THE MILK TROUBLE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 7, 3 October 1918, Page 7

THE MILK TROUBLE

VENDORS STILL DISSATISFIED

ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS

• At a meeting of the milk vendors of (Wellington on Tuesday evening the 'Advisory Committee submitted the following resolutions:— 1. That ono company ho formed by Vendors; no board of directors, hut an advisory committee to watch shareholders' interests; a,general manager .to bo appointed, with full executivo ■power. . . i. , . That the company ho formed, provided tho cost of distribution and management will not exceed -'tjd. per' gallon, and further provided the council undertakes to allow-as an immediate payment to- the company not less than , '- 6§d. per.gallon, and will guarantee daily supplies required by tho company as regards quantity and quality. 3. That failing the acceptance of recommendations Nos. 1 and 2 l>y the council, that all vendors then stand.by ■.tho terms olf the council's letter of August 12, and apply to the council for individual contracts for supplies, the • council to allocate Slocks and instill the coupon..system,notifying vendors when such are read.v to be put into ioporatiou and to nominate a dato when .supplies will be available for distribution by vendors under the block and /(coupon systems. In placing the resolutions before the hieetiug, Mr, A. J. Petherick' (secretary) stated that the following letter !had been received from Mr. C. B. Nor- • j.v/ood, chairman of the council's Milk f Lommitteo:—■ "The matter df the amount to be Allowed 'to the vendors as a first paypneut in connection with the distribution of milk came before my committee on Thursday evening,, when they lad the opportunity of examining the ; figures submitted by your committeo and the council's experts, and it was decided to, allow 6d. per gallon. This amount will afford a net profit of 50 per cent, over distribution expensen, provided tho scheme is carried outiu the manner set forth by 'my committee. _ It is thought that this will bo a Sufficient immediate reward for tho serVicesof tho vendors, and the amount remaining in tho hands of tho council will, in the committee's opinion, represent a sufficiently large bond (for tho full observance of the agreement. I ifeel confident that your committeo will sarae tothis as a very fair and reasonable basis, more especially as they will realise that the. whole profits of the department at the end of the year will ht distributed amongst them in proportion to the present value of their respective businesses. I shall thank .ffou. to bring this matter before your committee as early as .possible, so that 1 may know their decision. I am addressing this letter to you on the understanding that your committee is representing the combined vendors of :■ Wellington. ■, If this be not a fact iundly inform mo at once, so that I may proceed to advise each vendor separately. , As the terms of your letter of the 17th inst. meet the wishes cf Jii.y committee it is not .intended to Jiurry the amalgamation further than to ask you to bring the matter before ■the vendors as a whole, and to Uniform mo of their confirmation." . . !. Mr. Petherick also cave a resume of the history of tho milk scheme business, after which a discussion wag held the Press being asfo'd to -withhold, the names of speakers. . .Finally the recommendations' were adopted. : Councillor C. B. Norwood Interviewed. As.tlie;resptutions : do. not favour the company scheme and proposed method lor compensation.-(by taking all the accumulated profits' for two years) .Councillor Norwood, chairman of the .Milk Committee, was seen yesterday [to see how far his plans -yvero likely to bo 'hampered by tho attitude of tho .vendors. In tho first place, Councillor Norwood paid that he had; personally issued a circular letter asking alt vendors to attend Tuesday's meeting, and pointing out that 'they, had held -meeting after meeting -without, coining down to anything definite, and tho council Wanted finality at tho meeting. It had got it, and would now proceed to act. U'he committee now felt, that the vendors had voluntarily deprived. themselves of all claim to compensation from the. council. It had been offered •.them Mil more generous scale than any of- them>seemed able to grasp, and now they said' they would sooner take Tip the blocks on-a, contract system. That would certainly mean cheaper milk to the public. . As the vendors. had thrown out the .compensation offered, Ithere was nothing moro to be said on Ithet head. i Councillor Norwood said that it .should bo made clear to the public

that the vendors ha(L turned dawn the single company scheme, with its great , economies, on the grounds that (3d. , was too low an amount allowed i'or distribution, whilst they advocate as better the contract system, which will inchido some of-It-lie old abuses, and will certainly be. less economical. The economies -under tho company system would liavo realised £2-1,000 in the two years over and above ordinary profits they mate undior ordinary conditions. Vendors have been into the (iguros and could not dispute them. Tho committee had realised -that it would liavo to justify its treatment of tho vendor at the end of the two years, and so had proposed the company idea, and Lad decided that the- whole of the money saved by the economies would be handed-over to tho vendors in the form of annual bonuses. "It may bo said "by. some," said Mr. Norwood, "that the council should give a larger first payment than Cd.' per gallon for distribution, because on the face of it, it would not make any difforenco to the general scheme. Against this my committed.has taken into consideration that tho.ro has been, during the last few years, a considerable amount of adulteration and other practices which have engaged this attention of the Law Courts. That is only too well known to tho public. That being so, my committee, does not feel that it can allow any contract to go on with tho vendors that does not provide for a. substantial bond of good faith. And in this my committee ieels that it will have tho public very substantially behind it!" .. DEARER MILK IN CHBJSTCHURCH. . Uy Telegraph—Press Association Christchurch, October 2. At a meeting'of wholesale dairymen to-day it- was agreed that the wholesale price of milk during tho summer months should be one shilling per gallon, an increase of twopence. It'is understood tho rise will bring about an increaso in tho retail prico.