BRITISH "POOLS"

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1933, Page 10

BRITISH "POOLS"

An analysis of the British milk marketing scheme as explained— somewhat sketchily in parts —by its exponent, Mr. T. Baxter, shows it lo be full of interest to the socialeconomic experimenter, apart altogether from the feature of curtailment of imports (a feature which naturally has been of first consideration to New Zealand as an exporter of primary produce). If one can lake a detached view of an English internal experiment that may curtail New Zealand exports, he will say: "What a bold enterprise! Who would have expected this piece of applied Socialism from a British Government?" Neither individualism nor Free Trade has«prevented Conservative forces within a British National Government from coming to the rescue of the farmer with such things as a pooling plan, including an equalising (or at any rale compensating) levy, a toleration of the private buyer (he is to continue but the Milk Board will be a third party to nil contracts), and a promise of "a secure market" in return for the imposed discipline of the "pool." The levy, the attempt to bring all milk prices into terms of one another, the position of producerretailers and producers who give special , service, and the quality issue (touched on in, the "register of accredited producers") all seem to bristle' with difficulties. British "pools" are far in advance of the ideas of pre^War' Britain, but the difference is not as great as *that between United States individualism (which withered in a night) -and the "codes." British "pools" are trying to run in sound channels.