The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-27
THE MILK CAN EXCHANGE.
a London Organization for RefarIs-
Ing Stolen sifIk Cans


There are many curious societies IN
London about which the outside world
knows nothing. or such is the Milk Can
Exchange.
In The basement Of ere of the huge
grim blocks of buildings in ChanceFy Lane
= a snug little Office with nothing unusual
IN its appearance But leading from it
is q larger room, dark and triie musty,
and hlled from xall to wall and almost
from floor to ceiling with milk eaBs-oid
cans and new cans giant cans that would
hold gallons and others so small that
their capacity would scarcely suffice to
quench the thirst OF 2 baby This is The
headquarters OF the can exchange.
J Henry Stacey. the secretary, explain
ed the objects OF the society. These be-
long 70 the milk dealers of London, who
every year lose or are robbed OF close
upon u 600 cans ard 500 ehurEs Deem
her is the can thief's harvest time Dur
ing that month ne deprives the milk
dealer Of more than 2.0e0 vessels Of diff
ferent kinds November comes next with
about 1880 cans, and May is third on the
list with LOO. although, strange to say.
il the previous month the can snatcheT
almost entirely ceases from troubling.
Il IS the society's duty 70 restore these
tn usands of cans to those Of its members
who lose them. II employs inspectors. on
detectives. who operate under the personal
reEor: arrives that a number OF cans
have mysteriousIy disa ppeared in the
Chaplain Road district ana that the local
police have failed TO track down the
thieves Then the society sends its own
inspectors to shadow the milkIGen On
their rounds. and If they suspect that one
of the carriers is IN the possession of
cans to which he is not entitled they stop
him and examine his harrow. The results
of this system are admirable Last year
no fewer than IL 792 cans and 4s5 chuTns.
all lost stolen or strayed. were collected
by the society. The question naturally
presents itself, OF what use are these mis-
appropriated cans 10 the milkman2 One
purpose to which he puts them is this.
When he leaves his employers dairy with
his usual allowance of milk he makes for
the nearest news or cther places fur
rished With tap. Having secretly added
a considerable amount Of water TO the
milk he fills the stolen cans with the adul-
teratesI stuff and delivers il 10 his own
customers The danger his employer is
uneonsciously running will be apparent,
for the sanitary inspector may at any
moment come across the carrier and take
q specimen of the milk for analysis a
prosecution and a fine would inevitably
follow. but the dafryman and not his dis
honest servant would suffer.
Then. again. an interruptions miikman
/
He finds on the doorstepS or on the area
ratings the cans Of an opposition firm
Nothing is easier than to appropriate
these TO his own use. Many such cases
OF shines have come TO the society.s
notice Thousands of these cans are
meter returned TO their owners. One day
an officer of the exchange espied a milk
men meandering toward his own home.
beading under the weight OF sack which
he was carrying on his shoulders The
sack was found TO contain nothing but
! cans belonging to another firm in the
neighboThood.
The most extraordinary ease the society
has dealt with lately was enc In which
an East End Jew was the offender On
his premises between thirty and forty
missing ehurns we're found The Israel
ties bed was built on hidden churns.
The washing basin rested on tive churns
artislioaHy draped; three others, deco
rated in q similar way, served as q dress
E7g tablet The furniture was all churns-
In another case a Camdentown ledger
left forty-seven stolen cans in Iiquida-
ton OF q long standing account II is
/ the duty of the exchange to ferret out
! these Ieakages of milk cans and churns,
and while restoring the missing articles
! to their owners TO prosecute the offend
e-s As rule, milk deiiverers are an
honest class Of men, but there are black
| sheep among them. As Illustrating the
value of the work done by the exchange
/ IL may be added that last year it recoy-
/ cred property worth see aGa