The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1923. THE COOL STORES.

Southland Times, Issue 18927, 28 April 1923, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1923. THE COOL STORES.

In another column a correspondent refers to the decision of a recent meeting of dairy farmers to make an offer to the Bluff Harbour Board for the cool stores erected during the war by arrangement with the dairying interests of the province, and failing the acceptance of that offer to proceed about the erection of stores in Invercargill or Bluff. With a correspondent’s view of the propriety of Mr J. Fisher’s action we are not concerned at the moment, but we are gravely disturbed by the suggestion that the dairying interests should think of putting up a cool stores for butter and cheese in Invercargill, The expenditure of money on such a project would be nothing short of a criminal waste of money, and whatever may be considered in the future Invercargill as a site should be ruled out. In the first place the rolling stock question must be confronted. When a ship is at the berth at Bluff, it is essential that her loading should be carried out with the utmost despatch, but if there is any hitch in the railway arrangements, if foiling stock is required elsewhere, the delay in transporting butter and cheese from the Invercargill store to the wharf at Bluff might be exceedingly costly. If this cargo were in store at Bluff there need be no dependence on rolling stock during the period when celerity is essential. Those who have had experience with the shipment of foodstuffs recognise the advantages of storage close to the wharf, and we do not think anyone connected with the shipping companies would advance an argument in favour of stores in Invercargill. With the stores placed at Bluff the farmers will know that their produce- will get prompt despatch and that they will be in a position to take full advantage of weather conditions to secure the quick loading of ships. The case for frozen meat is not quite the same because the actual freezing takes place at the killing point and this necessitates the holding of meat at the works placed

in the country for facility in handling stock. Dairy companies turn out their butter and cheese and can transfer it straight to the stores to await shipment, and in their case there is no obstacle in the way of storage at the boatside. When we approach the question of a cool stores at Bluff we are at once brought hard up against the fact that the dairy farmers are proposing to buy the Harbour Board’s store or to build. In the interests of the province the erection of another store at Bluff should be attempted only as a last resource. A duplication of store accommodation means waste and should be avoided. The Harbour Board is a public body charged with the duty of providing proper facilities for the inward and outward movement of goods for the province, and it should look at this question reasonably. As we understand the position, the stores at Bluff, which are the subject of the dairy farmers’ discussions, were erected under an arrangement by which the dairy farmers contributed a certain sum to the capital cost. That is a direct investment of their money in the store and in after years, when storage charges and selling prices are under consideration their contribution to the capital cost must be weighed as a mitigating factor. At the present moment the Board and the dairy people seem to have reached a deadlock. We hope this is not so. There must be room for a compromise. The Board should treat the dairy people in this instance with more than usual generosity in view of the conditions attached to the erection and maintenance of the stores and in view of the interests at stake. We hope that nothing rash will be done. It should be possible to avoid duplication, but if duplication should unfortunately become necessary Invercargill must be ruled but as a possible site.