HOSPITAL MILK SUPPLY.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2436, 15 April 1915, Page 7

HOSPITAL MILK SUPPLY.

> Sir, —As Mr. Witton, late contractor For tie Hospital milk supply, has evidently rushed into print without first ascertaining the nature of the "report" to which he takes exception, perhaps you will allow, trie spaeo to reply. This report took the form of a lettor, writ.ten for the private information of mem'bors of the board. I have obtained per'imission of the chairman to publish it 'Sin full, provided Mr. Witton and those 'employed 011 his farm on the day of ; my visit give their consent. In the fln&antime, sufficient may bo quoted to (jenlightan the general public, as to its •mature. : Previous to inspecting the farm. I had, with tho sister and Dr. HardVick Smith, tho late : superintendent, 'investigated all the details of the care jof the milk after, its delivery at the Children's Hospital, and suggested alterations which when effected made existing arrangements . satisfactory. Quotations from the report' read as foli . , . "28th April, 1914. f\ "Three times, at least, during the summer, all the babies ted 011 cows' {milk were attaoked with vomiting and idiairhoea, so that I was most reluctantly compelled to use patent foods, jit has been very difficult to get normal increase in the weights of the lititle fpatients, showing that (the milk Vas poor in quality. The superintendfent had samples taken," etc . "In the company of Mr. George Nash I paid a visit to the farm, where I was informed that some twelve imonths previously Mr. Witton had let, _ or leased, the_ farm, and with it. subJet the Hospital contract to Messrs. Baylis and George. These appear to be honest, energetic, young men, anxious to get on. One of them showed us

over the farm. , On hearing the reason vpf our visit, he stated that 'eight cows Bad been condemned (presumably by !the Health Department) as tubercular ; ■consequently the milk was short, and ■they ■ had ■ bought sufficient daily to •make up the required amount.' It is possible that the bought milk was of inferior quality." This is sufficient reply to Mr. Witton's assertions regarding "condemned cows" and "inaccurate allegations." I have, never at any time suggested that the milk was "tubercular"; but the statement regarding Ihe "eight cows" is significant—as, Mr. Witton /would say. However, any farmer is liable to find at times one or two tubercular cows in his herd. "I consider that Mr. Witton should lave informed the board of his intention to retire, even temporarily, and obtained their consent to transfer the contract. Further, I think that Messrs. Baylis and'_ George, sub-contractors, should have informed the board of tho shortage of milk, and allowed the board to arrange for the extra amount. We cannot afford to ran any risk with the quality of our milk supply , "The milking sheds and feeding 'troughs were particularly clean, and the l milkers washed their hands at intervals , .under the tap. The washing of the cans is done in an ignorant, old-fash-iohed manner, in two large wooden tubs, ; .with water carried in buckets from the house. Although hot it can. never be boiling.. The' shed in which the cans are washed is old and dirty and there is no bench or rack on which to stand •the cans when cleansed." Our guide explained that Mr. Witton had spoken of pulling down the shed, and he supposed it would be done. I drew 'his attention to the many' obvious risks ,of contamination in the methods .used, and .incidentally described a model 'dairy farm, in the heart of London, ■where all the attendants,- and even the cows are clad in white. Evidently this description, intended merely to show the •extraordinary care taken.to, secure purs milk, for infants, has been reported to |Mr. Witton, and has so appealed to his sense of the ridiculous, that he imagines, me to be blissfully picturing all Jus employees, white-robed, wading ■through a sea of mud, in the depth or winter, "calling the cattle home" f No wonder he pours scorn upon me as a dairy farm inspector. The report goes on. to state:—"As the milk is delivered twice diiilv, the cans are "always in use, and it will eas-. ily be seen that in hot weather the milk' may become oontaminated. ' The sister tells me that the cans frequently stand fill night, if not longer, in the porch, waiting to be_ removed—and dirty 1 (Naturally, a simple washing will not sufficiently cleanse them. It is essential that the cans should be sterilised It would cost from £20 to £30 to put Jn a small steam boilers and pipe such k® seen on several farms around •Wellington, and on all up-to-date dairy farms everywhere."

: The board decided to save Mr. Witton _expense by having the empty cans washed and sterilised at the Hospital, before being returned, and this has since'been done. "The'cooling arrangements are primitive and inefficient," 1 wrote. They consisted' merely of a wooden trough, kept partly filled with water by a tap which rail slowly at one end of the trough. Only the can nearest the tan has any chance of : becoming cool. 1 pointed out to our guide that the < temperature of the water in which the cans were standing at the end of the trough furthest from the tap was considerably raised, proving that the volume of cold water, as compared with that of the milk, was so small as to be practically useless. The board arranged for the milk to he placed in the cool chamber immediately on its arrival at the Hospital. These matters may not be considered serious by Mr. Witton, but they are sufficiently so to make all the difference between sickness and health." Finally, the report says:—"Mr. Witton is sincerely troubled at the deterioration of the milk, and appears anxious to do all he caa to satisfy the board." This information was given me by Mr. George Nash, who appeared to know Mr. Witton intimately, and whose word I had no reason to doubt. Indeed, so pathetic was the picture drawn by Mr. Nash, that I was prevailed upon to accompany him, unofficially, to see Dr. Frengley, then District Health Officer, in order to make a special appeal on Mr. Witton's behalf. I may at ©nee say that, though a "distinguished lady" (I thank Mr Witton- for his compliment I) I was not sufficiently distinguished to influence the procedure of the Public Health Department' These details merely show that there

was not, and never have been, the slightest attempt to injure Mr. Witton, whom I understand to be one of the most respected of the milk vendors. The discussions at the board have never been of a personal nature, and while determined to remedy obvious defects, it has. leaned always to tho side of leniency and courtesy. Yt hen the ratepayers know that the contractor's cheque for the year ending March 31, 1915, was £1806, they will realise how much the question means ' to them, from a financial aspect alone. Tho decision of tho hoard as to the advis* ability of establishing a hospital dairy farm has been repeatedly affirmed by a majority of 16 to 4. It is interesting to note . that of tho four now forming the minority three- were oil the original committeo appointed to inquire into the whole question or the milk supply, who, on June 18, 1914, first' suggested the advisability of a hospital dairy farm. Mr. M'Ewan and I completed the numbers. Some ratepayers think that a more rigid contract would meet the case; others, that the projected municipal clearing-house is all that is needed. We have discussed these. Our experience shows the extraordinary difficulties in the way of maintaining the standard of excellence. If the terms are too-rigid, they become intolerable to the farmer,

'who can easily sell his milk elsewhere. Further, there are few, if any, contracts so binding as to be impossible of Evasion. The disadvantages of railway transport, the tedium of repeated inspection and analysis, the risks in the handling of milk by tlhose over whom we havo 110 control—all these are obstacles which would bo greatly minimised if the Hospital worked its own farm. The municipal clearing-house will certainly be a great boon to the cit.v, but it will bo a considerablo time boforo it will bo able to meet the needs of the hospital. In any case it is not likely to result in a reduction of the estimate for milk. Eighteen hundred pounds annually is a large amount, and there is no reason to think it will be less in tho future, under the contract system. The estimates given to the board, however; show that tho running expenses of the farm would bo considerably less. ~Tho ratepayers are not asked for a penny extra 011 account of the proposed farm. The £1800 annually, already being paid by tho ratepayers, will, we are told, cover all expenses, including interest and sinking fund. At the end of 36 years, the hospital becomes the owner of a property which is not likely to decrease in value so long as Wellington continues its present growth. Personally, I feel that where any profits (even just profits) are to come from the pockets of the ratepayers, the element of commercialism should be eliminated as far as possible. It is done in the hospital laundry, its bakehouse, its soda-water manufactory, all of which are conspicuously successful ■ and economical. Why not in its dairy farm also? —I am, etc., D. E. PLATTS-MILLS. April 14th, 1915. , '