THE RANGITIKEI SAWMILLERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 14

THE RANGITIKEI SAWMILLERS.

A MAIN TRUNK CO-OPERATIVE INSTITUTION, SOME INTERESTING HISTORY. The history of the timber industry along the Main Trunk line represents in a large measure the history of the Rangitikoi San-millers' Co-operative Association, Limited, an organisation which now has its headquarters'at Taihape. Take, for instance, tlio first starting of the old association in Feilding in 1597. The Slain Trunk line of railway had then reached Manga.onolio, almost on the edge of a great forest which, except for the Waimarino Plains, extended un the island for about one hundred miles. .Tho mills which then formed the association were practically all outside this great forest. They were six in number,, namely, the Manawatu Timber Company, at Feilding ; Ewen M'Gregor, at Mangaonoho; and Lowe's and Jarvis, Bayly and. Company, John Nissoii, and Barthel Bros. The remaining headquarters of some- of these firms wore lumbolton, Kiwitoa, and Fohmcina. Sir. W. G. Haybitt'o. at present managing director of the association, and manager of tho Manawatu Timber Company, was its first chairman, while Mr. Cornford was chairman of directors. At this time the groat bulk of tllo timber supplies for Wellington were being drawn from the Forty Mile Bush and Dannovirke, and a certain amount from tho Wairarapa, but even then there were signs that before long tho timber metropolis would be diverted towards the middle of the island. Tho old association served 'a very good purpose in a way, but possibly the scattered nature of tho timber. business at the. time prevented it from being as useful as it might have been. However, it was an organisation of much benefit- in 'its* .own 'immediatedistrict. It kept going,for a,'time, but as its mills became exhniisted, and none started again, - it dissolved until 1903;, when with the general-pros- * perit.v, the ' pushing, on of I the .IMiiin Trunk line, a nest of mills came into existence mainly up tlio Main Truiix, and the association was resurrected.

A Primary Reason. . It may be mentioned that the'.mills were in operation'for some time"before the association reformed itself,' and the .action was found to • be Absolutely' necessary for the.protection of business; The association; in fact was founded' primarily to prevent bad, debts. It'was never .intended that : the , association should attempt to raisoVpricts.'unduly, abovo. the .cost of prodliptip 11,_aiVd• hi' 3 has neyer been done, a' fnjt which is now generally, recognised' By. the'ii-pub-lic. It is of interest to record,' however, another fact-, namely, 'that ill :the course of six years tho association has made no bad debts, which serves to show that the first'business objective of the association has be6n successfully carried out lip to the present. Any sawmiller who wishes may join- tho> association, and anybody may buy supplies' whether merchant, contractor, or 'the general public; and ;jf '■ a miller Ms "not satisfied lid may leave' tlio association';

Tha Bush Arba in 1903. Some idea of the bush area, operated upon at the time of, tho reformation of tlio association in. 1903 may be gained by the publication of the names aiid addresses of tho subscribers.' They wero as .follow :— W..L., W. A.,.and J. A. Bailey,-Tao-nui.. ■ j J Manawatu Timber Co., Ltd., r -,.lf<?ild-. ,in.a;. . ' Ewen M'Gregor, Mangaonoho. ■ J. H. ICnap, Taihape. - , H. Wright, Mangaweka. „.' r- ,- F. J. Carter, Slsuigawcka. F. ,S. Goodbehere and ling, Rangiwahia. ' , ' , R. A. Gower,' Ohingaiti. . M.,,H. Morris, Hunterville. F. 'C. Parkes,,Silverhope. Einer Andresen, Taihape. J. J. Patterson, Taihape... . - Perhami Larsen.aiifl Co., L'tikuThe sawmill.-.metropolis- was then"at Mangaweka, while tho timber operated upon was mostly rimu, ;matai,' totara,' and white pine. There were . some splendid totara forests in Mangaweka, Taroa, and Utiku, while white pine was also growing in the same areas;

Big Business. . Tho development of tbo country with plenty of trade gavo tho' association a good send-oft', and business progressed satisfactorily. By tho end of 1906,' the association had twenty-eight mills going. They were as follow Gardner and Sons (two mills), It. F. Gibbs and Co., J. Bartholomew and Co., Bpher Bros., Anderson and Bennett; Wakelin and Hoadley, R. Smith, Goldfinch and Anderson, Berg Bros., Beban and Gardiner, T. Sowersbz, Zajonskowski Bros., Smith and Donald, G. Syme, W. C. Clement, Carlson and Co., M'Kean Bros., Manawatu Timber Co. (two mills), Perkam and Larscn. The output for that year was 21,000,000 feet, of which 4,500,000 was white' pino. There was then a good export trade of wliito pine to Australia.-

Benefits of .Cc-opsration. It has been stated before that one of the primary objects of the association was to protect the millers from bad debts. This is so, and it has been shown that the association achieved its object. Tho system- of co-operation amongst the millers is considered necessary on other grounds. Look at tho liugo cost which must take place before a mill becomes reproductive, tho cost of tram-laying, bridges, stock, gear, and machinery. The main asset of a mill is uninsurable. _ The fear, of bush fires is. a miller's nightmare, and anyono who has lived.any time'in tho Dominion is perfectly.-, aware of the fights which have at times taken place all over the country in order to save a mill from destruction. And many is

tho time that the fight has been unsuccessful, and the unfortunate man has had to make a fresh start in life. And sometimes tho fresh start has to be mado more than once, but if ever there was a man with a stout heart it is the practical sawmillcr. This present year the millers .011 the Main Trunk line have had thousands of acres of their bush partly , destroyed, and .their loss has been considerable. Following .on the .fire comes the flood, not- so destructive as the other element, but still,a danger to bo -.reckoned with; • Whatever insurance there is allowed by tlio'companies is of a high rate, £7 per <-£100. aiid. it has to be remembered that- one-third of tho cost of timber from tho Main Trunk to Wellington is spent 011 railage. During the'past 12 months the-railway freights of timber from the mills has run to.o'yeif £60,000, and each month the cost of production becomes greater.- Tho average wage 3 for every worker amongst tho mills is 12s. This has to be paid, and tho assooi&tion -is .glad to see it paid; Tho foregoing is only a portion of the arguments which may be adduced as some of the reasons why sawmillers should 'corporate..' Another argument is that cp-oporation' leads to uniformity of •prices, yas , in any other business and industry, and a sound business prin'ciplo' so long as it is run-on legitimate lines, and not for the nurpose of exploiting tho public. The association simply wishes to conduct its business 011 business lines, and if possible with only a reasonable margin of profit.

A Big Industry. :■! The '.whole, question leads to .tlio supreme importance of protecting the industry, which it is stated (including sash and door factories) distributes more in wages than any other industry in New 'Zealand; This stateinelit " may: be confirmed by examination of tho 1910 Year Book, page 452, where, under the heading of "Details: of Principal Industries," "Wages, raid,"' ap-' nears'' , lh'e' il itfcni's-: —m ' • ■ 'i t>i<. ~ £ ■ Sawmills, sash and door factories • ■ 834,927 ■• ■'Other items were as follow:— .. £ 'Book's ■ and publications 400,812 Meat, ; freezing and preserving 278,592 Tailoring •' •. 215,087 Butter and cheese factories... 131,123 Flaxmills 227,460 Breweries 92,308 Gas works 113,785 Brick and tile works 99,246 Iron and brass foundries 145,042 Engineering 167,996 '.Coach-building 116,204 i Orsgon Pine. - ! These figures give an idea how dependent tho people of New Zealand arc at present.on the industry, and it is strongly urged that, steps should bo taken to prevent the industry from being exploited, as was done some years ago by the dumping of Oregon pine into the ' country at cut rates, which . serionslv affectcd the timber trade of the Dominion. Tho dumping of Oregon pine iiito New Zealand • commenced about 1904, when big cargoes were landed in AVellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Being unable to quit the whole of. their product ill their regular markets, owing to slackness of trade ill America and Europe, Oregon mills began to clump their surplus cutting anywhere..they, could: get rid of it. The practice , of . dumping is to dispose of surplus stocks at cost or less than cost, so as to maintain full prices for ordinary trade. These Oregon mills worked ten hours a. day-and had no labour laws, and the consequence- was that they simply shoved the stuff Oil to Ne*' Zealand at.'a . price which allowed the New Zealander no 'chanco to. compete against." The. importation of this foreign .timber in 1908 dealt tho Now Zealand-industry a severe blow, from which even .now it ha 3 not recovered. It is contended that every importation of a million feet of Oregon into tifo Dominion means to this country the locking up of £1000. worth- of capital, aiid the putting out- of employment tl' 25 men, 12 horses, and 20.bullocks. It Was argued that tho importation of the foreign timber cheapened the cost or rent of buildings. . This the millers state is an erroneous impression, as tho rise or fall in the price of timber would malw a. difference of only £10 in a fourroomed cottage,-and £20_in an eight or nine-roomed residence. Tho New Zealand sawmillers did not argue against the Arbitration Act, but they contended that as ; tho Government fixed the rate of wages to be paid and the time

to bo worked, the Government, in the interests of employers', workers, and the public generally, should protect :he industry against foreign competitors, who are free of such restrictions, ft was pointed out that of every million feet imported, tho Dominion suffered a loss of £4000 of wages and railage, and the sawmillers could not see the full compensating advantages on the oiner side. " However, the State did nothing. In 1904, when the trouble was only threatening and was mentioned to Mr. Scddon, that gentleman declared tint if the danger materialised to any extent ho would stop it with one stroke of the pen. But Mr. Scddon died, and in 1908, when depression struck the country, things rapidly went from bad to worse. Timber became unsaleable, tho mills were closed down in all directions, and sawmill staffs were cut. down wholesale. This went on ur.iil _ nearly tho end of 1909, when the American depression lifted, and the Oregon millers were enabled' to dispose of their products in t.lioir regular markets. It should bo mentioned that the New Zealand Government i did appoint a Royal .Commission to inquire into the subject, but nothing eventuated of any importance. In the face of all tho trouble which was then besetting the industry, tho Rangitikoi Sawmillers' Association bore tho brunt of very hard battle, and preserved its integrity, and possibly today is 'on a better footing than ever with its sawmill staffs and tho public generally.

Present Membership. " Its membership has .steadily increased, and it .now operates on territory .extending from AViniata to Owhaugi, fast Raurimu. During the six months .ejided July 31, 1910, its - output was 12,133,082 feet. This was not largo considering, the number of mills, but increase of trade generally mado a better showing for tlie six months ended 'January .31, ..19.11, when the output went ".'lip to* 18;d34,7'18 feet. Tho total for the year, Wfi's,, therefore 30,227,830 feet. The -if associated mills is as follows:— Bennett, Dillon and Punch, Mataroa. Bennett, Dillon and Punch, Rangataua. Berg Bros., Horopito. Bosher, Winiata. „ , Broadbelt, Ohakune., P. J. Carter, Ohakune. Feilding Sash and Door Co., Ltd., Horopito. Gardiner, George and Son, Turangarere. • 1 Gardiner, Goorgo and Son, Oio. Gardiner, George and Son, Manunui. Gammon and Co., Ltd., Ohakune. A. F. Gibbs and Co., Utiku. Goldfinch and Company; Ohakuno. Gower and Bertram, Ohmgaiti.' Jensen and Co., Horopito. Manawatu Timber Co., Taihape. . Manui Sawmill Co , Mangaweka. T. Mugridge, Ohakune. Parke3 Bros., Oiiingaiti. Perliam, Larsen and Co., Ltd., Rangataua. Pukenana Sawmill Co,, Bennett's Siding. ■ ■; , ■ Quin Bros., Quin and Booth's Siding. Raetihi Timber Co., Ohakune. Rangataua Timber Co., Rangataua. Smith and Donald, Mataroa. 'R. H. Smith, Mataroa. Sollitt Bros., Ltd., Rangataua. T. Sowersbv, Railgataua. G. Symo. Horopito. G. Syme, Tangnvai. Turangarere Sawmill Co., Hihitahi. ■; Carlson, and Co., Owhango. Executive and Staff.

; Tho Raiigitikei Sawmillers' Assoc!.ition is controlled by an executive of which Mr. W. G. llaybittlo is chairman, and a committeo comprising Messrs. J. A. Bush, D. Gardner, H. \V. Smith, M.P., W. 'i'. Irvine, J. Syme, Junr., and A. F. Gibbs. Tho manager of the association is Mr. M. M. Carpenter (Taihape),- secretary Mi'. A. M. Rvan-, Mr! H. Bertram, with another four on the clerical sta.f. In commenting upon the work of tho staff in a report to the executive reeentlv, the auditor, Mr. S. Y.'iiitt.i Thornton, stated that the book-keeping had been carried out to bin entire satisfaction, and the association was congratulated by Mr. Thornton on' its efficiency. It should be added that tho association is under the guidance of practical sawmillers, who have on band largo stocks of dressed and undressed timbe!:, and through tho association supplies nia.v bo obtained at- the shortest notice. Correspondence should be' addressed to tho • Manager, Raiigitikei Sawmillers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., Taihape.