BUTTER-FAT PAYMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18281, 23 December 1922, Page 6

BUTTER-FAT PAYMENTS

MUNIFICENT SANTA CLAUS.

£378,000 BY ONE COMPANY.

WAIKATO AND THAMES VALLEY.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

HAMILTON. Friday. The most effective Christmas present I made in the Waikato and Thames Valley ' districts was the distribution by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Com--1 pany, on December 20, of the record sum of over £378,000, representing payments for 6,397,6331b. of butter-fat supplied for the month of November. The satisfac--1 tory nature of the season and the wonderful expansion of the dairying industry throughout the South Auckland province causes each month's figures to establish new records in comparison with preceding ] years and months, but it is likely that j November will prove to be the "peak" ! month of the current season. ! The sum of £378,000 is distributed | among 7500 suppliers with at least 30,000 dependants. 1 Over 200 cartage services are adminis- ! tered in the collection of the cream from I the widespread territory operated by the ! company, and the record payment of j £6500 is being made this month to the | cream cartage contractors. Up-to-date Office Equipment. In cbnnection with the distribution monthly of the huge sums paid out by this j company, it is interesting to note the I equipment necessary for the expeditious handling of the office detail. In the head office at Hamilton there are 11 adding and | calculating machines, all electrically | driven and operated by a staff of highly trained girls. These machines are necessary for the effective handling of 18,000 dockets monthly, and the careful and . accurate working out of over 144,000 different sets of figures relating to the periodic deliveries of cream and milk. Every can of cream or milk delivered to the company's 55 creameries and factories is sampled and the average test worked out j over the period of supply, thus ensuring I justice to each supplier. Getting Out the Cheques. The preparation of over 6000 cheques in the Hamilton Post Office, and 1500 at the Paeroa office, involves a huge amount of detail work. All cheques are typed in sets of fives and i signed by two executive officers !of the company. The signing alone occui pies two days' time. It is estimated that j in a season the responsible ? igning officers j of the company sign their names npproxi- | mately 100,000 times. The* staff responsible for "paying- out the cash" totals 20 highly-trained young ! women, and it is claimed on their behalf that their work in putting out in the I months of August, September and Octo I ber, a total of 26.675 cheques, involving » sum of £1,121,147, constitutes a record likely to stand for a lor-g time. This mass handling of accounts, together with the employment of the latest laboursaving office equipment, enables definite I economies in office expense to be effected.

New Zealand choicest butter was quoted last week at 180s to 182s, and exceptionally choice at 184s. UnsaJted brought no premium.