USE MORE WOOL

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 54, 27 November 1930, Page 10

USE MORE WOOL

Mr Bernard Tripp’s Scheme

SUPPORT BY LORD BARNBY The need for an intensive publicity effort on the lines of Mr. Bernard Tripp’s scheme for a “use more wool” campaign, with a view to encouraging the use of wool, was stressed by Lord Barnby, principal of the firm of Messrs. Francis Willey and Co., Bradford and Boston, and a leading figure in finance and industry in England, in the course of an interview with a Timaru “Post” reporter. Lord Barnby suggested that a central Empire fund should be established for this purpose, the fund to be contributed to by the wool producers, the manufacturers interested, and the Governments of the Dominions concerned. Lord Barnby is at present making * | tour of the Dominion principally with the object of studying Dominion methods of producing and marketing wool. In view of his interests in the wool trade, and as chairman of the Wool Industries Research Association, Lord Barnbv was deeply interested in New Zealand research work. The Dominion, he said, was a contributor to the Research Association in the Old Country, and in this connection he was firmly of the opinion that a central Empire fund should be established for the benefit of industry as a whole. The fund if established would be contributed to by the wool producer, the manufacturers interested, and the Governments of the Dominions concerned. The money thus obtained could be used for research purposes, and for an even greater requirements—an. intensive publicity campaign, to emphasise the virtues of wool, and to encourage the people to use more wool. If the campaign were launched on proper lines, Lord jjarnby felt sure that the outcome indirectly would be an improvement in wool prices. Similar campaigns, he continued, were successfully conducted by other industries in England and America, and he was satisfied that it would apply equally as well to the wool Industry. Regarding the proposed central fund, Lord Barnby remarked that while there would naturally be some hesitancy in putting another burden -on the grower, the amount of the contribution would be so small that individually it would not cause any serious inconvenience, whereas the return would be decidedly beneficial to the grower. Now, with prices at a low level, was the time to launch n campaign, and this could be done if a central fund were established. This, said Lord Barnby, was every bit as important as research work, and he hoped that something would be clone in this direction. Tn reply to a query as to whether the world’s supply of wool was in excess of the demand, Lord Barnby said he. could not really answer this question in the absence of proper statistics, and he added that the compilation of wool statistics was one of the questions in which he was deeply interested. If figures were properly worked out it would be to the collective interest of nil concerned.