CITY MILK SUPPLY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 93, 12 January 1918, Page 8

CITY MILK SUPPLY

A CONFERENCE HELD

CLEARING STATION STILL CLOSED

The city niiik clearing station is still "temporarily suspended."

Yesterday a conference was held by representatives of some of the interests concerned. There Were present the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), Councillors R. A. Wright (chairman of tho Health Committee), W. H. Bennett, J. Castle, J. E. Fitzgerald, Messrs. Strand, Whiteman, and Ward (Dairy Farmers' Association), Williams .and' Brandon (Vendors' Association), and Oliver (Corporation manager and expert).

The conference passed the following resolution"That Messrs. Ward and Williams be appointed by the council to act with Mr. Oliver in arranging for the early recommencement of operations at the milk station, and to report to the Health Committee any alterations, improvements, or additions found to be necessary in the present building and equipment, so that the same can be authorised and put in hand immediately." ' A Dominion reporter was told after the conference that the consensus of qpinion was that it-would be impossible to handle the milk in the present clearing station. Last Bight a meeting of the milk vendors was held. The meeting was private, but the following report was supplied :-p The meeting approved of the action of Mr. Williams in accepting tho position of one of the advisers to the council in connection with the reorganisation of the milk clearing station.

With reference to the deliveries it was decided to resume the early morning and Sunday deliveries as soon as possible, but owing to the disorganisation of the businesses it may be a fewdays before the deliveries will bo back to normal.

It having been notified that the' City Council intended to reopen their clearing station as soon as possible, it was decided that as soon as tho > clearing station was available the deliveries would be made direct, from the city clearing station to the public. Begret was expressed at the (statements made by the Mayor and the chairman of the Public Health Committee of the council, and Mr. Oliver, the milk expert, that the milk vendors had placed obstacles in the way of the council handling the milk, at railway station on Wednesday. Tlio milk vendors desire it to be publicly known that all they are asking from the conn-, oil is the protection they and the public have been led to believe they would receive by the fact of the milk being passed through tlio City • Council's clearing station. , The i meeting considered that some blame had been cast upon the railway officials through an alleged delay in the delivery of the milk from ifi« trucks on Wednesday morning, whoreas, as a matter of fa?*., all i,se milk was delivered on the platform by the railway porters ten minutes after the arrival of the train, which is considered by the milk vendors to have tcun a record.

The meeting desired to point out that some delay may have taken place as some of the smaller vendors wlio do not have a ledger account were asked to deposit the sum of £5 in advance as payment of freights.

'The meeting desired it to be made perfectly clear • that the milk vendors wish to render everv possible assistance to the council in securing for the public a clean, sweet, and wholesome supply of milk, and look to the City Council to assist them in this direction. ' . . '

MINISTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH ON THE "CLOSURE," The Minister of Public Health (the Hon. G. W. Russell) received, official notice from the City Council yesterday that the milk clearing station had been closed down for the time being. The Minister has replied has follows:— "I regret the unfortunate result of the council's operations in this matter. I am closely watching developments, and I hope that, before long the council will be able to evolve a workable scheme."