CITY MILK SUPPLY

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22073, 22 April 1937, Page 4

CITY MILK SUPPLY

TO THE EDITOR OT THE PRESS. Sir, —Regarding the private meeting of producers convened by Mr A. Coull on Thursday last, at which Mr T. O. Morgan -was chairman, and subsequent statements made by Mr G. C. Pickett, several matters appear to me to be very confusing, especially in view of Mr Pickett's previous remarks. For the benefit of your readers, it seems desirable that a clear understanding of the position should be given. Mr Pickett was until about a fortnight ago chairman of the Vendors' Association, which position he resigned for reasons unknown, and he now appears to have taken unto himself the position of champion of the producers. Why this change of front? Would Mr Coull confirm the rumour that this meeting was convened strictly ,by invitation only and in order to gain admittance it was necessary to produce the invitation? At a meeting of the Vendors' Association held on the afternoon of February 25 it was agreed that the retail price of milk be 6d a quart from March 1, and that the wholesale price be Is a gallon. In the evening of the same day Mr Pickett attended a meeting of the Dairymen's Association and implored the latter organisation to back the vendors up, and agreed before some 200 present that the wholesale price should be Is. Would Mr Pickett, as manager of one of the large vending companies, state what price he has paid to the producer since March 1? It is rumoured fairly extensively that he has paid Bd. In the past Mr Pickett has stated that milk cannot be produced below Is a gallon. In view of this, how does Mr Pickett reconcile his position? Had such concerns paid Is' in the past, as advocated by Mr Pickett, such persons as producer-vendors would not have figured in the milk vending business; for it is only because of the low price paid to producers that they have been forced on to the road as pro-ducer-vendors. —Yours, etc., J. S. MOORE. April 19, 1937. [Commenting upon this letter, Mr G. C. Pickett said that the reason for his resignation was that as chairman of the association he was not free because he had to represent too many conflicting interests. Nor was he in a position to disclose the prices paid by his company, since that concerned only the directors and the suppliers. Moreover, if every vendor and producervendor had maintained the price of 6d | a quart, it would have been possible j for the farmers to have been paid Is a gallon. He wondered' if Mr Moore would state publicly at what price he sold milk on March 1, as it had been rumoured that he increased the price to only 5d a quart. Producers had been forced into the vending business because of the low butter-fat prices.]

TO THE EDITOR OT THE PRESS,

Sir, —The resolution passed at a meeting of dairy farmers on Thursday is not the voice of the dairy farmers, and it has rushed you into printing a paragraph in your editorial columns. These methods are damaging to the producers, who should see that their affairs are looked after only through their legitimate organisation. A strong registered society, backed by the Producers' Association and producervendors, exists, to attend to the dairying industry as it affects Christchurch. The City Council cannot be expected to waste its time hearing deputations from a few impatient interested parties. It might be as well to state that Mr G. C. Pickett is no longer chairman of the Vendors' Association, and has no interest in the dairy producing side of the business. It seems extraordinary that Mr Pickett, who, as chairman of the Vendors' Association, pushed the interests of the man who buys, should now be enthusiastic on the farming side. The registered organisation of the industry can be expected to act at the opportune time. As a dairy farmer with some dignity and pride in dairying, I hope it will act in an open, gentlemanly, and businesslike manner. The council has already considered the milk question very fully under Sir Hugh Acland's guidance, and has given its decision. When it is ready to proceed further, it will consult the recognised official bodies in the trade. —Yours, etc., ORGANISATION.

April 17, 1937. [When this letter was referred to him Mr G. C. Pickett declined to make a comment until he could reply fully.]