The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1919. GREATER PRODUCTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1919. GREATER PRODUCTION.

If the people of the Dominion had by force of circumstances been compelled to undergo the experiences of their kinsfolk in Britain during the war they would have been face to face with the alternative of greater production or semistarvation. It requires hard lessons of this kind to open the eyes of the complacent to what can be dune when stern necessity is the driving force, and also to the possibilities that otherwise would not have been considered as having a bearing on national and individual welfare. "With charaet e courage and determinant ;od sup«Ues jrer# raised .that bad

heretofore been regarded as virtually useless, but under proper cultivation yielded good crops and helped to solve the acute food problem. The wastage that is not felt in normal times becomes greatly magnified in periods of intense stress, so that one of the great lessons of the war has been the need for more intense cultivation and grater production. The true principle of political economy is the avoidance of waste and the need for making the most of resources and opportunities, not for meeting exceptional demands, but as a ruling law cf national life. The heavy burdens that the colossal war drain has imposed on the natioijs make it imperative to turn attention to increasing largely the primary products of the soil, and this is all the more necessary by reason of having to find employment for returned soldiers as well as to increase the world's supplies. New Zealand offers a large scope for greater production, and the present is a favorable opportunity for a campaign of development that should not be lost. The prosperity of a country depends on the efforts of the units, so that the more people engaged in rural industries the greater becomes the output' and the more prosperous the community. Moreover, the belligerent nations are suffering from great shortages of all sorts of foodstuffs and raw materials so that for years to come there will be good markets for our produce. It has been remarked by a northern contemporary that the great rural industries of New Zealand are, and will remain, sheep and dairy farming, but the Patriotic Association's action raises the whole question of the future of the smaller industries. They will never seriously challenge the supremacy of the old-established branches of farming, but the experience of other countries suggests that they are capable of considerable expansion in the Dominion. The greater production which is essential if New Zealand is to regain the financial position in which she stood before the war may be sought not only in the extension of the staple branches of farming, but in the organisation of branches now of slight importance. It may even be found possible to introduce a number of new rural industries. Such innovations would be of advantage in two ways. They would increase the total return from land, and they would decrease the cost of repatriation. Among the •tranches of intensive farming are fruit growing, poultry rearing, pig breeding and bee keeping, while there are numerous other lines, such as tobacco, linseed, and other plants that can be made profitable. All these industries require to be thoroughly organised and placed cn a sound and satisfactory footing, and it is not too much to expect that the Government shall take a hand in this work, not spasmodically, but systematically with the intention of developing on a commercial basis the resources of the Dominion. It is obvious to even the least observant of our fellow men that a number of the returned wounded soldiers will only be able to follow light occupations, and that under proper guidance and tuition they could undertake successfully one or other of the occupations mentionabove. The climatic conditions in different parts of the Dominion vary considerably so that what can easily be produced in one district will be out of the question in another. That is so much to the good, for it tends to widen the scope of production. The great need that exists for enabling returned soldiers to obtain a satisfactory living, fits in with the equally great need for increase production as a means for charging the heavy financial charges consequent on the war. The patriotism of private landowners may induce them to help with gifts of lands for small holdings, but we must look to the Gn. veminent to provide the great bulk of the land, also to afford t he necessary assistance required to start the many industries th< await development, and above all to do this in the best busings way possible. To obtain the end in view it may be necessary to reorgan'&e and vitalise the AnrierJ. tural Department, and to "introduce a satisfactory business element into the personnel. The re construction period has arrived and there should be no lack of courage, initiative and determination m carrying Jt through in sue), a way as to enhance the prosperity of the country and its producers