LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 78, 27 December 1918, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

J'ACCUSE Sir—The late King Edward said: "Who excuses stands self-accused." Again, "The few who here havo aught of truth divined, yet foolishly revealed their inner heart, Who showed the mob their feeling and their mind, The Cross, the Stake, havo always been their part." Premise No- 3—Newspapers allege a rnlo observed more in the breach than tho performance, that matter of a certain origin must appear in one paper only, but there are exceptions to every rule, so mote it be. Councillor Norwood lias issued a Christmas beatitude on the community for what he has done, and what lie is about to do. Before, however, his accomplishment takes tangible form to the public eye, the second year of preliminaries will have been sepulchred, and nothing left above ground but debt and doubt. . .Tust two years ago the Mayor kicked off scratch the ball that has been slowly bowling along ever since, performing all sorts of gyrations, but making no goal. On July 9 last Councillor Norwood called the milk vendors together, and after .two hours of nebular nimiety, made us understand that he wanted to help us. It was all very cloudy what he meant except that his intenlions were all right, and on the latter assumption we gave our acquiescence. The next requirement was n committee to got the new thing going. I was one of tho elected, also a Mr. Williams, who wished to bring in a friend. Mr. Petheriek. This latter move I objected to as being the. cleft that revealed the cloven hoof. My remark was treated with levity, which showed that the right spirit for useful business was not obtaining. Tt lias taken five months and considerable friction to prove that T am not in the. habit of wasting my words, and that the cloven hoof was more than a levity. It meant that Mr. Williams and his friend intended (o wreck any scheme propounded, and the committee have helped them. The new situation comes out of tho eleventhhour realisation that to got anything done the attitude of Messrs. Williams and Petheriek must. be.'rightly understood. The .present offer is that tho vendors are to be treated with aeain conditionally, and one of the conditions is that the committee are to have the right to make fools of themselves if they think fit, and the vendors must be accessors. Tt is no use mincing matters. The committee's qualifications are based on pure assumption, and all fheir actions havo proved the assumption to be very badlv based. Their appointment of Mr. 01 liver ended in tho clean' loss of a cool ,{7OO. Subsequent appointments have not improved the situation. What they are to he asked to do is to smite the vendors in tin back —set up shops to sell milk under conditions which will eat the vitals out of tlio vending business, while at the, same time depending upon 6om.e degree of vitality in tho vending to get through satisfactorily to the public. Tho commercial morality of what they are about to enact is to bo no concern of theirs. They are to be paid munificently, and that is all that counts. Out of what fund? The public fund, of course! The committee aro no fools! They would not bn where they aro if they were. If they did these things with their own money they would lie, and We would give tliem a. hearty welcome. The Presh Food did it; tho Lower Hutt farmers did it: also the Mangarm farmers did it; and lost. The p''"'--''ion of July 9 was a halfway v.iiMMiro which left no chance of loss to tho city, and tho promise of a feasible experiment. It: was pure blindness alone that stood in the way. One man, practically ,im outsider, and their own weakness. Their alternative is the Cross and the Stake, with a power that may not bo theirs much longer, and money that never was theirs. As for the newsnanere, let. them rise above personal feeling, and publish this in as many as publish the argument on tho other side.—l am, etc.. < HENRY BODLTIY. December 2-1.