Watered Milk

NZ Truth, 15 March 1924, Page 6

Watered Milk

+. A MENACE, TO HEALTH. (From "Truth's" Auckland Rep.) There Is so much profit m watering milk that fines are ineffective to put a stop to this most miserable of all illegal mercenary practices. The Auckland milk supply is notoriously dear and notoriously bad, as is shown by the Magistrate's Court proceedings reported recently, when Magistrate Poynton Imposed fines of £20 and £10 respectively on Alexander W. Clow, m whose "milk" 18.8 per cent, of added water was found, ahd Porter and Gasparlch (who purchased off Clow), whose cow juice was adulterated to the extent of nearly 13 per cent, of added water. The defence was that there had been A LEAK IN THE COOLER, but the Magistrate would not make any allowances for a leak of such magnitude, and he Imposed the fines as stated. The names of men who water their milk to defraud customers should be trumpeted throughout New Zealand. Notwithstanding the overlapping In delivery, with its extra cost, the milk retailers of Auckland make a profit ,of 100 per cent., milk purchased from the genuine dairyman at a shilling a gallon being retailed at two shillings. That was until lately. Now the price to the housekeeper has been advanced to 7d n quart, or 2s 4d a gallon — on the pretext that IT . HADN'T RAINED for a week or two. As to ln which respect the shortage of water was most particularly affecting the retailer was not stated, but Judging by the number of retailers whose milk is miles below strength, any deprivation of aqua pura must be a decided hardship to them. Anyway, the public pays for milk and water alike, lt appears, and it has not yet occurred to any consumer whose milkman has been fined for diluting his cow juice to sue the offender for the amount he has paid him over a long term for added water. But apart from the commercial immorality of the man who isn't satisfied with tt hundred per cent, of profit but turns on the tap to add more, thero is tho very much GRAVER FACTOR of the public health to bo considered. Thousands of babies have to be bottlefed. When they are supposedy feeding on "one part water, one part milk" they are very often really (If they are the victims of tho dishonest milkman) getting two parts water and one parf milk. Such babies languish ln malnutrition . and readily fill little white coffins, after falling victims to various infantile disorders. Tho summor diarrhoea which is so fatal to babies Is almost wholly confined to those fed on the bottle, and tho fault ln these cases ls always duo to unwholesome or adulterated milk. Therefore every man who waters his milk for tho sake of extra profit Is a potential babyslayer, and he ought to be regarded as such by tho law. Wherever there is a death of a baby which has been bottle-fed thoro should be an Investigation of the milk supply and an analysis of tho contents of tho milkman's can. And where it is found that water has been added It should bo regarded as prima fnelo evidence of manslaughter, for which the milkman should be committed to stand his trial. Possibly a Jury would not convict, but nn experiment of this kind would prove n salutary lesson to those In the game that ono hundred per cent. Is. or should be, good enough for anyone, —mmmmmmmmmm. mm. mm