THE MILK PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2786, 2 June 1916, Page 6

THE MILK PROBLEM

THE FARMERS' POINT OF VIEW

CLEARING HOUSE WANTED

A deputation from the Dairy Farmers' Association waited on tho City Council last evening for the purpose of justifying the price ot milk they are obtaining from the miltc vendors of Wellington. Mr. Ryder (chairman of the association) said that they were present to substantiate the. statements they had made in reply to tho. vendors., and to condemn the practice of calling the association a milk' trust.

llr. Ward (secretary of tho association) .said they wished to cast no reflection on the milk vendors The chief point was tho high price that the people had to nav tor milk in Wellington at the present time. Ihe lilame for this was being placed on the poor farmer. As a matter ot lact, they were tho best friends the vendors had, for with every rise of 2d. per gallon made by the farmer, another P»t on by the vendors, and 2d more on top of that, and he quoted figures in support of that contention. The high price of milk this year was not on' account of the lessened consumption as was made out, but owing to the milk being difficult to obtain owing to the conditions prevailing. there had been cases whero Kelbuin residents had been left without milk ol '„ th f ee , daJS - : The y lla d been called a tnilk trust, and he objected to it. In the Act of 1910 they were not. scheduled, but in the Cost. of Living Act: oi lDlo they were included, and it' they were a trust they (the vendors) had their remedy. It was also said that they were a clos,e corporation. Why, it cost • -ml?." 011 (Eooawill) a milfc-run in \\ elhngton. Five years ago the price lv ?ni- a ' ; 16 Ta ' :e Per gallon. a J'or:'You mean that it costs ■£200 to buy a fifty-gallon runP said that was so,' and sales on that basis had taken place in Wellington during the last eight months. Con-tinuing,-he said that they had during the last year realised less than suppliers to the factories. You may as well say why the price of tomatoes now is not the same as it was in summer. The trouble was that to supply .winter as well as summer jnilk a farmer had to keep two herds, and it . took from 75 to 100 per cent, more to produce milk in the winter than it did- in the summer. One statement he wished to emphasise was that if they could not get the price equal to that given to the suppliers to factories they would make provision to establish butter and cheese .lactones in the. vicinity of Wellington, i ere wouW no winter milk for.Wellington at all. In his opinion there was no hope of improving the milk sup■ply unless a clearing-house were established, and if it- was not established the milk to be provided might not be so good as it.was now. Whoever heard oi a prosecution without the vendor saying that he sold it as it was received from the farmer? The clearing-house would do away with that, "v • Councillor .Fuller; ,Then they would blame the clearing-house. Mr. Ward said that there were times when, the vendors left the milk at the from 8 o'clock in the morning until 3 o clock in the afternoon. The averngo price obtained by suppliers in i pi l ?® a Sallon, the farmers received a gallon, and- it was retailed in Wellington at Is. id. per gallon. B.ut £i i. said that he did not get that figure all round, as a proportion of it was sold wholesale. If they were to be~called a milk trust, exploiters of the public, etc., it would be better for them to supply only in the summer, and allow people to get their milk in the winter as best they can. Whiteman' (a Hutt Valley farmer) said that the average price he had received. over the past year was SJd. a gallon, delivered on to the railway platform. It was not fair to quote the higher price received, as when the price was high they had less to sell. D'iring the past twelve months he had supplied 52 gallons in tho summer and 33 gallons per day in the winter months. Suppliers to the factories had received B}d. per gallon. Councillor Fuller wislied to know if the I 1 armers' Association did not represent a monopoly, and were trying to wipe -out competition.

Mr. Ward said that the association was a combination of farmers to get fair, treatment.

Councillor Hutcheson said that the vendors complained that they got such scant notice about any increase, and, in oonsesuence, were not able to readjust the load for a month.

. Ward said that they claimed the "ght of any business firnwto alter prices. Whenever the vendors-received notice they raised the prices the next day. Councillor Bennett wished to know if the proposal for a clearing, house emanated from the association; if the system was established in any. other city in the world, and, if so, where?

Mr. -Ward said that a clearing-house was talked of in Wellington years before the association came into existence. It was originally suggested by Dr. Frengley as-the first step towards" a pure milk supply. Afterwards the council had taken it up. Somo of the big London suppliers had their own clearing-houses. In reply to questions, -Mr. Ward said that labour cost a . deal more than itused to, but the great difficulty was to get the right class of labour.

After the association deputation left, Mr. Tarr, a Karori farmer and vendor,' protested against the establishment of a clearing-house. Out of 258 suppliers of milk to Wellington, 89 were suburban farmers, and to those lit would mean bringing their.milk- in to the. clearinghouse and taking it back again. Councillor Barber pointed out that if Mr. Tarr served in Karori, lie was not affected.'

Mr. Tair pointed out that many of his customers were in Northland anil Kelburn. He objected to the clearing-house being erected when it was impossible for one-third of them to nse it. He also.pointed out that it took eight hours to thoroughly test milk. . The council is to consider the whole miuc business at its next meeting. THE SALE OF MILK • J NEW CITY BY-LAW. At its meeting'last evening tho City Council adopted a new by-law for the purpose of controlling the milk supply of Wellington. Tho newby-law occupied ten foolscap, sheets of typewriting. The bylaw provides for the appointment of inspectors who are given wide powers. Clause 4 says: "(1) An inspector may (a) at all reasonable times enter into and inspect any dairy or milk-shop in the City; (b) mark, seal, or otherwise secure, woigh, count, or measure any milk, in such dairy or -milk-shop; (c) seize any milk wherever found which is or appears to be unwholesome or deleterious to health, and destroy any milk wherever found which is decayed or putrified; (d) inspect any milk wherever found which ho has reasonable,ground to believe is intended for sale.

"(2) Any person claiming anything seized under this section may, within fortyeight hours after such k seizitre, complain thereof to any Justice, and such complaint may lie heard and determined before -a Magistrate or any two Justices, who may either confirm or disallow such seizure wholly- or in part, and may order the articlo seized to' l>e restored. '

"\3) If within forty-eight hours after such seizure no complaint has been made, or if such'seizure is confirmed, the article seized shall become the property of the corporation, and shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of so as to prevent it being used for human consumption. "(i) Where the seizure of any milk is made >.in any place which is not in the occupation of the owner of the thing seized, the inspector making tho seizure shall forthwith give notice in writing oi the seizuro to the owner, or to the consignor or consignee, or to the agent n< the owner of the thing seized if his name and address are ; attached thereto, or are otherwise known to the officer.

"(5) Any person who obstructs any inspector in the exercise of his powers under t.liis section is puilty of an ofTenco. "6. (1) On payment or lender lo any person sellinj* any milk or to his aßcn't or servant of the current marlcet valuo of the samples in this clause referred to any inspector may at any place demand and select and tako or obtain samples of the said milk for the purpose of analysis. (2) Any such inspoetor may require the

said person or his agent or servant to show and permit the inspection of the package in wijich such milk is at ths tima kept, And "to take therefrom the samples demanded, (3) Where any milk is kept for retail sale in un unopened package no person ehjill be required by any inspector to sell less than the whole of the contents of sueli package. (4) Every person who refuses ox, neglects to coDiUly with a demand or requisition made by an inspector in pursuance of this clause is guilty of an offence under this by-law, unless he proves that he had no knowledge or reason to believe the sample demanded was required for the purpose of analysis. "7. Any person may on payment oi the prescribed tee, together with tho cost oJ the sample, require any inspector to purchase a sample of any milk,, and submit the same for analysis. "The by-law sets out that adulteration is constituted as follows-.—(a) If it contains or is mixed or diluted witli any substance which diminishes in any manner its ■ nutritive or other beneficial properties as compared with such article in . a pure and normal state, and in an undeteriorated and sound condition, or which in any other manner operates or may operate to the prejudice or disadvantage of the purchaser or consumer, (b) If any substance or ingredient has been extracted or omitted therefrom, and by reason of such extraction or omission the nutritive or other beneficial properties of the article as sold are. less than those of the article in its pure and normal state, or the purchaser or consumer is or may be in any other manner prejudiced, (c) If it contains oc is mixed or fluted with any substance of lower commercial value than such. article in a pure and normal state, and in an undeterforated and sound condition, (d) If it does not comply with the standard therefor prescribed by any regulations made under the authority of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. 1908. The by-law is- now open for inspection at the Town Hall. It will como up for confirmation at the next meeting of the council.