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SPECIAL COUNSEL MAY E RETAINED The Globe understands that the demand for such action is practically Province-wide, and is accompanied. in several instances. by assurance of readiness on the part of local bodies to contribute to the expense involved. Certain representatives from munici- pal councils and local Hydro Com- missions have indicated their desire to be associated with the movement. Arthur G. Blaght, ICC., or F. W. Grit. fiths. K.C.. of Niagara Falls. or J. C. McRuer. K.C. It is thc txpectation that the counccl will préscnt himself before the Comtni5ciion:w. rtinforced by a retainer frcm hydro users in various parts cf Ontario, who, of course. are directly concsrncd in the investigation, with an assurance that, his services will bo without cost to the Government of the Provincc. Although no announcement has been forthcoming pending submission of the proposal to W. E. N. Sinclair. the House Leader of the party, it is believed that it meets hearty ap- proval at the hands ot Liberals gen- erally and that they will ask Mr. Sinclair today to take it up officially and give it the imprimatur of his en- donation. "Such a. plan would bo quite satis- factory to those whom 1 rtpresent," sud Hon. H. C. Nixon. the Prcgres- sive Leader, when interviewed by The Globe last night. "Any one nf tho three eminent counsel named would meet the recucst of than who feel that the whole pccple of th: Prov- ince should be represented Infore the Commissioner." Messages said to be pouring in upon Liberal headquarters trom many parts of the Province demanding indepen- dent representation before Mr. Jus- tice Middleton at the pending Hydro investigation are likely to result in the retaining-at no expense to the Province-of counsel to present cer- tain evidence believed to be sensa- tional in character and having vital bearing on the transactions under in- vestigation. 7 - THREE NAMES PROPOSED So far as could be learned, the? cpunsel selected probably would bel Prominent Liberals - including Mitchell Hepburn, the Prcvincial Leader-interviewed last night, de- clined to discuss the prcposal until it has been submitted to MP. Ein- clair. the House Leader, for his con- sideration and approval. This, it is expected, will be done teday. Local Bodies Ready to Assume Expense to Sat- isfy Wide Demand BY POWER USERS or F. W. Grif- Falls. or J. C. le expectation r?sent himself until Sin- con- it is tor the shipper's proteetion. The license was not regarded as a mo- nopoly or franchise, but was rather a guarantee to the shipper that his goods would be properly protected and a high standard of service maintained, and it was further a certain protec- tion to the transporter in that he was not so liable to illegitimate competi- tion, which could only end in dip. aster to both the shipper and trans- porter and demoralize the business. The matter of ettieient service was the foundation of the license, and, as has been related before, the milk transporters, with practically no ex- ception, kept up their standard of service in a most commendable man- ner. a. public commercial vehicle license, and obliged them to set out the par- ticular territory their business cover- ed. This move was made by way of definite regulation by the department "Briefly, there are aooui, 130 milk transporters hauling milk for the farmers to dairies in Toronto, and the great majority of the drivers are the owners of their vehicles. or necessity they haul seven days a week, rain or shine, on bad roads and paved high- ways, and. with scarcely an exception, the service they render to the pro- ducer is excellent and the service has rarely been the subject of complaint by either the dairy or the farmer. The transporters are employed by the farmers and paid by them indirectly through the dairies, and carry loads of from 30 to 40 cans to 80 and 100 cans daily. They have a one-way load; that is, unlike most transporters of other commodities. they have no return load except empty milk cans, which they deliver to the farmer each morning. Their business has become a. specialty, and of their efficiency there is little question. "Pollowing out its plan of licensing all public commercial vehicles. the Department of Highways some time ago compelled the milk transporters. as well 'as those' thrrGpJiiifiirG'iG'. merchandise. to register and obtain 7 - -"CP"'"-".'_ "Gr mu u-Cyaxlllul'u'u so that, the entire transport business would be kept on a high plane ot etticienoy, and was especially enact- ed for the benefit of shippers gener- ally. In addition the department re- quired each transporter to insure his cargo and deposit the policy with it WOULD KEEP LICENSE Fe L 2 2 . MILK TRANSPORTERS SEEK C()-(PlRjl'll())1 Ill PRICE REDUCTION "During the period of unrest which has bcen experienced for some time past in the whole milk business in Toronto and surrounding district, many interviews have appeared in the press and many declarations have been made at meetings relating to various branches of the trade, but up to this time the milk transporter. who is a most important cog in the machine, has refrained from giving publicity to his side of the story. The transporter, however. new. believes that. in order to clear up any mis- understanding which may be in the public mind, a statement of his posi- tion in the trade should be published. 130 Transporters in Toronto. In connection with the discussion relative to the milk business in To.. ronto and its suburbs, Gordon Gray- don, Secretary of the Toronto Milk Transport Association, irsued a state- ment over the week-end on behaif of chat association It is as follows: Sympathetic View of Situ- ation Taken in Secre- tary's Statement -_-- -NP- -..- bow of the milk trade generally, to have the licenses remain as they are, as 'any removal would have the effect of many more trucks drawing the same amount of milk, and that some of the transporters thus displaced might go further afield into the districts of cheap milk, to the obvious detriment of all concerned. The transporters' representatives agreed that the farm- er was badly hit in Toronto vicinity. and stated that they were urging their men to meet the situation with their shippers as it should be met. The producers also realized that, to! exempt milk transporters from the; Public Commercial Vehicles Act would l, demoralize a much distressed business, ( but made a strong plea for adjust-1 ment of rates. They expressed .wil-i lingness to recognize the license of the transporter, provided such licenses was not unreasonably used far the' purpose ot imposinnr ' ".4--- rates. whole milk situation and tha: can ii' the milk were hauled free of char-g: no cure-all for the prctiuccrs' nexus. would result. Meet Minister of Highways. "However. with the object of satis.. factorily adjusting the disturbed re- lations between the shippers and transporters,. a meeting of represen- tatives of both parties met Hon. Leo- pold Macaulay yesterday and stated their ppsitiqns, and both sides showed a positive desire to meet each other: difficulties in a friendly and reason- able way. The transporters stated thatLthey were anxious for the good '. "Shortly after the price of milk [-311 lfinally to $1.45 per hundredweig,ht on {Felt l. the transporters of milk, con- ,lvened at a largely attended catering, _itiecitied to place themselves on recon Eas being in favor of the license 1':- gmaining in force, and at the same {time they took a most reasonable and sympathetic view of the position Ci ithe farmer who was forced to rezi' cc ito a price which left only a mean": return for his labor on the farm. Ma '3' of those present stated they had ai- ready reduced their rates and were :.t rock bottom and many others Cii- pressed their intentions of making some reduction in their rates at once A recommendation far price adjusr. mcnt, was made by the Prcsicirnc or the association Nelson A. Beylen, and the meeting approved a resolution 'char. each trucker should adjust his rate) with his own customers on a reason- able basis having regard to the new conditions. The men expressed the opinion that it was impossible to ha a percentage for each tran.tyortr': to reduce, as some had taken a reduction and others had special conditem cxisting on their routes which made any sweeping reduction impossible. I was also poin-t:d out that out of #112 10 cents per quart the consumer rags to the retailer in Toronto, on an are» age only 3-4 of a cent finds its way into the truckers pocket, ap- proximately 3 cents goes to ill: air-u- ducers clear of cartage and the bal- ance is consumed in the other afiels of distributicn by the dairies. Thi indicates clearly that the transpor" charges are a very small lac-tor in the "During the process which has t1na11y ended in the farmers receiving $1.45 per hundredweight, the milk transporters have been subject to much criticism at public meetings of the shippers and through the press, which agitation finally culminated a short time ago in a resolution at the Toronto Milk Producers' meeting ask- ing the Department ot Highways to withdraw the license under the Pubiic Commercial Vehicles Act, and brand- ing the license as a yariety of mo- nopoly. "The Toronto Milk Transport Ass sociation, which represents the body of milk truckers, has always believed that much of the criticism given "are transporters has not been altogethir justifiable, but, rather than engage in verbal warfare with the producers, whose future in the business realty ran along the same channels as the transporters, decided that some move should be made to re-establish 27s members in the confidence ct the shippers instead of entering into l use" less controversy which. at Irst, cc- :ld avail nothing to either party. Desire Co-operation. License Questioned. '.sonably used br-tire" Imposing high cartage The transporters' ed that the farm- t Toronto vicinity. hey were urging the situation with it should be met. wru- bal- was This qnnt"