Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

9 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

The Ministers of the War Government, I common consent, have set themselves to I' work upon their various tasks with, all the ijpromptitudc and vigour, which we were en- •titled to expect, oi their individual and coi- Jectrve capabilities and though the unty '(:;inn:Jt and does Hot luuk for everything to j jbc done at once, even by so able and repic- (seiit'cilfve a body of inei i., ihc-re is all-ronnd I evidence of a new activity and drive" in every department of our war organisation, and this is most gratifying to the public mind. We do not pretend that the country icjoices in the prospect of trial and hard- ship, even of privation, which may await it. Jt"pt,.I,1jlrl be idle to make such a pretence. ,\Ve know that- for aJi of its the task of com- pletii)}; our victory over Germany and her viasirils must involve, in one way or .ano- ther; sacrifices considerably greater than we have yet haci to bear; and the progressive re of the War Government s inea- sure already gi ves a fairly plain indication of the nature and extent of those sacrifices. but i-f the home cannot be said t"rej?ce in the antIcipation of its new burdens, it can truly be said to await them v. )t!; composure ?d courage, and even with n nr:a!n pride born of the consciousness tlwt not all the tria!? of the struggle arc. to devdve upon the fighting men aiol? and the ?ole nation does Assuredly rejoice t? ?ec .?d know that no time is being icat and no el-'cnt spared by the War 1inístry to ^nioo.lise yie last ounce of our national strength in men, mateTral, and money for the conclusive defeat of the enemy. The nation, as we have said, does not ex- pect to see everything done at once. It knows well that the new Administration tílok over from the hesitating hands of its predecessor a legacy of arrears, even, in some respects, of humiliation. It remem- bers, with sympathy and good will towards the courageous nit,, who have now taken the vast task in hand, that there was much mismanagement to correct, and that it will take a long time yet to organise the machinery whereby Britain's full powers may be brought to bear upon the enomy. But every day brings U5 fres-h evidence of the patriotic activities of Ministers and of the systematic development of order out of confusion. It is no ill- sign that in some points of the reconstruction we find Ministers and Departments, if not at loggerheads, iu a mood of energetic expansion. The demands of the war are so manifold and varied and there are so many different pressing prob- lems clamouring for solution, that we can. only expect to find a considerable clash of interests as between one branch of the war [organisation and another. It is a necessity j of the case; and what we delight to note is that, instead of the old deadlocks and in- decisive postponements, we iiave nowadays a keen but friendly passage of arras be- tween the rival authorities, followed by a prompt decision of the matter upon the best! lines of compromise that may be practicable, coupled with a welcome avoidance of de- partmental formalities and red tape." This new spirit is very welcome at the head and centre of affairs, and there is nothing in the War Ministry and its methods that has more attracted the confi- i dence of the nation than the frank and open publicity and promptitude with which it settles its department.? difficulties. We may hkc the proceedings at the meeting of the National Farmers' Gnion in London as an illustration of this new business" policy. At that meeting Mr. Prothero, the Minister of Agriculture, in discussing with his hearers the national policy of tood pro- duction. dealt with the problems which have confronted him in the most caildiii fashion. On the question of fixing prices, he de- clared. that all business men would wish to allow farmers the full piay < t market prices, an incentive to do their utmost. Naturally, so scon-a* the office of Fcod Controller was created, farmers .worked under new conditions. J he object ut the Food Controller is trt regula.te prices, and mainly in the interest of the consumer, not of the producer. It is quite clear thht, if Mr. Prothero, as Minister of Agriculture, had done what the farmers generally desired and fixed a, minimum price of 50s. for wheat, the Food Controller would ha\*e the option of taking the crop at that price when it was grown. FarnWrs naturally wish to be guaranteed against the play of the market to rpJ.tkc profit heyoHLl i the minimum. But that is precisely what the Food Controller has to regulate, if not prevent, in the consumer s interest. "The one point," sfJd the Minister of Agriculture, "on wich he (Mr. Prothero) the. farmers and the Tood Controller was when he said to the Con- troller, 'It is not fair or honest to the far- mer that you should stand by and allow him to put intending to take the crop when it rises above a certain price.' Therefore, he said the only fair way was, before the crop was put in, to say to the farmer, 'This is the price at which you contract to grow.' If the farmer decided not to grow spring wheat at 6Cs.-atid it was always uncertaiii-he could put in oats j or barley, when he was almo t sure to get 1 better- yield. "That was the true meaning r the contract, price. He stood between the farmer and the official created for the purpose of .putting a limit to price. The I honest business plan to adopt was to say that 60s. was a good price to secure reason- able profit for skill find industry if the land realised four quat-ters an acre ;{ .only three .quarters, it was a, protection ag-iiiis } laaa. That was the justilfcatieftt contrfttt price."

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