THE EMPIRE RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. [To THE EDITOR OF THE
" SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Mr. H. Wilson Fox, as Honorary Secretary of the Empire Resources Development Committee, will no doubt do good work at home in arousing thought and stimulating energy in the direction of developing our vast possibilities in the production of raw materials. Your own article on the subject has earned our gratitude, and the caveats there expreSsed can very well be emphasized by giving you the experience which the settlers of this country have had with quasi-Government institutions. which were avowedly established with the object of developing the industries of Rhodesia. Of course, there is a difference between the two eases. Here we are governed more or less by a commercial Company and in its interests. The Empire Resources Development Committee will also be out to make profits, but its objects would work for the profit of the Empire.
The British South Africa Company have given pecuniary aid to or established the following in Rhodesia : the railways of the country; the Labour Bureau; the Land Bank; the Creamery; the Tobacco Warehouse. With the exception, perhaps, of the Land Bank and the Labour Bureau, none of them is run to the satis- faction of the settlers. Even the Labour Bureau, though fulfilling its object to augment the supply of native labour, seems to many, including myself, to be a disguised system of forced labour, though I admit it has no "attendant horrors" even for the native.
The railways are giving so little satisfaction that practically all the settlers are united in demanding reform in policy and management. We are also told that the railways hardly pay.
The Bacon Factory is not paying its way. Interest charges more than absorb what profit is made. The produce is not being used locally as much as it should be, though it is sold at about 20 per cent. less than the imported article. We are still import- ing bacon. Pigs do remarkably well in Rhodesia, and though the factory has been running for years, it is not yet sufficiently supplied to keep it busy at its full capacity all the year round. In fact, the non-success of the factory is due to its not being economically and efficiently managed by the B.S.A. Company.
The Creamery turns out very good butter, die., and is also a failure so far as the Company is concerned. It does not pay. The butter from creameries in the Union is sold throughout Rhodesia, and competes easily in quality and price with the local factory's produce. The Union Creameries obtain cream from Rhodesia. the price paid by them being better than that paid by the Gwelo Creamery, though the railage is far heavier on cream sent to the Union. The Union Creameries pay the railage.
Both the Bacon Factory and tho Creamery are now absolutely
necessary to the country. The farmers, realizing this, are anxious to buy them from the B.S.A. Company, but hitherto the negotia- tions have failed. In fact, so important is a creamery that the farmers are actually starting another in Bulawayo in opposition to the one in Gwelo. This seems to be good proof that at any rate the settlers, having firm faith in the resources of Rhodesia, are yet very certain that anything of this kind managed by the B.S.A. Company is bound to be a failure. And they can -cite the Tobacco
Warehouse as a case in point. It was a flagrant example of how not to run things. The settlers, being dissatisfied with the Com- pany's management, formed a Co-operative Society and took over the warehouse, with the satisfactory result that there is now every chance of tobacco growing and handling being a huge success.
The co-operation of the farmers growing maize has been so successful that this section of agriculture is now on a firm foundation. They hope to export half a million bags (203 pounds) of maize to help to feed you this season. The advantages accruing -to the maize farmers through Co-operation have been so apparent -to other agricultural and pastoral sections that we have a beef- canning factory about to be established, independent of the B.S.A. Company. Citrus-growers will in time also co-operate to export their fruit.
The mining industry in Rhodesia was a failure so long as the Company tried to manage it through its subsidiary compauies. -Directly it was thrown open to the public and the 50 per cent. royalty reduced to one of 2/ per cent. on the gross gold won, the mines of the country were a great success on the whole, and an unusual impetus was given to prospecting. Capital to open up a country is most important. Capital is what would-be Co-opera- tion most needs. The Land Bank have helped, but not sufficiently or very wisely.
To state the matter shortly, our experience here is that Govern- ment management means failure; and in contradistinction all enterprises undertaken in Co-operation amongst the settlers them- selves have proved successful. Mr. Wilson Fox is a director of the B.S.A. Company, and ought to know something of what I have
[Our correspondent is solely responsible for the statements made in the above letter. The facts are altogether outside our know- ledge. It is, however, very important that Mr. Morkel's view of a very difficult problem should be given the fullest publicity. Whether prejudiced or not, it has all the signs of good faith.— En. Spectator.]
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