THAT MEETING OF DAIRY DIRECTORS.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 May 1922, Page 7

THAT MEETING OF DAIRY DIRECTORS.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —I have always been led to believe that Mr. Arthur Morton was a first-rate men as chairman of a company, or of a public meeting, but at the meeting of dairy directors, recently held in the Workers’ Social Hall, he utterly failed as a first-rate chairman. If ever there was an important meeting of dairy directors held in Taranaki that was an important meeting. It started at 11 a.m., adjourned for an hour at 12.30, and started again at 1.30, or about that, and continued on till between 3 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon. From 100 to 150 men were present from all over North Taranaki. every one of these men being interested in the object for which the meeting was called, and having a representative duty devolving on him to aid or safeguard the interests of those he represented by voice and vote as far as in him lay. The pooling scheme for marketing of the dairy produce of the country was very fully and effectively put before the meeting by Mt. Morton and his two fellow exponents, but when that had ‘been done the failure of the chairman, under the circumstances, was gross to painfulness. Surely everyone who wished to concisely state his opinions had a pt feet right to do so, and it was clearly the duty of Mr. Morton, as chairman, to see that right was not denied him. Now, what happened? After one or two had made a few remarks, Mr. Maxwell, of Rahotu, got the floor and talked until everybody else was sick. Then, shortly after he had been got rid of, a Mr. Gibson, also from Rahotu. started off in a similar style, and talked by the hour. I made an effort to get the chairman to put a gag on him, but Mr. Morton, the first-class chairman, assured me that Mr. Gibson was quite in order! When several of us left after 3 o’clock Mr. Gibson was still pouring out a useless stream of pure futility. Whether our leaving had the effect of waking up the chairman to a sense of his belated duty, or whether Mr. Gibson shut off his own steam., I am unable to say, but this I do know, that the meeting was not long delayed after we left. Many of those present were chairmen of important companies', yet the bulk of them never got the opportuntiy to put in a word, even edgeways. Just think of well over one hun-

dred representative men attending a meeting, which lasted over three,hours, discussing a most important question touching their well-being, and never to get an opening to express a single idea they had on the subject, and all through the bad chairmanship of Mr. Arthur Morton.—l am, etc., J. 0. TAYLOR. Westown, April 29.