Anti-Unilever

The New Guinea Campaign

THE New Guinea planters, it is reported, are pursuing vigorously their demand that there shall be a Governmental inves tigation of the operations of the Unilever Combine, which, they allege, is partly re sponsible for the present calamitous con dition of the copra market. The follow ing is from the “Rabaul Times” of Feb ruary 2: “It is a recognised fact that Unilever buys and controls the copra market of the world; its power and influence in copra buying is greater than Inchcape’s is in regard to shipping, or Rockefeller’s where oil is concerned. It is one of the many big modern mergers, whose activities are the greatest fillip to present-day Com munism and general economic distress.

“These huge mergers of the super-capi talistic combines are bleeding the world’s producers to death and any government in any country is not only entitled, but should consider it its immediate bounden duty, to step in and protect those who are unable to protect themselves against the exploitation of huge concerns, whose huge capital and immense profits make them an economic power in the land.

“With regard to Unilever it is particu larly interesting to note that at the time

when the merger between Lever Bros, and the Margarine Union Limited, was mentioned by the chairman of the latter (Earl Bessborough) on December 10, 1929, the price of copra was £21/17/6, London; a year later it stood at £15/15/-, and so on down the scale until now it has reached the £8 mark. The net profits of the con cern have increased and in connection with all this one must not forget the re marks of the Earl when he said: “ ‘Though low, raw material prices con stituted a direct benefit to the concern, the directors realised the necessity of a reasonable profit to native and other pro ducers.’

“The most suitable reply to that remark necessitates the adoption of an Ameri canism: ‘Oh, yeah’!”

“Courageous Gesture.”

From a Special Correspondent.

Pt. Moresby, Feb. 27.

Mr. R. L. Clarke’s courageous gesture in the New Guinea Legislative Council, when he demanded that the Common wealth Government take some steps to wards getting other nations into line, to check the Unilever octopus, has caused delight among planters here. We are all hoping most eagerly that the Federal Government will be bold enough to make a move.

But some are doubtful. “None of the politicians have the backbone to chal lenge Unilever and the others,” said one cynic. “This sort of thing will go on until we find a Hitler to clean them up, or until we are all driven into Bolshevism, and start chucking bombs about.”

There are quite a few thinking people who can see only Communism and violence as the logical end to monstrous growths like Unilever.

Anyway, good luck to R. L. Clarke. As the Papuan Courier says: “Clarke’s may be only a very small squeak in a very noisy world, but it may start something.”

Mrs. L. W. S. White, wife of the Dis trict Officer at Aola, Solomon Islands, returned to Sydney by the Malaita on February 15, after eight months in the group. Her island home was about four miles from Tulagi, her nearest white neighbour being more than a mile away.

In spite of the loneliness she said she enjoyed the life.