GUARANTEED PRICES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 May 1939, Page 6

GUARANTEED PRICES

PRIME MINISTER REPLIES TO MR MULHOLLAND POSITION OF SHEEP FARMERS THE DESIRE FOR STABILITY. "THINGS TO BE CORRECTED." (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “The Government has no desire to force a guaranteed price on the wool-growers,” said the Prime Minister, Mr Savage, when referring »yesterday to statements made hy the Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, Mr AV. W. Mulholland, at a meeting of farmers in Feilding on Wednesday. A proposal for guaranteed prices for meat and wool was rejected by the meeting. Mr Savage, who said that Mr Mulholland’s address was a political speech from beginning to end, remarked that the public would be glad to know why Mr Mulholland favoured a guaranteed price foi' wheat and opposed it for wool.

Commenting on a statement made by Mr Mulholland that “the farmer has lost the sympathy of othei’ classes and that it is his duty to win back that sympathy,” the Prime Minister said that the farmer had not lost the sympathy of the other classes. “If he has, then Mr Mulholland’s methods of trying to get it back sound peculiar to me,” he added. “If Mr Mulholland can tell me what my proposals are in regard to the guaranteed price he will be educating ipe, because so far no proposals have been submitted to the farmers,” continued the Prime Minister. “I have been asked what the price is likely to be, and I replied that it was quite impossible for me to say what it should be before an inquiry was made. It seems to me that Mr Mulholland is shadowsparring, and is using his imagination, which appears to be fairly elastic, as to what is going to happen. “I have not discussed what the guaranteed price would be, but I have gone so far as to say that any guaranteed price would have to take into account the farmer’s outlay and other conditions. If he did not get a guaranteed price that would meet all that and give him a decent standard of living, then the guaranteed price would break down.” DAIRY FARMERS’ POSITION. Mr Savage commented on a reference by Mr Mulholland about the advances made by trading banks to dairy companies, and the statement that Mr Mulholland did not know that the position of the dairy farmer was “as bad as it evidently is.” Mr Savage said that the guaranteed price had not broken down in the case of the dairy farmer. “I have had no complaints from dairy farmers,” he said, "with the exception of one or two officers of the Farmers’ Union, who have been perambulating up and down the country talking politics most of the time. The dairy farmer today is in a [more stable position than he has ever been. What is to prevent the same result coming to the wool-growers as has come to the dairy farmer today?” Mr Mulholland was reported as saying that “if the Government had found it impossible to raise export prices, as its policy required it to do, then it should have the courage to admit its mistake and proceed to reduce costs to a level at which export industries could maintain production.” Referring to this, Mr Savage said that no Government would be stupid enough to think that it could control prices overseas. “and as for courage,” he added, “if there is any running to be done I am not going to do any of it.” NO REDUCTION OF WAGES. Commenting on Mr Mulholland’s statement about the high cost of wages, Mr Savage said that if Mr Mulholland waited till this Government reduced the wages and salaries of employees in industry he had a long wait ahead of him. “That is not the way to prosperity,” he said. “It is reported that there were 400 present at the meeting,” said the Prime Minister, “I think if you divide that by two, you will probably get the correct number. And even ( if there were 400, it is not stated how many were not there. “We realise that some farmers, are not getting a fair deal,” said Mr Savage, “but it is not due to the wages they are paying. There are other things to be corrected. I know that the guaranteed price is going to destroy those who are exploiting the wool grower. It destroyed those who were exploiting the dairy farmer, and I am not going to apologise for that. “The wool grower wants some stability and some guarantee as to the future. The guaranteed price would give him that, and it would give the Gov- • ernment a lot of worry, too. We do not want to force anything on the wool growers. We are willing to meet them and to try to help them safe-guard their future. I do not know whethei Mr Mulholland represents the wool growers or not, but if he does I pity the wool growers.” Reference was also made by Mr Savage to a report that a meeting of South Island farmers had advocated that, in the event of a referendum' to decide whether sheep farmers wanted a guaranteed price or not. voting should be on the basis of the number of sheep the farmer owned. The Government, said the Prime Minister, had not considered the question of a referendum, but if one were taken :t would be of human beings and not of sheep. The wives and families of th*, small sheep farmer wool grower were I just as valuable as any other section.