YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 10, 7 October 1918, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

•; MILITARY VERSUS CIVILIAN | '■: REQUIREMENTS, . I (From". Ouf Special Correspondent.) f '.. Bradford, August 15. I/■/' The'grip of State control continues | to . tighten upon the entire industry, |\ the latest announcement referring to l-the taking over of all woollen wastes £by the Department. We understand g: that this is the direct outcome of stead- | ily advancing values, • brought homo i still moro forcibly to the waste secI. lion of wool control by increased quant tities being wanted for military purFposes. We have beforo intimated that |; the blend for the tartan and drabliiferge how contains 75 per cent, of E'Virgin wool, compared with 50 per Scent, somo months hack. Bigger quan-I:-titles' than ever are being made; in f? fact, the yardage is colossal. This is f the direct outcome of 1,500,000 Amerikcan troop's having to be catered for, lin addition to supplies for othsr Allied '< andl British troops. It is a marvel ; ivhat huge quantities of military falii lios are being made, for one Las only J: to think of'underclothing, stockings, f puttees, trousers, tunics, heavy over?"coating, shell cloths, blankets, horso. .''rugs, and other, things, to form a sort i'of vague idea of the huge weights of 'raw materials shifted,weekly. Is there >• any'cause for surprise that all raw ma-, is in short supplyP Ono wonders I what must be the condition of things. f in '.Germany, with all overseas'- wool cut off for four years. Cotton, jr.-nettles, and other vegetable fibres might [ 'well be at a premium, and. supplies of s vrool must be practically non-existent. [ Truly the position of things in Europe r when' viewed from the textile raw raa-f,-terial standpoint is unique, and it is |;to be hoped that the like will never ('again obtain.'

;.'. .: Woollen Wastes Controlled. i« Hitherto woollen wastes have been [iiree, and certainly filled a very useful \ place in the trade. The new order is | very far-reaching. It says: "No per|soh shall sell or deliver to any woollen any woollen spinner's or iwoollen! manufacturer's thread waste, [or hosiery waste, <y any woollen manufacturer's thrums, clippings, or cleanting waste, or fud waste, or any woolFvlen or worsted blanket ends, or any Worsted spinner's Scotch laps, spinning Tvaste,.or brush' Waste, or any worsted manufacturer's sweeping waste, or iiy iwaßte,:Or any woolcomber's roller !apfoings,. or any Persian laps, spinning [waste,: or brush waste, or any Angora Jwaste, or any worsted spinning or tosiery waste containing any wool, or try blends or material wholly or parity of any waste of any of the {■foregoing descriptions." The above |simply means that no, class of raw maliterial or its by-products can now be jfsold without a special'permit, and that [all these'important, byproducts of the Ltrade will be' used' for military pur- \ poses. \ Nobody can reasonably object {■'■to this, seeing that the by-products j;are,. being used to supply national but it shows clearly enough the piheed there is for all raw materials.hoping reserved for military purposes, and ji/also the value placed upon them by tho jtcloth section of the "Department;. The kabove opens out several items of iu|terest.to'readers of. this issue, be they '/growers, Vpinners, or manufacturers. iJlt would be difficult to make tho out-

gaide'reader understand what is meant jiy such names' as fud, brush wastes, &nd. fly' waste, but each describes wool IJfibre in some form or other, although t'lt contains a good deal of grease and Lilirt. Still they can all/be used, having |risen to more, than, double what they ;'ftv.ere worth in pre-war days. What surg;4>rises 'one most is that these third and products'of the industry fshotildbe looked. upon as possessing i : Bjirßcieut ..-manufacturing - properties '0.0 . be •; worth being blended pvith ; other'- -materials for military cloths, but the fact must be ladmitted that they.: possess certain |pnanufacturing properties. If wo take |i''fud,":'for example, it is used' to soften |"« blend of other materials, enabling ithe wool, cotton,.and mungo to work jpinore easily, in,the machines, and givIfng a' certain softness of. handle to the femanufacturcd piece which cannot be pot in any other way. The same can |rj'e said of. brush wastes, which aro ifyery suitable for certain thick fabrics.

P --Financial Side of State control. l{< Considerable comment has been made [ jn the wool textile trade on the amount §;of 'public money invested in colonial gClips, the Government using taxpayers' f,njoiiey in financing the whole industry. \mo real word ,of complaint has ever I'been heard nt public money being used |to "purchase colonial dips/ _' Has any Siaccount been taken of the interest on [[.that money? A report has just been by the Select Committee on Expenditure which contains ft some - rather enlightening remarks regarding the control of wool. After referring to the purchase of raw material |the .report says: "These transactions 'i involved the expenditure in. 1917-18 of in the purchase of tho raw inaterial and the handling of over pjOOOjOOO bales of wool. Our sub-com-firiittee has made some inquiry into the lOrganisation which has been established"'to deal with this vast undertaking, prad.has heard witnesses representing fthe British Wool Federation, who have Criticised in certain particulars the tmethods adopted by the War Office. §.Tho questions involved raise many .technical considerations affecting a Highly complex trading system. Oiu-Isub-committee do not feol satisfied that l-there are not considerable improvc|mcnts to bo made in the working in £tne Government control of the wool itrads. In particular, the allocation of Pie.different classes of wool may need preview, so as to secure the _ best ecolliomic use of the raw material." This ffreport foreshadows some rather, changes, at least the fenen'in the high position's in connection with 'tho Government ■ were IjTecognising the difficulties, which have iresulted. under Stnto control, tho primg'arv cause being the war. There :s (treason for saying that reforms are loverdue. For instance, no account Khas been taken until quite recently of Ithe interest absorbed in purchasing the i.colonial clips, the omission of which jfmakes the profits realised by the purI'chase of colonial clips appear better l-'thau is actually the case. ' The trade [fto-day recognise that the Imperial Govf'ernment did the right thing to purfeh'ase the Australian clips, but in face Bof the great need for money for carryI'ing on the war, why was the money fof bankers, importers, and topmakers lignored, when all the lot could have I'teen employed in financing supplies rs fin pre-war days One lias only ..to >think of tho millions of capital lying' jfjrlip in banks, which could have been Bused in relieving tho public exchequer, (I'but which has been put into other pchannols until tho return of the time Civ-hen they will be wanted for financjbg the wool trade again.

i Supplies for the Civil Trade, H Since writing last an official nnIjiounceinont has been made that the /Department is unable to meet the clnf mar da in respect of the certificates isIsued bv the Rationing Committee rewarding the tope to be issued by spmi* .

ners for the civil trade during tfce ensuing four months. This naturally created consternation in tho trado, it boing the first time in the history of State control that the Department has not been able to honour its own admitted obligations. The trado has not gone oif into a panic. Tho position is tiiat the military orders placed during the past month 'are so extraordinary large that the Rationing Committee thinks it policy to stay its hands until military requirements are largely out of the way. Stocks of wool in the country to-day arc fairly large, but the quantities at sea, particularly of merinos, are less than they really ought to be. The outlook, therefore, is not too inviting from a supply standpoint, although we believe there will be no actual shortage. In face of such colossal military requirements the Department is erring on the right side, and one feels. certain that with the exercise of a little patience no one will go short. Already some of tho subcertificates of spinners have been honoured, a few deliveries of tops havo been made, and therefore the Department will use every effort to see that machinery is kept running. Where topmakers are entitled, say, to 70's, no 64's; being handed out. to-day for civilian purposes, a spinner must take 26 per cent, of 36's, and if they cannot make up their usual blends their customers will have.to take the counts of yams which can best be spun. Freight is the crux of the whole question. Larger supplies are wanted; these'are promised towards the «md .'of the year., and one feels that when the Department is faced with standing macliinery freight will be forthcoming. In ! tho meantime the entire industry will have to carry on with. present some-, what limited ■supplies. The writer finds it difficult, in spite of what lie has said above respecting the need for the arrival of a larger weight of merinos, entirely to grasp tho statement made by the Rationing Committee that they are unable to meet their obligations partly on account of the position of wool supplies. It has been stated in authoritative quarters that according to the census of stock's taken at the end of last Juno the weight of wool in the country is not very much different from what it was on' June 30, 1917. No further tribute is needed to the state of ivnol supplies in view of the tremendousconsumption on military account. It is, of course, another matter as to whether .we have in- this country acb> quale quantities of each description' of wool needed. The bulk may be all right, but it is to bo feared that an examination of details would reveal, some weakness. Even this may be overcome if the Shipping Controller can be prevailed upon to bring home tne right class of wool.