THE CITY'S MILK

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2766, 9 May 1916, Page 6

THE CITY'S MILK

.. . FURTHER ATTACKED PRv NEWMANm THE SUBJECT

'' ACTION URGED

' "Milk" iwas' jrincliXdiscnssed at the ;; 'Mmuafmeetiiig of-the Wellingj •,ton Towa. Planning Municipal Electors' The. discus- |.- 6ioiu<mffißpcc;dron-;3;he following '. moj order paper: ; 'v- ''Tha;t;in;.tbe pinion of . this. association, i . the'Qty■ Council has not been siifficieritlly "active in : dealingwith.tho. question f'V of. -the city milk supply.'!, " No one_fatliered _■ the" motion, but I Dr. A. K. Uewman, M.P., opened the >- disoassion. . ; " . '■ ■Dr.: Newman said that .the experi- ;-. feiceof all times was that many.chilj, ■■drea -died before,-,they were five years i nld,'ind that.:bad; milk was one of the v., chief .-'causes.' In soma places seventy V. out/pf onohundred children died be-. [■ .fore they wero five. • That was a colos-

! ;Kal„loss :of' life., Many; cities had grap[Xpled :;with.. the'/milk problem, but -Welivfington had,not. Wellington had. one bf;'the finest sanitation'systems in .the J 'Jvorld. '_ MUk was a splendid. food for 1 : bacteria, and it .was time something pjXvas done here., New Zealand had a |... jPuie Foods Bill, _ and, meat was-' State [jtinipeited,; butmilk,.' themost perishi.' able' of all articles, and the most seri- ' :, dus disease-spreader, .was not subjected ■j ;Bo . the. same.,' inspection. ■ .Moreover, !".;'tiieiat' ! was : eaten older : people, who i; Avwe able to throw.off ~any_ trouble like--;;ly to arise. Yet we continued to pour (•: uninspected milk, down the-throats of i: v infants! .-. -. Milk should not be allowed-to } '.oome ii%'"_towu nntil.it was-Inspected, j. That- clearing-station 'mus't be near' the jaihvay. .■■ Cost in Human Life.

I . Wellington was very badly situated p for, receiving milk. TT"i?as surroundlUed—by-' water.. and,'hifls,.,which meant i s that'much of, the milk came .a distance, i U!There ■ was one thing—milk had what r-fras" called life in, it,- and. after a few j- * hbu'rg it lost that : life. It ■ was- - said i that'.. ::niilk; .^should.'"beV sterilised, ■K hiifrit was. found that ohildren-did- not jv do as , well on sterilised milk as on pcr|;vfectly. fresh milk.. - America.was doing- a Sv-great deal, in the direction of: dealing ■ with iililk. One'idea, there to preserve i the milk fresh was to milk it into paper f. bags and, hermetically . seal it. •- The !; dairying in this country had. improved, I but 1 there ..was a long; way to go before i: it- was perfect. 1 The cost, of a clearing house would- be infinitesimal to. the city | jn comparison with the improvement f; which would., result.. in. the health of ; the ■ community. The ; loss of life, : espMially-'during the' summer months, } :;wbs serious. •- TRlen'--- better v-milk was *:\got,. educated women should be employ-!;-.:cd;",to,:. go rormd : and- instruct mothers ■ how to keep and use milk. Ail, over tW worW;.people, were awaking to the - . fact .that. milk, was of vital importance , to children, and there was no doubt i'..- we- were -losing too many children. . -lTiore was no • other work so: important i : as" .this,,'and if thb association took it- ; up they yould find it much more valu- ■. ni)le: than agitating for, the widening of certain streets. He hoped, therefore, ,• the -association; would •persevere until it achieved the establishment of a j clearing house.

v The City Council's Position. * '.v. Mr. J. Godber said that' he had '• listened with tho "greatest interest, to Ithe speech made by. Dr. Newman, and I .he.: felt that if,.tire Press reported the • >.-speech, the hand of ■ the City Council -,lrould :bs tremendously, strengthened! , Ho objected to the statement that the Dity Council, had not . done enough; the -•■iouneil had had;':the: matter at heart)' 'V.&'nd , had done, all it'could. He had seen J'&'-site which could'bo used.for the erec- [ J tiori .of i a clearing . house,'. . but : Ihn ] .General Manager of Railways said that (fn- reiit would have to he paid for it. r-The council would not object to that, ho .thought/. Then it Was said/that, only • ''a twenty-ono years' lease could be, al- • lowed. Well,- if the : counoil got the section,,let the State see if they would f 'take jit .'.and .the clearing house away ; after . 21.years.The Minister ,of Raiif, ways: had -said.-.that-,matters ,-wero; rei.eeivinp . immediate,:.attention, but the - council were-not going to wait an, unK The council had not; the. power...to ajrnoint. and • the..Minister of Health had agreed to ) allow' regulations, to be formulated for adoption, so that the council could aps point ' .inspectors, ~ asking only that soldiers ', should be. eniI ployed where possible., The council-had. s competent' returned.:soldiers . ready to |'go 'on, with tho work as soon as they

| were enabled. However, now this Crowi) I fcaff Office ha'd;/fo.und .that the.v could !• not-give . the council the'regulations j r under the Municipal Corporations Act; . Mr.. W. H.' -Benuett. said sthat : even . jiv -war timo -the milk .problem should j lie legislated for in this session of Parf liament. i.-.'. Mr. Godber remarked that as far as t the Health Minister (the Hon. G. W. fcßiissell) .was concerned, .. he. was - doing "lis best to aid the council,. .. .... - - Mr. 1. Ballinger said that the work ("of; securing pure milk to the people j should be don'e ; by. the State rather than |hy tlie '-Corporation. In reply to a • question by ' Mv^ I C. Wheeler, Miv J. : i .Godbbr said .that , lie. understood • f little but ;wai*: legislation iwas to bo'. |.hronght; ; ;;domi.:;this .session,, . but ho j licped that' the necessary stops would r bo. taken through the medium of the I iJVashingTUp Bill. . {''"Messrs. h. M'Kenzic, G. .Frost, M. /•F., Luckie, and R. A. Wright said that .the City Council ..had done its best to igrapple with the question.'; I:- ,! It was resolved, on , the motion of (Mr. Wheeler, r.hsit the association would r'heartily co-operate in efforts to i<:n\umcipa] power of inspection; of milk j and control over tlio methods of disrtributiori:. It was also decided to depuftationiso the Government on the qiiesI'tion. -