The Daily News. FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1920. LAND PRICES AND PRODUCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1920. LAND PRICES AND PRODUCE.

Speaking at the lnglewood County banquet last week, Mr. Newton King conveyed a warning to farmers generally relative to the danger of land booms, which, he said, were "invariably the forerunners of dark days ahead." There is no more reliable an authority in Taranaki on this matter than Mr. King, and it would be difficult to name anyone who has greater confidence in the resourcefulness of the province. Not only does he possess a complete knowledge of land values, but, which is of far | more importance, an accurate conI ception of the producing power of the land, so that his warning should carry great weight, especially as it accords with the conclusions arrived at by financial experts. It would seem that the time has come when financial institutions may be expected to exercise greater caution in making advances in view of money being dearer, and the sale of some holdings for more than they are worth. The precarious position of New Zealand meat on the Home market cannot be ignored, particularly when the dangerous competition by the American Meat Trust is taken into account, as well as the effect of the general slackness in handling New Zealand meat in Britain, as the result of which our meat is said to be fast losing its name on the English market, accentuated hy its bat-

tered appearance due to telescoping, while River Plate mutton is exhibited in the most attractive manner. The position at the end of the commandeer does not appear to offer very rosy prospects for the producers unless they take, steps to protect themselves by finding other markets for meat than that of Britain. The wool position also exhibits special features, in spite of the high prices for the higher grade wool, medium and coarse crossbrcds appear to be meeting with little demand. In a letter sent from London on February 16 by the Director-General of Raw Materials to Mr. Massey, it was stated that very considerable difficulty was expected in shipping the whole of the Australian and New Zealand wool before the end of the year. As regards 46's, the market was well supplied, while considerable quantities of coarser grades were dead stock, and it was likely that a full year's clip, equal to about. 200,000 bales, would probably be on the Government's hands when the new clip begins to be gathered in the Dominions, and the market showed no sign of a demand arising for low crossbreds. United States holders of crossbreds from New Zealand and Australia were said to be breaking prices badly in a desperate effort to find an outlet for this dead stock. The DirectorGeneral concludes by stating: It must be clear to you that sooner or later the question must be faced, whether too much coarse crossbred wool is not being grown, in view of the infinitely better prices which are now baing paid for fine crossbreds. This is not very encouraging, but as the wool-growers of New Zealand have coming to them £1,800,000 war profit on wool they ought to be well satisfied, especially so when it is considered that had they sold their output to the Dominion Government and the latter had re-sold to the British Government, then the profits would have gone towards the reduction of New Zealand's war debt or been available for national requirements. The outlook as regards butter prices after the termination of the commandeer seems 1 more favorable, it being cabled that New Zealand is to receive the same price as Danish and Dutch, but the price for cheese may prove disappointing, as it will certainly have to meet competition, while the demand is likely to be even less than before the war. and stocks have to be cleared. There is, however, no justification for anything like pessimism over the producers' outlook for the ensuing season. At the same time the warning given by Mr. King and others is timely and appropriate, for. once the line of safety is passed between sound investment and speculation, the consequences can only trend towards a day of reckoning. When the price of land merely increases in a relative ratio to the earning power of the produce, the process is natural, but even then care has to be taken for a possible drop in the price of products. Speculation may be a profitable gamble up to a point, but the time invariably arrives when the buyers burn their fingers and cause a stampede. The present prosperity should not be placed in jeopardy by unlimited 'bulling" of land. There is ample room for advanced prices of land where its producing power has not been adequately appraised, only care should be taken that the danger line is not passed, as, we are afraid, has been lately the case in many sales in our province.