PRICE OF BUTTER AND MILK

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 306, 20 September 1920, Page 5

PRICE OF BUTTER AND MILK

Sir.-4-I noticed a letter in your paper J of September 8 from tlie Women's National Council, Wellington branch. In answer to above I should like to point " out in the first instance that the New Zealand people have'' had butter at a ' rate far below the world's market value ' for the last four or five years. Then, r again, Miss N. E. Coad complains that the . i insfficient supplies are detrimental to : the well-being of the population. Grantins this, why 6houkl one section of the 1 producers ho penalised while others reap the harvest? Further on we see her ' limiting the retail price of butter to Is. ■ lfld. per lb., and stating that any patri- [ otic farmer can make a good profit at : this fissure, 1 When you consider that ■ with the present high cost of land, ma- ' nures, cows, and othfe farm requisites, • it costs, according to Mr. Cuddie. the Government butter expert, Is. 7Jd. per 1 ,Ib. to produce, thcro is a wonderful mar-, ' gin of profit for the poor farmer and his family to live on. and pay rates and taxes out of. Butter costiiig'ls'.' 7-Jd. to produce and being retailed at Is. 10d., with retailers' profit at 2d. per lb., leaves the farmer with the handsome profit of Jd. per lb. E-emember that the farmer and his wife, and often the family, are up at ISO a.m., and are not fin- ■ ished until 6 p.m., all for the sake of , providing these town people with cheap , butter and milk. You will notice by , the papers that women in theso .towns will often pay up to «C2OO and morfi for ! [ a fur coat, and never complain that i.: is too dear; and tho same with other things. Then, again, you will notice that tho picture theatres are always full, yet at tho least mention of a rise in the price of butter or milk there is a squeal all over tho town. If some of tlmse that wrote about chcap butter and milk had to produce it it would bfc beyond' even the rich to buy.' You do not bear the average farmer crying about the riso in cost of every- . thing he has to buy. and why should the town people do so? If you National Council of Women would find some other more useful occupation I think they would be better employed. When you 1 consider that tho average allowance of butter allowed per head of population in England to-day is only about four or fivo ounces per week, and that has to bo bought at tho rate of from Ss. to 6s. per lb., I do not think that the consumers of New Zealand have anything to' grumble at as regards tho local. price to be.—l am, etc., • H. E. WALTON. Koputaroa.