Abergavenny Chronicle

FARMERS UNION. I NEW BRANCH FOR LLANTHONY I f ADDRESS BY MR. S. T. GRIFFIN. j A meeting of the I'auuv Branch ot the "Farmer. Tnion was held at the Uantlwnv Abbey School- room on Saturday evening, when there was a fairly good attendance of local agricultures, ilr. Warren Davies (vice-chairman) presided. and was supported by Mr. S. of the County Executive;, Capt. Beer (Higli- mead, LIanvair., Mr. Joseph Crriiliths (local sec.), j and Mr. Hornfray Davies (countv sec. ) The Chairman said that was the first time he had had the opportunity of meeting the farmers in public since they did him the honour o nominating him to the County Council It "would be his endeavour to do all he could in their interests and in the interests of the county generally. He had in :\1" Crill: a splendid Jeader in all matters •pertaining to agriculture. There was not a gentleman on the County Council working so hard or so systematically as Mr. Griffin was in the interests of farmers and the comity generally. Capt. Beer, who was also tl; address the meeting, would be able to tell them something about grading. Taking it on the whole he (the chairman) thought thcrt the grading had caused less complaint at Aberga- vennv than at any other market in tlie county. A Separate Branch. j Mr. Joseph Gri:v't!is. 111 giving his report, re- ferred to the question or subscriptions, and said that if they were to carry on the Uniop. eiffciently they would have to put their hands in'o their pockets and pay a bigger subscription. Labour- ing men were paying per week to their Union but many farmers were not paying more than id. per week. Mr Griffin and others were giving their time in their interest, and it was not very creditable if they were short of i-.uids to carr> I on. He hone(I that when they appealed to them, t. double or treble their subscriptions they whuld j readily respond, It had been suggested that it •would be wise to form a separate branch there. There were a lo; of activ- members and good subscribers in that valley, and it was difficult for them to attend the meetings at Pandy. He thought they might form a branch for Cwmyoy I-pper and" I.mver. l-'wthog and Capc-I-y-ffin. The expenses the branch need not be very much, and if thee held meetings and passed resolutions thev would be entitled to send a representative the County Executive. Mr. Wm. Williams <Xantygwiddel) proposed that a.separate branch be formed, It was a long way for them to go to Pandy, and he aid not see why they could not do t .\e bnsitiess as well up there. Mr. Jas. Lewis seconded; and the proposition (,arr iiii- y Mr. Homfrav I'av'.es said that it not be t 1 t 1 I advisable to start the branch until alter the annual meeting at i'andy. They have their first meeting^ in the spring, and might j arrange a supper to gi ve it a send-oii. In the Melting Pot. I Mr. S. T.< jriftii:. o: a stirring and j interesting address, said that in returning Mr Warren Davies to the County Council they li a, I taken a step in t, right direction, and he hoped that in the near future every agricultural division in the county would return a practical agn- culturist on the County Coimcil. County. Councils in the future were going to have a great deal more to do with the administration of agn- j ulttire than theyj hail had in the past, and it was only from practical men.-that they could xpect the best results. Agriculture was now in the melting pot. and the time had arrived when every farmer should see that he was a member of the Lnion. The days of the in- dividual had passed, and it was only through combination and Arganisation that they would he able to demand from the authorities what j they were justly entitled to. They were out to menace nobody, but to protect their own ¡derests. and without combination they would not be able to do it. What the Union had done fir the farmers during the last six months they nerhaps did not realise. The National Execu- tive had spent most of their time during the last three months on most important questions. There were two or three Bills now before Parlia- ment, important Bills which affected them vitally, and unless they were there to protect tneir own interest> he was afraid that they would have a rough time of it. It was not fair tli it those who were not in the Union, but were sitting on the fence, should reap the benefits they were working for That did not apply in any oilier industry Out of about a quarter of a million farmers ill the country they could only cI.aUii about 80,000 as members of the Union, and it made it very difficult for their representa- tives when they were before the officials in London to claim to represent the tenant farmers. They had been trying to fix the winter prices of milk and fodder ard meat, and the latter was t; be controlled until the ist of June, 1920. They had sat in conference with the Food Con- I troller day in and day out. and he thought that when thev saw the prices Which had been fixed ;Lev woufd be satisfied with what had- been done. It had not been firm*. without fighting, and they cculd not fight without funds. It was inci. duty to put their hands into their pockets and "assist these men, who were putting more pounds into the pockets of the etrmers than the Union would take peace out of them. To-day a Roval CotnmissiCh had I teen appointed to inquire into the condition of the agricultural Industry, and he was proud to say that they had four members from their organisation sitting c.n that Com- mission, men who knew the business from top to bottom. Don't let it be said that they were going to he let down for want of funds. If some of the proposed legislation was passed, see res of farmers in Monmonthsi.ire would have 10 It, r their farming or give place to others. They knew that the evidence before th, Kcyal Com- mission had been taken in private, but he be- lieved they would know through the Press during the next week what was taking place, and he wanted them to believe that wi atever happened they had the right men there to pro- tect their interests. (Hear, hear). He ventured ic think that the Prime Minister was realising more than ever the necessity of getting to work on reconstruction, especially on the agricultural side of the problem. The prices of meat had and b n.edupanli-hcyw d m g agriculturists should know the intentions of the authorities and should know what were likely to be the prices in the future. Tl ey could not make a milking cow in five minutes. Nature would not have it, and the sooner the authorities realised that fact the better it would be for oroducer and consumer. He beliwed they I would have better treatment in tj e future than thev had in the past, on that particular point. High Price of Milk. I Commissions bad been set up in y direc- tions. Since he was there last a W g s Board had been set up There was i.ot a si gle prac- tical agricultural labourer o; body. He did not infer that the labour r present tives did not guard the interests of t L b<>urers, but, unfortunately, from the pr .duck's point of view and Lie consumer's p 1 t of vi w, they were not sufficiently acquainted wi e work- ings of agriculture to be able to gm hem the I best results of practical .knowledge. H -.ought j that so far as the labour question w, s concerned nothing much wrong had been done .o f r. He himself had had to go through t, nail, and he knew what it was to Work hard for f w smllings per week. He hoped those d ys would never return, -tid e thought they ii., v, r if the agricultural labourer and the farm,,r would join their organisations, .d ir. wages in the future should be equal to in the factories, the steelworks aiul co teries. With regard to the wool qu,t,. el tc authorities decided to control wool n Execu- tive in London took the mati(r ILP, ,iglli, un- fortunately. thev had not muc ,11 Many sheer) hau been shorn before uav j- w wnat waF going to happen. The buy. rs org. nisation was united to a man, but not i ior«. t .an one- third of tile farmers were oig.nis t., and the buyers were able to handle wo-thirds against them. He knew thi- farmers thought it very hard to be ask to old their wooi for a few weeks, but it principle thev were fighting for. It wi sit m to say when selling their produce, so much, or you shan't have it. With regard to the prices of 1 ic.i had been fixed, ;d the prices of 1 would he fixed on Tuesday, lie want to s..y that though t' e "ere strongly re. IJn these committees, there were always sides to a que neard a gentl ytority e. y one u nat week that t J. milk for '• e winter wa.-> bound to be very high, the price was made known lie thought they would have to admit that it might not be all that it. ought to be, but the price would be so high that they were- asked to niMtk-r thv position 01 the lower clas.se> throughout the country during the next winter. If it was going t<» lie is. a quart <>r more it meant a tremendous jump in price. Although it IILI(L l,ecti proved tliat under present con(litiois -scarcit, of roots, probable price of cakes, and price of hay that it would, be utterly impossible to even produce it at that price next winter, he asked them to be in this particular question as lenient as they iK»siblv ould. and not t" tin.: 'fault with L:l j prices which would be announced, but to believe | that the be>t had l>eeu done th.it could be done under the circumstances. In regard to wool, they were commencing to make their arrange- ments for next year's clip, and. they would not Sie caught napping again. When the time arrived he hoped that they would have places to store the wool in different parts or the county and. have their own auctioneer to sell it for them That was \l,- t tllt. \y'r, tIf\i:l< f. dr :1, and, lie !:• Ipctl the}- would 111.: ¡r(: tl. eo Land for Ex-Soldiers. I There was also the question of placing the men I thatc?'ut.v. There were So.000 applications from discharged men for small healings m the froiii iii,2,n for ;.I mauv applications in that ((;-1: ,d ¡: mittee dealing with this matter would have to be very careful how they administered the business, or, instead of doing the men c. kindness ;)Q k-er- caref?,it h?)% tlie- This land had to be ff)lnd there was no '(1\t10n about th?t: and there was no p;a,m: why it should not be found. They were oouud to ad- mit that these men having fought for them, it was their duty to endeavour in every possil.de way to place them where they might be able to get an honest living Itwasonlyiromthemen who had the land, that the land could be ob- i i tained. They could not make land. The land had to be found., and the laud could be obtained. They could not make land. The land-had to be and if anv of them could spare* 20 acres lie asked them to consider that if it had not been for these men the probabilities were that the Germans would have overrun the country, and instead of their preserving a part of their farm thev would have lost the whole of it. He wanted the farmers cf KngAand to show their willingness to assist in every possible way the boys who had. fought for them. Mr. Bulkh-y There is plenty of by-tam; in the country. Mr. GrifRn said that was a matter which might be discussed, but let it never be said that the farmers were the biggest obstacles to homes being found for these men. (Hear, hear). Referring to local taxation, Mr. Griffin said that when thev came to realise the amount of money which was being spent at the present time it almost took their breath away. Tax- ation would have to be increased, and if farmers desired to appeal against their assessment they must be prepared with a clear statement or their case, and then they would have a better chance- of succeeding- The authorities would not accept their statements unless they could sub- stantiate them by figures. He asked them to keep some sort of accounts, so that when they were called before any committee they would 1 have some facts which might be accepted. They could easily make out some account on Saturday night of their tradings, and what they had bought and sold. With regard to the future prospects of labour. Mr. Griffin said that the employers' side of the j G, la morgan and Monmouthshire Wages Board was composed of level-headed men who realised that the time had arrived when these matters should be dealt with locally. They did not want to trouble the London Wages Board. The hours had been nxed. and after the end of October they would be reduced from 54 to 50. That was going to make it very diincutt for them as farmers. What he had argued was that they should have the hours, and pay the money for it. (Hear, hear). Of course a master and man had the option of coming to an arrangement with regard to hours outside the Wages Board. but in many instahces an agreement could not be arrived at. They knew wnat a 50-hour week would mean when it came to summer time and harvest time, and it was going to be very awk- ward. He hoped that when the report of the Royal Commission was issued something might be done with regard to an alteration cf hours. but they must not think that the men must not be paid. He should not be surprised to see a 48-hour week enacted for every working man in Great Britain, and they would have to apply for permission, if they w?uted to employ a man outside those hours. If wages were increased. however, prices would have to follow suit. It was absolutely essential that they should know- as soon as possible what was to happen in the coming .-cr with regard to the prices of grain. Thousands of acres of, pasture land had been ploughed up in that county. It had to be found, but many nundreds of acres were ordered to be ploughed up which never should have been, and never would have been under other circum- stances. No man was going to keep laud under I arable cultivation unless ue had a guaranteed I price for his graib. It could not be done, and it would not be done. "A Darned Fool Game." I Capt. Beer said that he had always looked upon the larming community as being expl ined for the benefit of every other class. That was why he joined the Farmers' Ui-ion. In the old days they took their } roduc. to inaiket and it was not a question of wh-L it cost ti-cm to produce it, but they had to Lk" wnat WuS offered them. They did not want to expl IL anyone, but they wanted to get the status ef t-e farmer lifted up. Why should they not get trùde profits ? Men in the businesses he h., ü been interested in had got thkir 8 to 10 per cent, nett profit, after charging for tneir time and expenses, or they considered tuat ine business WnS not paying. Compare that with tie average farmer. He worked himself, he .vurl,d -is wife, he worked his sons and -1., daughters all Lie nours that God made, and a few more, cud ne went to market with his produce and could not make enough to carry on. YV h-t was t.-e remedy ? To go home and "work hauler, xf tnat was not the darndest fool game tnat ever man took in hand he did not know what mey called it. Wny could not they say This cost us so ruuen to grow, and we will have this price, Oe. erwise we won't sell it." It was all very well to t, L, < bout patriotism, but let those w..o u Ik- u about it try a little bit of it for themselves. He had every respect for the working man, buL, unfortunately, he found that as soon as tne working nu n got the upper hand he had no respect for aim. (Laugnter). Farmers ought to get is good a return for their capital s the comra,ici.-I m^n. is c grader at the Aber- gavenny Maiket, ne "i-d always been an up- holder of L.t: interests of the farmer, but there had been sever. 1 dittiei hi. s, and he had sug- gested to several gei.thmen who seemed to know all about L L luLY should take the job on. He had resigne d i. rtt times witnin tne lastHliree weeks, but W,,5 still doing tne work. Whenever he was at vdiance wtu L.e super-grader, he never had 0 single owner who backed him up. If they c-ppointeei a mù to represent them they should stick to im, and u^ey should say that they would not accept anything but what their man said. In reply ,0 qu^btions, Mr. Griffin said that the prices of men Wdt. nxed on certain conditions. He thong .t t < y were satisfactory, but they were on condition L .t tlll. price of cake should be £ 25 xos. a toii delivered -t tne nearest station. The Government were making arrangements for the protection of a million tons of this cake, and tneir c lcnlations i, r. 'u.,sc-d on the price of it. if u.t plice weni b. low that, the price of meat would drop so muca per live cwt., but if it increased LLlll i..t piice of meat would go up correspondingly. They nad a give-and-take policy, whicH L. y never had before. The prices were also „.v d on tne understanding that no hay was to be commandeered from the farmer this time.. (Hear, ear). Mr, H miir v Davies said that he had had farmers in his office who were not paying the minimum wage, and he would like to warn them to do so, dS tjit rt Were inspectors going round the county. Of course, if t. iy aid a man who was not a'ble-bodi d, t ey could make an arrange- ment to employ ..im c.t a reduced wage. Mr. Griffin w s g'JLg to London two or three days a week on 1 ir benalf, and he hoped that the would support tne Union by increased sub- scriptions. Sales of Calves. I Mr. Joseph Grimths referred to the Calf Order, I which was a very troublesome question at Abe,- I gavenny. Some time ago it was an open market, but the}- knew that farmers rushed ill ever}' calf | -,ru.s i. d i: '?r y t-a i'' they hud, some with verv little meat on, and J ihey were making from /.m to />o. If that had j .gone on there ?v<'uM have been verv few cal ves J 1'-it on the farms in the district. The Food j Controller stepped in and stopped the sale of I calves altogether, which he 'Mf. Griffiths! thought was a wrong police. lie suggested that the following resolution should, be passed That all calves should be graded by a practical farmer, and those not x\?ortlisliot!l(l be, -Id without resti id ion, and all the best calves ] should, be branded and reared. 15v that mecus they would have an abundance of ;:1,1 for con- sumption, and il, would preserve jtlie best I blood for rearing. Referring to the Corn Claims Inspection ,\c». Mr. Griffiths said that at the present time all corn was inspected, and. as far as he could understand! it, if the price of corn did not go down no one was going to benefit, but if it did go down lie believed the farmers would be at no loss. Ik- believed there was a large sum o; money earmarked r.r the purpose of meeting t hese claims, but if there were no claims the mo ne v wou l d, not be sie; m that w,.v He thought thev uyre entitled to something. They had hear d J- !o» about which never should have been ploughed, and. it would! never be put back to grass unless the farmer had some assi^taii'-e. He therefore suggested the passing of the following resolution That all tillage land be graded and a definite arrangement mad e between the fanner and the < Tovv-rument as to what land should be kept under the plough and what should be put back to grass, the Govern- ment to allow the farmer 12 per acre for seeding the laud for this purpose. There were scores of aares ploughed h,t which were never Tj:e resolutions were adopted, llld it ,,s deiided to send them to the County Executive. A vote of thanks was accorded the speakers, 011 the proposition of Mr. Thos. Griifiths, seconded by Mr. J a s. hen is, audi Mr. Grifun, in reply, said that their \v<<rk in connection with the Royal Commission would cost them 'o<<o or /3.oor>, but if tlie evidence for the farmers was not properly put before the Commission they were going to see troublous times. They were cm- ploying the best men they could- get for the- purpose, and hey were taking every step po -sibb to put forward their case, A