MADE IN GERMANY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 138, 13 June 1922, Page 7

MADE IN GERMANY.

RESTRICTION ON IMPORTS. mSOI'SSED BY TRADERS. (Special to " Star.") (HRISTCFTCBCH, this day. ;h,- attitude of Christ hurc'i importers! on the question of resumption of trade relations between Mew Zealand and Germany was the subject of inquiry by a "Star" reporter in Christchurch. The CLintensus of opinion was that New Zealand must .--ooner or later trade again ivit-i Germany. j "An Order-in-Council dated July 29, ]!120, si ill ill force, forbids l#- importation oi goods manufactured or produced in and exported fr mi Germany, Austria and Hungary. If tha. is revoked and no ether restrictions placed in the waj- of importing Germans goods." said Mr. \\'r;:.i. the Collector of Customs at' ( liristclmich, "German and Austrian good? would be placed on exactly the same (noting as American and other forci"n goods, in very special circumstances permits have been granted by the Minister of Customs allowing entrance to certain German goods, such as drugs, dies and instruments absolutely essential and unobt-iinabk*. in Kngland or ; Air.'l'ica." j n M the ipicstio'i whether any goods _c.sf.ccd to in* of German origin are finding I heir win into New Zealand at the pre-cnt time. Mr. Wratt said he felt ouitc certain nothing of the sort was taking place. Sometimes parcels came through I In 1 post containing German "ood-. but lie had no reason to suspect that iiuv quantity of goods of doubt Nl origin ever got into the country. Before the war the principal magneto used on motor cars was of German origin, and manufacturers had branch factories in Kncland and America. The "factory in Kngland was taken over by the British (government and the factory in the Vnited State.-, by the American Government, and both were still being kept going. MOTOR AND CYCLE IMPORTS. The manager of a large firm of motor] and cycle importers stated that his firm 1 had for months past been receiving price lists and catalogues from Germany,! quoting general cycle and motor accessories and also complete motor cars, but,; iiltliciugh prices were very cheap, he did' not think the Germans could possibly' compete with British and American goods. The magneto referred to was now being manufactured at the factory, taken over by the American Government,! and was the same as the previous German article except that it had a different name. As far as the motor and cycle trade was concerned they could get along very well without German goods, but he did not think trade with Germany could be prohibited indefinitely, nor would it be advisable. PIANOS TOO COSTLY. A piano importer said that in addition to large numbers of German price lists and catalogues arriving by every mail a canvasser representing one of j the largest German manufacturing com- I panics recently c.illed upon him. As far j as the importer's personal feelings are i concerned, he said, he would be pleased ! to sell British pianos only, but prices j are prohibitive for most people. Eng- : lish pianos had increased in price since 1914 hy. roughly, 175 per cent, and Ger- ! man pianos by about 15 per cent. Before the war a good make of English piano could be sold in Christchurch for £3S or C4O: to-day the same class of piano was sold for about £110. The only way to bring down the prices of pianos to the level that would be within the reach of people of moderate means was by competition, and the only way to secure competition was to let Germa'i pianos in. Regarding the duty payable on German pianos, the importer expressed doubts whether the Government would I allow them in on the same basis as,! say, American pianos. Local piano dealers were not anxious to boost German pianos, but, being business men, | they wanted to stimulate the sale of pianos, and the only way this could be done seemed to be by allowing Herman competition. DRUGS FROM SWITZERLAND. As the supply of drugs has been kept up continuously since the war, a local I druggist expressed the opinion that it | wns quite possible a certain quantity j had "leaked" through from Germany. Tho supply of n class of drugs that ] before the war came almost exclusively j from Germany had never been inter- ■ rup ted, but instead of coming through , Hamburg, they were now supposed to he manufactured in Switzerland. The . quality was so good that he was sus- : picinug they had their origin in Ger- - many. It was foolish to try and prohibit trade with Germany much longer. The manager of a large firm of electrical engineers said he was not troubled j whether trade with Germany was resumed or not. He had rece : red certain price lists from Germany, but it was only for smaller accessories. Their prices were not worth considering to any extent. He believed if Germans could export goods to New Zealand they would get a certain hold, but not on a large scale. Speaking from his own point of view, the manager of a hardware and toy business said he did not want to see Herman goods back again on the market. 'I .icy were certainly much cheaper in j Drirp, but the quality was inferior to ] British and American articles. However, ' he did not think the public cared much about whether toys, for instance, were "f English or German make. The price was the thief consideration, and he believed, for that reason, the public would welcome German toys, hardware and fancy goods.