Renown," in which ho states there appears to he a good deal of dissatisfaction in the ranks of tho pig men. I am- afraid this correspondent is somewhat mistaken. He has not heard of tho great amalgamation, twhen most of the Taranaki Cooperative Factories gave a good leg up to private enterprise, the consequence being that we are getting a Id per ]b. less'for our pork than last year; 6d in place of (id. This bit of far-seeing business has set private enterprise on the jog, for we see him running round with Caesin and Glaxo proposals by the score, and so, as the co-operative system is iuch a failure, I trust they will be given a good hearing. Then the amalgamation turning out such a good thing for the Taranaki people we find 'them going down South to buy pigs where they are so much cheaper, via, Brf per lb, and as it costs about Id per lb more to get them from south than in Taranaki, wo far-seeing "gents" are in for a good dividend. The idea of going South has turned out so. well that the big amalgamate is thinking of amalgamating with the South Pole, a"nd thereby getting their ice f.o.b. Then we see a report in .the papers that a proposal is on foot to amalgamate the three big factories in South Taarnaki. Why not? But I hope when they do they will not leave out Jlangatoki. Then the far-seeing dairy farmers, having just realised that they have allowed the white pine to be shipped to Australia by the millions of feet, that there is onlyiten years' supply left, so why not amalgamate the big box company with all the other box companies in New Zealand? And when the pine is all gone, we twill all be in the one box. This all turning out 'so well, why not amalgamate the Taranaki Farmers' Mutual Fire Association with tho State Office? (What a hit this would be!) Amalgamation by this time will have caught on, and bigger things might be attempted, so that it would be easy to amalgamate the National Dairy Association and the National Government. When they had settled down link them up with the Efficiency Board. Then you would see the profits. Everybody by this time would be howling amalgamate, so it would be suggested to send the fur-seeing business men Home to try their hand at Home Rule. Lloyd George would welcome them, I'm sure. After they had tried their hand at this question, and having found it a harder nut to crack than usual, they would naturally learn a thing or two and get broadened out a bit, and then make for Taranaki and the big dividends that would accumulate whilst away. When they arrive they will find that the people will have made so much money rearing pigs under present conditions that they will have gone right out of the business. And then we will be able to start all over again.—l am, etc., SHAREMILKER. .