THE PRICE OF MILK.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4331, 15 April 1901, Page 7

THE PRICE OF MILK.

HOW THE PROPOSAL COR AN IN ORE ABE IS VIEWED.

OPINIONS OK RETAIL DEALERS

Judging from present, appearances, i ho re La i)' mil k-uca lei's in Wellington are disposed to resist they proposal of the District. Suppliers* Union to iucrea.sc t lie price of milk. . . “.Milk ou*ht, lo he higher in price in the winter months, no doubt, but I certainly don’t tiiinL I hat tnis rise in prico uill conic off. Tin; thing is eonlined to tho suppliers in one district, and even they are not united about it. Such was the verdict of one dairyman to whom a representative °f the "New Zealand Times’’ spoke on tho subject. "And why should I lie price he higher in flic winter mouth.;:'” " Well, because feed is scarce,” the dairyman replied. "There is no do mot tliat ll’.ey are working for noti;irifr_ in the wiii'cr months, at the present price. Stock is also pretty .scarce, too, nisi now. A man who wants to buy a good c,ir. - , has to pay considerably more for it now lha.ii would have, been asked a. little while ago. Again, labour is clearer at the present time. A small farmer was telling nif. the .other day that ho hr; lo pay £3 now for labour that he could Ija-vo Sot at one time for Lis. All these tilings, of. course, make* it more difficult lor tho supplier. Then there's; no doubt, the work is hard. They’ve got- to keep going all (lie time.” Tin;' retail (icair-r must keep going all tho lime also if he is Lo maintain Hit* standard of .scrupulous cleanliness which the visitor saw in this simp. The counters and. floors were- spotlessly dean; the milk was in cool-looking cans, covered with cloths;; the pats of hut ter wore neatly packed in stands, and all the utensils used in tho shop were without stain, hi fact, all tho shops at which the visitor called were in like condition.

| “ Yc's ail this, means hard work,’’ j said the woman in charge of another , shop, mi sho indicated with a sweep of {her hand the bright pails and the sembi bed floors. For the last half-hour or j more there had been a constant procesi sion of children, into the place, bringjing their jugs and their money for tho evening’s “ penn’orth of milk.” This ! stream: of customers had now thinned perceptibly, and there was a chance to hear tho good woman’s views about the problem of immediate importance—the proposal to raise the price, i tier attitude appeared to bo one of : benevolent pity. • i “Oil, bless you, they won’t raise it, mister.” was her comfort able assurance, “it’s only one section who arc doing it, and it’s not. likely to come to any- | tiling.” Then, with some indignation in her 1 voice, “ The farmers arc well paid now. {and get their money regularly; and I ' don't seo why they want to raise the, price.’’ I “ There is something said about scarcity of feed in winter,” suggested the interviewer.. ■ “'But why can’t they prepare for that in summerF” was the rejoinder. "‘I know farmers who do that, .and who never have this trouble. If the Hurt suppliers do raise the price, wo can get splendid milk along the Manawatu line i---in fact, the only difficulty there is : the want of a. Sunday train.” { “ Yes. there is plenty of good, rich imilk along the Manawatu line, and we ! shall soon manage the Sunday train,” declared another, of those interested in • tho retail business. “ They tried once before (o increase the price, and this move will meet with tho same fate. It will not do the farmers the slightest good, for the reason that customers will try to do with a smaller quantity of milk if you seek to. make them pay I a higher price. For instance, the house | whore a. quart is taken now will do ■ with a pint and a half. This is exactly what happened before when the same thing was tried.” “ Perhaps the milk suppliers find it hard to make a profit in winter at the 1 present rate, bub still twopence is too much,” observed another dealer. “They want to make it Sd a gallon in winter, which will , mean 9d for us, including the penny added for railway freight. This will be tv:"pence higher than in summer. One penny we might have agreed to, but twopence is too much. Nobocty would feel a penny, except perhaps the very poor, and probably the suppliers ought to get more than they do in winter.’* “ I don’t think this move will succeed, however,” he continued. “Even the people who have started it seem- to be failing out among themselves.” This was said during a short respite in the Saturday traffic. Bub the shop was rapidly filling-up again. Two bright-faced giggling girls came in for a. pound of butter; a sharp-featured woman, with a brisk air of business about her, wanted) a toothsome rasher of bacon for tho evening meal, and a girl with a perambulator, who insisted on bringing tho'perambulator into the shop, sought a bottle of honey. So the reporter went out into ‘ the street., and mingled again with the mob.

The District Suppliers’ Union has notified that tho price of milk will bo raised on'the Ist. of May, but. tho subject is to bo fully discussed at a meeting on Wednesday next.