Page 16 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18397, 2 June 1925, Page 16

AUOTXONBk H. MATSON AND 00. WOOL CRISIS. TWO OUTSTANDING- FEATUBES. PA ST, rKEoENT, AND FUTURE. HJIAI>JOX ird CO. take the liberty • oi reproducing- the following from iho "Stock and Journal, as, in our "pinion, i 1; is imooriant' to the wool-pro- • kdujh-y. JU - A. It. Moore writes;— As ono who has. bwn ck>3el>- associated v.itn tlie wool selling Iraao of Sydney for CO yc-.us. I .should like to put forward my viev.-3 on i.hu present crifcis. Tn jriv crilii'ißm I wish to be as frank sirui oil op as possible, mid in :io way io assume thst my remarks are in. the direoliui: of lilting tho ordy solution ill the pr-> S'.iit difficulty. Tn inv mind, there. iia.ve been two outstanding features that havo led up to tho present en"i'. Tho first ono ia that when on* pr-':'J-.nt spawn startcd prices wero on a very high level, and ns time went on tin-so kept r-oarinp, and instead of a loud noio o[ warning being sounded that there '•••as a likelihood of the maintenance of these l>MLT':i not holding, the growers' ideas woro ixiisicrcd -up with tho statistical position i !/;uriro word being so sound that wo were piactlrilly in tho position of beinj? abhi fo dioliiif! t.ho prices wn could demand, and I hat there was r.o danger of there heir:p- a fa.ll /rem the very high level that Ihcy had attained. Inoculation of (liesj ideas into the mind of tho grower was 'absolutely wrong and dangerous; had. it been pointed out that ihero was a very great danger of the market receding, owners' ideas would have no doubt boon modified and more confidence aliown in. the market. Tho second matter ia tlio ono that is most, serious, viz., attempts to stabilise the value "f Australian wool. Tho value of (ho Australian clip can ho estimated for this year at f70,(l0l»,000. Of this, it must be recognised that .only £45,000,000 ia represented in mcriart v/ 001, the balance being crossbred, , STABILISATION. Dwelling on -what would probably happen were stabilisation an accomplished fact: To my mind, it would moan tho abolition of wool-selling in Australia. The buyers would riatuiully aay: "Wo want the wool at the other end of tho world, and if a fixed ,or stabilised prico ia to bd the conditions upon, which we mak'o our purchases, their wo will buy in London and at such time and in such quantities as wo think best." This would bo a. great blow to Australia.

Apart from the fact that the selling of wool in the colonial matketa provides employment for thousands of men that would not bo required were wool shipped direct, tlio uncertainty of when process would ba available would be a great blow -tp the comjncroial interests, in addition to .which the grower, until ihS had actually received his proceeds, would never kfiow liis exact position. It Roes without allying that growers, fellnlongers, etc,', Would require advances for their produot, and wlien finaliaatkrfi of these Advances could bo made it • would bo extremoly difficult to say. Beside, there is the question*of firianee. Are our banking and financial institutions strong enough ,to bear tho burden of advancing the value of tlio clip of wool, not knowing what piriod that advfrrice would be repaid 7 To stabilise a product cannot be effectually dono, 11111688 absolute oontfol iB given _by thd owners of lhat' particular coininodity. Gould euch n. gigantic ucheifie ns the contr6l of the whole of the tforlcl's wool product be effectually raude? ' BAWBAv v . Ever sinoo the close of the wool scheme at the formation of Bawta tlifere has each year berri an attefmpt made (as is being <lone at present) to stabilise tVooI prices nnd put tlio commodity Muler oofiirdl. It would appear,, reading between the lines, that the wool buyers of tho World fully anticipated that when all tlio BaWra wool had been disposed of it only remained for •iihat oompaiiy to distribute the assatfl and Jeb the ilaine disappear. It may be diilr a coincidence, but the fact ionttiahs that K&terall? Before the anlrUal ineeting of Bawra certdin cabled front Sir Arthur Goldfltibk appear pointing out the strength. of tho statistical position, ana ilidirtotly endbivttirintj to work up the ileoeesity of Australian woo! beiiig conttolltd; Iti iar opin-on, th« world's buytaw hare always held thfe dpihiot that the funds of Bawtfc ifaifsjit be -Used as a nucleus of a fund to be used in stabilisation, and it ■sroiild appear air if the fact of, no distribution of the assets ot )Bawra btfiMi nleiitiblied at the aiinual meetittnv that there nitty hive been Strine fdrUndatioh Mr this thought, dad with this in theit. niind thb world's buyets had determined by siime meats dr another to displace thia bogie_ivns xfefciirh t6 our normal of wOolsellijig. , THE BtiYERS. The education of growers td look upon ■tlio buyers ad their mortal eiieiiliea has been very strongly in evidence since the inception of Bawra. Looking from a commonsenEo poiht of view, wherfcvefc there is a seller and ■ a buyer ( tho ono _ tlways looks to secure the best price ior his «jdmmodity and the buyer to Secure it in a legitimate manner at- tho lowest. Now, I contend that the world's buyets have done mush for the advancement df tlie pastoral industry. in establishing their agencies thtoiigfhoui the Conimonwealtli, and in coniluting Under the existing conditions of the market at a time in a genuine arid spirited niafiher. !tha« thers mtf have been a certain tttUoiint of combiniti&n in the divisions of wools I. f\ai quite trilling to admit, but ttiis has only beeii til » vfery small extent. DIFFICULTIES HAVE BEEN GREATER. I have had'the Unique experience of having faoed the present position no less than fivo times. Tli© difficultiw in the past have been fiir gieater than at the present, in: nsmuch as the prices then ruling for Wool wero far and away below thfe Very high values that oven How aire beiHg- obtained. ■Now, it may bo easily., aaked of men who baa Shown all the difficulties: 'What >is your solution of the present one?" It is this:' Lot tho grower indicate to tho world that ho is not in accord. witll any wool control or attempt to etiibiliso prices.' Ohco that is done, tho return 'to .normal conditions can bo gradually brought about. The interests of tho wool seller nnd buyer are clejoly interwoven, and one depends upon tho other for satisfactory and payable results, and tho sooner this is done the niore likely is this to be accomplished. Thegreater tiro delay the greater the menace.

Sales have 'been jostpemod in the Commonwealth to Jtity Ist-, anil I am at otice willing ■to admit that under tlie circumstance? this w«.s tho heat that could te done; but I <ln wnnt to put forcibly before tho grower , the presont accurate statistical position o£ wool as it now stands. NEXT 3EASOK Wo ato rtitying tho balano® of this olip into the next year, viz.: 550.000 bales. 31 can bo estimated that there will bo avail, able by the end of the year tho new clip, XjBOO.OOO bales: add the carry-over, 550,000 wiles, and estimate tho balance of clip to June 30th, 1936 (asßUming that there ia no increase), • 500,000 btilcs. Total, 2,550,000 bolca. Taking the' first two items, viz., the carryover wool and tho wool available by December 313t, 'i ,030,000 • bales is a large quantity of wool to be swallowed, and will need tbe bast brains of the wool trade to handle successfully with advantage. I emphasise the "bec.t brains,' - because I feel sure that if tho seller* and buyers work harmoniously together, 'as has been done under similar circumstances in the past, there need fce no fear ".hat the grower will not receive a fair and profitable-price for his commodity, a position that I am sure will, aa I previously expressed, be of inestimable value to tho welfare of Commonwealth inJArcafei geiuxaUjr. M6M3