THE CITY'S MILK

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 81, 2 October 1918, Page 3

THE CITY'S MILK

MEETING OF VENDORS

WHAT PRICE PER GALLON?

Convened by the secretary of the Vendors' Advisory -Milk Committee, a general meeting of vendors 1 was held in No. 1 Committee Room at the Town Hall. Mr. A Petherick (the secretary) occupied the chair, explaining that he did so, lor the earlier part of the evening, at:any ratje, at the request of the Advisory Committee. He explained Mr. Tarr's- absence from the piJsition of chairman. Mr. Peyierick went on to | deal with the negotiations which had taken place up to the present, and on behalf of the . committee . the following recommendations were submitted to the' |. meeting :—. '• : '1. That, one company be 'formed by. vendors; ho Board of Directors, but I an Advisory Committee to watch shareholders' interests; a. .' general manager to be appointed, with- full. ■executive power. ■.•;.' 2. That the company be formed, provided the cost of distribution and . management will riot exceed Qjd per • gallon, and further' prbvided the .council undertakes to allow as an immediate payment to the company not less than 6fd per gallon, and will guarantee daily supplies required by the company as regards quantity and .. quality .:'-.-•■'. ■'•' '..'• 3. That failing the acceptance of recommendations Nos. 1 and 2 by the council, that all ■ vendors' then stand by the 'terms of the council's letter of - 12th August and apply to. the '■;, council, ', all vendors then stand supplies, the council to allocate blocks and install the. coupon' system, notifying vendors when- such are ready to ... lie put into operation and to nominate a date when supplies will be available . for distribution by vendors under the block and couppri systems. The following letter- was received from Mr. .C. B. Norwood, chairman of the City Council's Milk Committee :— "The matter of i the amount to be allowed to the vendors as a first payment in connection with the distribution of milk came, before my committee on Thursday evening, when they had the opportunity of examining . the figures submitted by your committee and -the council's experts! and it was decided to allow 6d per gallon. ■ This .amount will afford a net profit of SO per cent, over distribution expenses, provided-the scheme is carried! out in the manner set forth by my committee. It is thought that this will be a sufficient immediate reward for the ,services of ..the vendors,. and the amount remaining in the hands of the council will,'" iri: the committee's'opinion,. represent a sufficiently large bond for the, full observance' of' the agreement. I feel/ confident that your committee will agree to this as a very fair and reasonable basis, more especially as they will realise that the wnole profits of the department, at the end of the year, will be distributed amongst them hi proportion .to the present .value of their .respective businesses. ■ I shall. thank you' to bring this .matter before your- committee as early as possible, so that I may know their decision;. I "am addressing this 'letter to you'on the understanding that your, committee is , rejSresenting the com-bined-vendors of Wellington. If this be not a fact kindly inform me at once so that I may proceed to advise esjch vendor,separately. - As the terms of your letter of'the'l7th'tnst.'meet the wishes of my committee it is not intended to hurry the amalgamation further than to ask you. to bring the matter before the vendors as ( a whole and .ib inform me of their confirmation." '' ,; ■ "> ' . Mr.. Petherick.said in explanation that the council did: not intend to interfere with the present "spread" of 9^d obtained b,y the ,vendors except for 'the, cost, of 'tlie ■ clearing-house and 2i per. cent, for interest and sinking . funds. Then a, bond was required that the vendors if they formed one committee, would carry out the agreement in good faith. Even now the council's committee would not tell thorn how. much the clearinghouse waa going to cost; and why, because it did not know. It was not good enough to have just a little margin to "go oii nicely" ; the.vendors wanted a little more than this. What the vendors required could not be got under 6id per gallon, and the. council nowideclined to give more than 6d per gallon over and above the cost for distribution'expenses;. Mr. Petherick, having concluded his sketch of past negotiations, was voted to the chair to preside over the discussion, and a vote of confidence in the^dvisory Committee was passed. '„.' , "Sixpence is no good," exclaimed one vendor, who added as a reason that they did not know what the profits were going to be at the end* of the year. Personally he did; not think they were going to bo much; perhaps,a loss. : He favoured direct contract. '"■. Asked if the council had power to force any vendor into a, company, the Chairman replied that at a previous meeting Mr. Norwood had ; told them when they were voting on the company proposal that they were onljutlping so providing other matters were safiSafr . tory. He'did not personally think that the council could force a man into a company. ' ;. '„ -' ■: . , ■ In. reply to another questioner, the Chairman said that by the regulations the council had absolute power to refuse a license to any vendor who was m favour of! direct contract as agaiAst the company ■ proposal. The council, it seemed; could refuse a license to such a man and keep him out of business and grant a license to another man and keep him in business to serve the council's ends. . , - ■■■■,'!. Answering another question, Mr. Pethevick said that the vendors had a perfect right to a voic»> in the management of their own affair's! „'!. :'-..■' '.-■. Several speakers advocated that the. vendors should stand firm,, and combine together to resist, passively, if no other way, the "injustice" .which was being forced upon them. Another vendor expressed the view that one-twentieth of the public did not know that the council was merely commandeering the yen- . dors' businesses. ' "When we cannot run our own business we are going right out of it," exclaimed a member of one firm who criticised the council's committee for not having' gone into the matter as business men.' If they were business men they should have been, able to tell .the vendors the cost of the scheme, and if not they had no right to enter into a scheme or a busi- ■ ness of which they knew nothing. At the same time,> he thought that every vendor in the room felt that .the blocking system %vas an economy,-and must come; also th« coupon system. .-•'... It was eventually decided that.the, meeting should adopt the recommendations of the Advisory Committee. - There was only one dissentient, and ona member did not vote. •