BOROUGH MILK SUPPLY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19835, 26 June 1934, Page 10

BOROUGH MILK SUPPLY

DEPUTATION TO COUNCIL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD

A deputation from the Levels County Council, consisting of the chairman (Mr T. B. Garrick), and Mr C. E. Kerr, waited on the TiniHiu Borough Council last night to discuss the control of the milk supply of the borough. The deputation was welcomed by the Mayor, Mr T. W. Satterthwaite. A large number of dairymen were also present unofficially. Mr Garrick said that the Council had previously turned the matter down, but his Council had decided to ask the Borough Council to reconsider its decision. Through the undercutting of prices, and the hardship of the winter months, dairymen were not able to provide milk up to standard, and many of them were finding it extremely difficult to live. Mr Garrick produced a copy of a petition, signed by 64 milkmen supplying milk to Timaru. The intention was to get a Bill passed by Parliament, on the basis of the Auckland Milk Council. So far as the Levels Council was concerned, 84 per cent, of the suppliers were 'ratepayers of the Council, but the Borough was concerned more with the consumers. 96 per cent, of whom resided in the Borough. The cut-throat game had come to a head, and many dairymen would not be able to carry on much longer. Recent Conference. Mr Kerr said that he was one of the representatives of the Levels County Council which attended a conference in regard to the matter. Following that conference, the Borough Council had turned the matter down, but he was convinced that it had done so because the matter had not been properly presented to it. By that, he meant that members were not as fully conversant with the Auckland Bill as they might have been. The position had got so bad, that most of the men were unable to carry on much longer. They were practically galley slaves, having to work from the early hours of the morning. If the producer - vendor was to improve his herd, and his plant, he would have to secure better prices to enable him to carry on. Dairymen were desirous of having the price stabilised, and the Bill would stop under-cutting. Prices Compared. Referring to prices in Auckland, Mr Kerr said that milk was delivered at the farm gate at 9d a gallon. The price to hotels was 14d a gallon, delivered to shops 15d and resold at 20d a gallon or 5d a quart. In this district the price at the farm gate was 5d and 6d a gallon, to hotels, 6d and 7d in the summer, while at present it was 8d a gallon, and some of it had to be brought 16 miles. Milk was being retailed at 16d a gallon or 4d a quart. The bulk of the dairymen were strongly in favour of the proposed Bill. Embodied in the Auckland Bill was everything that would ensure a pure milk supply. He appealed to the Council to help them put the Bill through, as it was the only means of securing a pure milk supply. Deputation Questioned. Cr. Vinnell said that he had it on very high authority that New Zealand had the lowest percentage in the world so far as T. 8., in cows was concerned, and this did not bear out the figures quoted by Mr Kerr. Mr Kerr, by way of a reply, asked when the last test was carried out in this district. The Mayor said he could not say. A milkman present said that tests were carried out every year, but there was no compulsory test for T.B. Cr. Foote asked where price cutting was going on, and where Timaru secured its normal supply from. Mr Kerr said that the price-cutting was going on locally. The bulk of the milk came from the Levels County. Cr. Benstead asked if, by the Bill, an area was defined, how many extra cows would have to be installed to supply Timaru. Mr Kerr said that no extra cows would be required. In reply to a question by Cr. Vinnell as to how much milk was supplied to Timaru, Mr Kerr said that he thought the quantity was approximately 1000 gallons a day. Cr. Vinnell: Do you consider the present system of distribution an economical one? Mr Garrick: I can’t see how it can be. Cr. Vinnell: Have any of the men here considered that their action might be the means of cutting their own living out? Cr. Foote said that he did not think there were 64 dairymen delivering milk in Timaru. Mr Kerr replied that there were only 37 distributors of milk in the town. Cr. Vinnell asked Mr Kerr if he still considered that Auckland was satisfied with the Milk Bill. Mr Kerr: “I do and I do not, be-

cause there is always opposition to every reform.” He added that he thought that in this instance the opposition would die down. Position in Auckland. Cr. Vinnell at this stage referred to a report in an Auckland paper of a meeting attended by representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, School Committees Association, National Council of Women, workers’ organisations and other bodies at which a resolution was carried asking for the repeal of the Bill. Mr Kerr said he would answer this by asking if any other resolution was carried. Cr. Vinnell: You read it for yourself. Mr Kerr: No, you read. Cr. Vinnell: You read it. Mr Kerr: “Very well.” Mr Kerr took the clipping and read a resolution asking that an early election be held. He said this was an answer to Cr. Vinnell’s statement, stating that it was easy to get worked up over a matter of the sort. “What do a lot of women know about the Auckland Milk Act?” he asked. Cr. Vinnell: Tell it to the women of Timaru, and you will get a lot of support. (Laughter.) Cr. Tweedy asked if anything was being done to bring the matter under the notice of the Dairy Commission with a view to national action. Mr Kerr said he did not know if anything was being done, but the Government was considering the milk position. Conference Agreed To. Cr. Tweedy said that some of those who had been accused of being opposed to the Bill were prepared to come to an arrangement, and he suggested that a conference should be held between the two Councils and the dairymen. He moved that a conference be called by the Council. The motion was seconded by Cr. Benstead. Cr. Vinnell said that when the Council was elected, the public did not think their elected representatives would be called on to decide a matter of the sort under discussion. They represented the whole of the public, and he suggested that before the Council took any definite action that they should take the public into their confidence. The Mayor assured Cr. Vinnell that the Council would see to it that the public were not exploited in any way. The motion was carried unanimously. _____