The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 1919. MUNICIPAL ENTERPRISE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 238, 2 July 1919, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 1919. MUNICIPAL ENTERPRISE

'• Councillou Noinvoon ancl his colleagues of the City Milk Committee are to be congratulated upon reaching what may be fairly caikd an advanced stage in -the organisation of the municipal milk supply. For months past the Milk Committee, on behalf of the City Council, has been exercising a - measure of control- All supplies being received and tested at the depot in Dixon Street, consumers arc much better safeguarded than they were formerly in regard to the purity and quality of milk. A big step forward is promised, however, in the announcement that arrangements have been completed for the institution of a block system of delivery, and that it will be put into operation next week. This departure will remedy one of the most obvious shortcomings of the milk scheme at the point to which it- has thus far been developed. Ail organised system of delivery offers two great advantages. Under existing -conditions, there is not in all cases a sufficient guarantee that milk will be conveyed from the central depot to tho consumer expeditiously and under the best conditions. Much depends upon the efficiency and conscientiousness of individual vendors, and vendors, of course, are not all on an equal plane in theso respects. With Ihc block system in operation tho conditions of delivery will be standardised, and at the same time another 'important advantage will be attained in that a considerable economy will be effccfccd. It hardly needs to be pointed out that an organised system of delivery will be less costly in operation than the present unsystematic arrangement, under which individual milkmen range, widely over the city, and rounds overlap indefinitely. In tho simplest aspect of the matter a serious waste of time, labour, and capital is entailed in several milk-carts daily visiting the same street, and from this standpoint alone the rational system about to be introduced undor the authority of the Milk Committco should lead to a great saving and improvement. The advantages of systematic delivery apply, of course, to other things than miik, and it is likely that the succcssful development of the block delivery of milk will give rise to a demand for the comprehensive organisation of retail delivery throughout tho city and suburbs. Some progress has been made already in this direction, but a delivery service organised on a comprehensive basis is still an aspiration. It is interesting in this connection that Councillor Nouwood is submitting to lhc_ CiL.v Council proposals under which the Dixon Street depot would be extended and equipped with a tramway siding ana supplemented by distributing stations to be established in each economic centre of the. outlying districts. The idea of the chairman of the Milk Committee is that in this way facilities would be provided for the economical handling not only of milk, but of moat, fish, and miscellaneous parcels. Development on these lines

might very well extend to a completely organised system of retail delivery. So extended it should make equally for tho benefit of the city population and that'of traders of all kinds who supply its detail needs.

Meantime the arrangement made for the delivery of milk on the Mock system promises- a useful advance on what has already been accomplished. It is not necessarily the last word on the subject, but to appearance it has several excellent features. For the haphazard delivery of milk under the wasteful and unsatisfactory methods now in vogue, it will substitute delivery.by five companies, formed by the vendors, in us many defined areas or' blocks. Each company, of course, will have everything to gain from making the most economical and systematic arrangements for delivery throughout its allotted area. The conditions heaving on the supply and price of 111 ilk seem to he well considered. It will rest with the City Council, to obtain supplies and allot the quantity it requires to bach vending company, and the. companies will be allowed a fixed profit per gallon to cover the cost of delivery. The Council will thus he enabled to : immediately pass on to consumers the benefit of cheaper supplies should these bctomc available. Probably it will be some considerable time yet before the municipal milk supply' is organised in all respects to the point that is desirable, but Councillor Norwoob' and those associated with him arc in a position already to point to a substantial achievement. It is certain that they could not have., accomplished .as much as they have had they not been inspired by genuine enthusiasm and a loyal regard for tho interests of the city population. From the outset the enterprise, which is intended ultimately to ensure the city a cheap and adequate milk supply of guaranteed purity, has been impeded by serious obstacles. Great difficulty has been experienced in approaching an amicable understanding with the milk vendors doing business in the city, and war, conditions, hardly modified as yet in some important respects, have also complicated the task of the Milk Committee. Inevitable delays have occurred in obtaining equipment that is needed at the Milk Station, and still more serious difficulties have arisen in regard to obtaining supplies of milk during the winter months. The usual winter shortage has been intensified during the last year or two by the temptations in other directions offered to farmers in some of the districts to which the city looks for supplies. As current experience demonstrates, there is a knotty problem still to be overcome in securing an attenuate supply of milk during the winter, but the present position even in this respect probably would have been worse than it is but for the untiring efforts of the Milk Committee ancl .the measure of organisation it has introduced. No doubt the most valuable'result thus far of the activities _of the committee and its j enterprising chairman is the estab-1 lishment of conditions much more consonant with public health than those they have replaced. A regular supply of pure, fresh milk is so essential to tho physical wellbeing of yottne children and others that it is well worth paying for, even if the cost be somewhat heavy. But, the niunicipalisation of the milk supply on the lines followed should make in the end for economy as well as for health and wellbeing, and. the introduction of the block system manifestly is a promising step in the interests . of cconomy.