LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 11, 13 January 1934, Page 13

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES. (BY INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Monday, January 13—Furniture Trades annual. Tuesday, January 16—Caretakers' and Liftmen (special), yfednesday, January 17—Freezing Works Employees. AN APPRECIATION. The Labour movement in the Dominion Las suffered some severe losses bydeath during the last few months, and branches of the party have also suffered by the removal of eome of their most vigorous and enterprising members. Last week the Sandringham branch lost its popular secretary, Mr. James Harrison, who died on. January 4 after a sudden illness lasting only four days.

Mr. Harrison was born in the North of England 32 years ago. Coming from a thorough Socialist family, lie left his native land nine years ago for the "Britain beyond the Seas," where he calculated to have a wider field for his energies. Some three years ago he settled in the Roskill electorate, and soon made his organising abilities felt by joining the Sandringham branch, of the Labour party, of which, he was elected secretary. Popularly known as "Jim" Harrison, he proved, a capable officer, friend and guide, he laid out the plan of campaign for the organising of the Roekill electorate, and with the active assistance of hie wife, did much to secure that seat for Labour in the election of 1931. His funeral on Friday of last week ■was attended by a large number of friends that he had made in the movement; and outside, the last rites bcdng performed by the Rev. C. G. Scrimgeour. The "Grim Reaper" has been very busy lately amongst all sections of the community, but wherever the blow may fall we are reminded of the lines: — Alike are life and death, When life in death survives, And the uninterrupted breath, Inspires a thousand lives. So, when a good man dies, For years beyond our ken, The light he leaves behind him lies Upon the paths of men. AUCKLAND MILK CONTROL. One of the very few Acts passed by the last session of Parliament, of direct benefit to the workers in particular, and therefore to the community in general, was the enactment bearing the title "The Auckland Metropolitan Milk Act, 1933." For years past in Auckland, at any rate, the retail price of milk to consumers has been fixed by the big distributing agencies in a very haphazard manner. The vendors' contracts with the producers were signed in August for a twelve months' supply at a specified price, for August is the start of the milking season, but the retail prices varied considerably throughout the year, sometimes as high as 7d per quart being levied from the consumer. Some four years ago, the year opened with a very heavy rainfall, and the farmers in the month of January were not able to get their hay cut and stacked for winter consumption. That year the price retail was fixed at 7d per quart to the consumer, because of a threatened shortage of winter feed. I commented upon it at the time in this column, that although the cows were feeding in January in paddocks with grass up to their knees, and food was abundant, we were compelled to pay an exorbitant price on the ground that there would be little or no feed for the stock in the monthe of June and July, six months ahead. Such a system of price fixing in such a necessity of life as milk will never occur again under the Act passed last month. The Act is a local one, and only applies to the Auckland Metropolitan District, which is defined in one of the clauses. It sets up a Milk Council, and the first council shall be appointed by the Governor-General,- to act for twelve months to get the scheme into working order, after which the council will be elective. It will consist of nine members, three on the recommendation of the Auckland City Council, two on the recommendation of the other local bodies within the district, two being milk vendors selected by the milk vendors, and two being dairymen to represent the dairymen of the district. These at their first meeting will select a chairman. The council- will have power to issue licenses to sell milk in the districts, to .deliver milk in the district in pursuance of contract, or to bring into the district for use milk purchased outside the district. From time to time the council shall fix the price or prices wholesale and retail and fix the standard of quality of milk sold, so that the powers of the council are very wide indeed, for it can prevent overlapping in the distribution of milk'on the rounds and thus prevent waste in overhead expenses. From this, it will be seen that the price will,- be reasonable to the consumers, and at the same time a fair profit to the producers will be assured, and this, they have not been getting for some time past. The Minister, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, it will be remembered, last year made several fruitless attempts to put an end to the suicidal price-cutting in the trade, in which the producers were getting the worst of the deal. The City Council then took the matter up and appointed five members, including the Mayor, as a sub-committee to meet the smaller men in the industry. The Minister was asked to draw up a bill embodying the principles agreed on, but pleaded pressure of business, and he asked the City Council to draw up the bill and submit to him. This was done, and early in December the draft of the bill was laid before the trade- as a whole, but an opposing element carried a resolution to defer consideration for one month. That meant a couple of days after Christmas, and, as one oppositionist said after the meeting: —"Parliament won't be in session then and tho thing is killed." But the Mayor sent the bill on to the Minister the next,morning, and Mr. Cobbe seized the opportunity of settling the whole trouble by introducing it immediately. It was passed with very little alteration before Parliament prorogued, and it is now law. The next proceeding will be for the various bodies concerned, at their first meeting, to appoint their representatives. The City Council's three will probably be appointed at the first meeting for the year, January 25. The choice of representatives of the other local bodies will be much more involved as no less than eleven local bodies are concerned in the appointment of their two representatives.