TRAVELS ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 190, 14 August 1933, Page 9

TRAVELS ABROAD.

BRITAIN AND EUROPE.

DANISH BUTTER MARKETING.

MR. ELIOT DAVIS' VIEWS.

"I am delighted to be back in this wonderful country of ours." With this as an introduction Mr. Eliot Davis, who has been absent two and a half years abroad, proceeded to relate to Auckland Rotarians at to-day's lunch meeting some of his experiences in Great Britain and on the Continent. Speaking of the convenience of air travel, Mr. Davis mentioned as an instance that he had left London at 9 a.m. and at 4.15 p.m. that day. he was having afternoon tea at Cannes. That marked tremendous progress as compared with the lengthy and inconvenient train service. The trail of the depression was easily seen. A huge pleasure establishment, costing £2,000,000, which had been built in the good times, was kept closed after completion for eighteen months, and then, when opened last December, it could only be kept open for two months. This was due to the almost total absence .of American travellers. Gambling as formerly carried on in Southern France was practically extinct. There was a case of a bold speculator winning 2,000,000 francs in a few hours, but it was an isolated one. In Italy he had been struck by the great improvement in the roads and general travel facilities. They had motored from Pisa to Florence, 40 miles, in half an hour. Contrasts in England. In England conditions were bad when he was there. Property in aristocratic quarters of London was being offered for sale or lease. Sometimes the houses were being converted into flats. In the country ' it was tragic to see some of the homes of the nobility reduced to commercialism, owners taking fees from the public to inspect over their grounds. One duke relied on the butter he sold. Despite it all, theatres were well attended at high prices, and betting—notably on dog races—was extraordinarily prevalent. Generally speaking, there was in England a feeling of hopefulness, despite the failure of the Economic Conference —which had been forecasted. Proceeding to experiences in Denmark, Mr. Davis said he had been fascinated by the Danes and their surroundings. Copenhagen was a beautiful city, and had an unmistakable air of prosperity, which was due to the fact that Denmark was practically an English farm.' There was most intensive cultivation, 80 per cent of the holdings being from 10 to 15 acres. Each owner had a few cows, a few pigs, and a few fowls, which in the aggregate reached a stupendous total. Everything was on a co-operative basi% —finance, transport, and marketing. The milking was done three times a day, and so complete was the organisation that it was rare for milk to be more than two hours from dairy to factory. In these matters New Zealand had a lot of leeway to make up. He was not prepared to concede that Danish butter in England was better than New Zealand, but. people thought it was, and that was what counted. In the Danish pig industry "there was similar thoroughness, and anyone sending a pig to a factory in an unsatisfactory condition was fined. The Danish fanner did not have to leave his farm. His milk was taken from him by the co-op. organisation, and the skimmed milk returned in the same way. Fixing the Price. The reason for Danish butter realising more than New Zealand was found in the marketing methods employed. The Danes could make the price what they liked. The societies had their marketing representatives, who met in Denmark, and according to conditions in England they fixed each Tuesday what they called a "guide" price. That regulated the price of Danish butter definitely in all parts of England. It was not altered unless by the sanction of the board in Copenhagen. Every day the Danish farmer knew to a penny what he was making. New Zealand butter, on the other hand, was rrirketed by a group of dealers in Tooley Street, and was subject to a considerable amount of speculation. In that respect the New Zealand farmer became the shuttlecock of Tooley Street speculators. The bill of lading on a consignment of hutter might change hands half a dozen times before the butter actually arrived in London.