THE DAIRY REGULATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 276, 16 November 1908, Page 4

THE DAIRY REGULATIONS.

A FAHMEIt SPEAKS OUT. Mr Joe E. Simpson, Durham Road, nites tu the "editor: 1 beg to crave puce to say something in regard to] lie above, and at tlie same time thank dr H. Morton for the stand lie took in bclnilt" of the younger and more pro;ressive factory suppliers, when he ohetted to condemn the regulations in tolo. - take it .that he, like myself, knows -here is need in many instances fur rigid' inspection regarding the milk production anil the dairy farmers of the listrict. It is now close on 13 years since J entered upon dairy farming, 10 of which was private butlCT-iiiuking and during which 1 experienced the Ijcnetit of the grading system as against the old style of the storekeeper ueug sole judge as to quality. 1 am now in the third year as a factory supplier. 1 cannot understand this opposition to the dairy regulations proposed, and as I have been a dose observer of thing* pertaining to the industry, I shall ask permission to point out a lew instances which I have, noticed in my own ilis triet, and others which I have noticed in other parts, and 1 would like to ask Mr. J. Brown and others who oppose inspection, how these things nre to hi remedied by the factory manager alon. when the majority of the suppliers ar. Nt cross purposes with him. Jiisleiu of opposing, those representing factor ies should be glad because it tends ti simplify the working of the factories inasmuch as it must lighten the bur den of the manager, and, consequently that of the directors. Now for severa years the manager of the Makeuiwi factory (Mr G. 1„. Johnston, and nd miUedly a real enthusiast as regard pure milk) has been agitating for th use of coolers; the chairman (Mr. J Brown) has repeatedly advocated tliei adoption and lauded the benefits Ilia would accrue, but could they force! th (he majority of the suppliers to adoti them? They would see the manage and directors d d first! Gradual! the cooler was coming into use by til more thoughtful ones but a icrtai number would not install them, an never will under the present systcn but under the proposed regulations tl cooler must como, and therefore arisi howl No. 1. 1 do not think thc'inui agers at the factories would he suitab persons to take, on inspection—if the were to devote time to getting aboi the sheds, how about tile work at tl factory, for which they receive goc money as exports'; What is wante nre men to call in at all homes and si for themselves the working of II herds at the most important time, and I will mention why. I have seen yards in which cows have to stand up to their briskets in a mixture of mud and manure and go into sheds in • which no water had been used since erection and the bails, etc., inches thick with cow dung--if science is. correct regarding the dried accumulations being a br«ediug ground for damaging microbes, to man and beast, is it not time that wus seen tof Imive seen milk brought nut' of a cowshed and strained through a piece of cloth stretched across two sticks with no other attempt at aeration; such milk has been accepted without comment at the factory, while the man following who took great pains with his supply of milk would be informed that he ought to aerate his milk better I 1 have seen cans in the centre of which would he a circle of tilth some four inches across come from the receiving stage without a word of complaint, while another man whose milk and cans-had been attended to with scrupulous care was informed! that it ''had a smell." Mr J. Brown' himself, has suited that his milk was complained about as being "turnipy,' when he hadn't a turnip on his place, and how in the face of things like this he can advocate the "man on the receiving stage" as against the proposed inspection, passes my understanding. 1 have seen a milker, whose hands were in such a state from filth from cows' dirty udders that one had a hard job to recognise what they were, dip his hands into the can containing the previous milking and making a skimmer of his fingers to get out two large moths that had got into the milk during the night! 1 hare known of another case where the cowshed was almost impassable with dung and in which the milkers had used one bail as a closet for their own use, and in which, also, a sort of cradle was kept, in. which a few months old youngst-r would lie and squall while milking was going on! I have known of a case wile c the milker's clothes and his body were in such a state that, after repeated warnings, the manager refused to aceept the milk brought—you could smell him yards off—and Mr J. Brown knows it was so! I have seen a man at the factory with a pocket knife scrape the cow dung ofr his breeches and oIT his coat sleeve; I hare heard the manager caution others about the state of their carts and he could keep on cautioning for all the good it did! I have seen breeclH's the color of which was hard to recognise through the effects of work among cows. Now. these things' may be simple things and of little account, but, several smull items of carelessness allowed to go on unchecked | will develop into something not easily | controlled, and the main issue, the nd- | Viineement of the dairy industry, receive a serious blow; then would' arise I the Usual "Who wonhf tin' tliniurht ;ii"

] have scon a milker at work smoking his pipe and have seen it knocked into the bucket by a swish of the tail—and the milk went with the rest (into use)! I have hoard the manager complain times out of number about cans not being as clean as they ought to be and have seen milk sent'back on that account! There is no doubt the Miiketawa Company possessed a painstaking manager in Mr (J. Johnston (at present »:t holiday), and lire rellcx of his work in trying to uplift his suppliers wi.h regard to pure milk is showu by the remarks of Mr Deem, who stated at a meeting of suppliers • re regulations "that if all factories had been eon- | ducted trader f»*> same 'lines tile need for inspection •■«( aid not he so necessI a .-,•." But will' 1 Sir J. Brown say that Mitkctiiivii is perfect, and if not perfect, could ho or the other directors or the manager make it so unless they unfairly penalised, for the sake of ii ft'\v. some who were doing their very best, which is all smvone of us will he asked to do'< The best tiling that was 'ever done in the interest of the dairy industry was the appointment of inspectors wlio can study and watch the production of good milk, etc., without fear or frown of anyone. Could lire suae lie said if the managers were authorised instead? We want men who can without warning have the right to visit sheds at all hours and see for themselves the rnliie, their handling, the yards, the cans, i.j;,. and t"lH' nnoertainity of such visits am the liability of a penalty through t'hi If. M. Court will be the greatest choc! upon slovenliness, etc. A man may hi

m rugs and yet lip clean. I do not thinl there is another work in which it i, nf iiuiiorl.ilnro (lint clothe* should 1,, ••Iran, and in which dirty clothes would cause a repugnance, hut what would tin render think of a man (a director of u factory, too) who would duy aft«r iluy appear in a shirt, the front of which was black with dirt, accumulated milk spray and cow hair? We hen- a lot abont the farmer of SO years ago Ix'ing taught his business by inon trailed at a State farm. Well, the old chnp is simply a baby at the milk "am" now and has lo start afresh—spu-nce during the past few years lias put to topsy turveydoni a lot of old ideas, and promulgated a lot of new ones which common sense must admit are unanswerable, and it is of imp. r; ~... (hut they be followed if we w..;i to have n place in the coinpctitiun f«-r (In. sale "f food stud's we manufieii'i-e. So long as the only market \\c pos.-..»s is open to the daimncn of Hie no. Id so long will there'be kec,- nineiliion. and lliiclnaliim of prices n,u| when we can say to Hie consumer: "Her. i.< un ni'licle guaranteed by State supevv'sion ■ supervision above reproach- to lie pur" ami clean ill every wnv from cow teal lo human mouth,'- tln-n shall we reap the benefit by the sale of everv fiiillce we turn out, at a o lm \ figure, with inereasi;ig demaiid and staWliiv 't price. Isn't, that wlial we wnnt? Hi" prejudice of the old world consumer enlist Uiings foreign (be it butter or "'Of) is still bard to counteract, but. lowly luid surely it is passing nwnv, .id ill must be patelil In all, with (li,. lillious i-ei-|uirin» food stufl's maiiufactre.l bv the cOlo.-lv H 1.,1 ..- .1

'Hit thousands (if loin mill s| ill l, c , J-, demand, lmt do nol lot (he possibility lie further delayed hv Kirolossnoss null iillhy siliTnii!i(liii«M. 'if (1,,. dairy f llr mors of tin. .-nmitry are Iml, triio to ■ mil other hi rmli.jivonriii" to pi-iulm,, a Stale Kiinrnnti'Oil article ;i;u| ;il Hi., vi ,i)i' liur- study (|iio„tions aflYH;in K their poekvU iiulividmiMv and ~„ilret--i ivcly Miih the „ai))(. zo.ll ,i„ \\ u , y ,]„! (iiioslioiis wl)ii-li do not really ntTcc'j tlU'ii). tlien 1 predict wo wnultl S J filing happen in N,, w Xonlrtml (hit! would astonish (in, W o,.|,| ~,.„, (l|l | or our own hvnotil whether tile,- ho in town or onimlry). ]iut no' ,|„, f.,,,1 luoi's .»( tn-day ,ir,. vsi-,1 ~. veritable moil of sli-iiM" l,y |]„. ;..,liti.-:an-'. I.v I llio merchants of (hoir ovi eomilrv and hy (In. dealers ouUido !( - tli,^-* llioy work loll" hours, suffer losses vwi'rl after year and grumble ahout (lie lia'-d-1 ships, Mid, kst of all, Illume the Gov'

crnmwit; tomeone unist lie blamed, while the profit which should be theirs, goes to those who take absolutely no risk. Combination for mutual benefit against smirks of all kinds has beea adopted by the trades and by nil elasse§ of labor where nossible— where is it among farmers? frc have what is called a humors' Union, but wlicro doe» the mutual buneflt come in-simply a hotly used by (he blatherskites to air I'etty grievances, further self interest, and cause dissatisfaction amongst tin class tlicy :„,, supposed to benefit au."[ •>; wlit.se name they are supposed to hoik. j,nt where, 1 ask again, does mutual beiielll come iar ~,„, Lmw. ..t tanners result i„ ailv |„. tter . mem .cgtmlmg work „„ il u /f llrm or any tangible for the good of the n.l.vitl.H.l? («„„„, 0111 . fHrillcr he lias recced direct boneflt tltrougn the !• tinners 1 nitm a union „f , n ea <"!"'" fc,v "I,'""!) whose ideas are totally antagonist* to the system oy which the farmers of the country could bciicfit in ever way-a system which Nations (.overmucnl initiated and which is still being cautiously gone on with, but which, by those who really ought to adopt it in its entirety, , ; * hindered because of it being misrepresented as dangerous, etc., by men wh) are supposed to be working in the interests of their fvllow men. Pah ! , There'll be money when we are dead , and the Inntl troubles never eea»e, ;o I why need bother? We want to be . paid for our work, we want to enjoy , our tune we have here, to be less of ( a slave than we are, and wo dou't . want our legitimate profits taken by t those who do nothing to produce the I articles out of which they make an t easy living and who use the farmer at . a tool on every opportunity. We can , get all tin's if we combine as farmers, , as neighbours, as parents, as men who have thoughts of their own, and when ~ the State steps in to'assist in the -,iroL (Inctiou of a proper article, practically L , to assist the progressive farmer, and t the clean man against the stay-ns-you-r are, and the careless man and thereby y move another step towards the goal, (. the farmer allows himself to be made „ a cutspaw of—to som as a raeaas d wheroby the blatherskite can gain his 1( own ends. In my humble opinion, the u proposed regulations .arc not strict: „ enough, for B should like to see in- ,. specters given 'more power and let us „ have the assurance that too much of y, the usual red-tapcisni would not be t used. The man who relies on his family e will for,their convenience and comfort u provide proper sheds and other necesi(. ,M>rieq and the careful, «lean man has , e nothing to kick against-why should ie be? If so, why the rumpus!