PROTECTIONISM—TRUSTDOM.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 13, 15 July 1905, Page 9

PROTECTIONISM— TRUSTDOM.

AMERICAN MACHINERY TRUST IN NEW ZEALAND. THE INVASION BEGINNING IN EARNEST. SOME STRIKING FIGURES, (Contributed.) (Our recent articles on. the invasion by Americans of the Australian agricultural implement making - .trade, -which only touches the fringe of the- American competition in New Zealand, are now reinforced by the following contribution from the pen of ona who knows his subject, and whose testimony goes to show that the danger on this colony is even closer than wo, ventured to apprehend.) AMERICANS ANNEXING NEW ' TRADE. Your various articles wider above heading, should .receive 'the- careful con-, sideration of all New Zealanders, as— whether they are manufacturers, farmers, workers, or* boys born and to be born— it is a matter of very vital interest. The operation of the Trust is at the present time, far more serious in New Zealand than your interview with iMr. Mills would lead one to suppose. What L\lr. Mills says, if said- three years ago, ds about right; but if you take into account the -enormous amount of land brought into cultivation in New Zealand • during the past eeven or eight years, and the consequent largely increased demand there must "have been for •implements, and if you then look at the number of hands engaged in* the implement manufacturing industry over the same period, you will find that the latter has been practically stationary. This means that the Americans have scooped up all the extra trade. Again, the colonial implement manufacturing trade has fallen off nearly 50 per cent, the past year, and the Trust, 'has • not seri-' ously got to work here yet. How can^ we stand .up to American coinpetitdon under .the conditions you> point out, when 'we haye — (1 Free entey for American machines ; (2 Duty on raw material; (3 Protected labour against unprotected labour. DECREASE IN DRILLS: SELLING COST. The number of factories engaged in implement making is the same -as ten years ago, and the number of Jiarujp employed iis about the same as ten years ago. Mr. Mills mentions colonial-made drills. Seven or i eight years ago, all the drills sold on New Zealand were colonial-made. To-day only about onefourth of the number of drills sold are made in the colony, and ithis destrite the fact that the' factories making drills are 'capable of 'turning out the whole lot. Two 1 factories have practically abandoned the drill trade. Now, this is not on account of any inferiority on the part of colonial drills. The colonial drill is admittedly superior to the American. The falling-off comes about through the margin between cost and selling price of colonial machines being' insufficient to support an araiy of salesmen calling upon farmers in and out of season 'pushing for orders, as is done .by the American machine manufac-. turers, "who can spend from £6 to £10 per drill in selling, and then leave a margin. The local makers have perforce therefore to be content with the orders coming from those farmers" strong enough to, resist the importunities of the American salesman, and to send in for a machine that will last the fanner and be good for years, when otherwise ho would javo a maciiine admittedly 'built for .two or^ three years only, and the principal part of -hjs money has gone toward selling ihimself the machine, instead of .having Ahe money in the machine iteelf. WHAT THE DECREASE COSTS US. The number of drills imported from America into this colony in 1904 would have kept over one hundred men working for twelve months, and would have ] enabled forty of our youths to learn a good trade ; would \hare distributed. £11,000 in wjiges ; "and, df the Taw (material had been imported from America instead of the complete machines, would have increased the Government surplus by about £800 on the material alone, and in addition the duty on necessities of these one hundred men. As a proof that .the colonial drills ar© superior to the American, it is only the fact of the.ro. being patents on them that lceeps the American foom copying them, as is done in -'the case of other non-pro-tected implements, -designed and .perfected in the colony at considerable expense, then copied on America and dumped i here in a similar manner to the Aus-' tralian Harvester. Spring-tine cultivators, mentioned <by iMr. Mills as being made entirely an America, are made in considerable quantities in New Zealand, and it is to be presumed that it ds only the fact that they are wvcered by patents that protects themj still, Americans seem to bo able to sell anything they make by^sljeerJorce of the strength pf their selling staff, and that machine will certainly suffer a decline as extra efforts, such as \ are exerted in Australia by the. Trus^, w brought into action. PLOUGH TRADE DISRUPTEDWAGES COMPARED. Ploughs, mentioned by Mr. Mills as holding their own here, have managed to do so up to this year, although thousands of American ploughs have been sold, and nt the same time the purchasers have also been sold. It is true the fine forging in the colonial ploughs had so far bested the Americans, and no doubt always will, but during the past season the colonial plough trade has been disrupted by the introduction by the Americans of a pirated Australian invention, which may or may not be a good plough, but which all the same hag been successful in stopping the sale of colonial-made implements ; and this disruption is an annual occurrence, and would not be possible under different Customs conditions. You ha.ye clearly pointed out how the Americans are aided by their extensive and highly-protected home trade, and their cheap rail and steamer freights, i the latter, no doubt, assisted by prohibition of British shipping at some ports in favour of American, giving a sufficient surplus by monopoly to effect this. You have pointed out their 25 per cent, longer day, but have not pointed out the fact that the American implement factories average weekly wage per hand for a ten hours day is 28s 6d, against New Zealand's average wage of £2 5s per hand for an eight hours day. You have mentioned America's improved and economical methods of manufacture, but as this confists of making a plant to utilise cheap labour instead of higher-paid skilled labour, theso methods are debarred m New Zealand under the labour laws. For instance, it is possible in America to use machines for moulding implement parts, and tofemploy boys or labourers to work them. The same machine hero would have to be operated by skilled hands, or, if by unskilled, then at the- same minimum wage as if they are skilled, which destroys any advantage. Further, when such machines are brought here, the maunfadtureivs have to pay a duty on them. INCREASING HOLD OP AMERICAN IMPORTS. The entire implement import from America in 1904 was declared at a value of £82,000. Goodness knows what the

real value was. If the same declared value is placed on. them as was done in the case of harvesters imported into Australia, at 6ueh values it means that 120 per cent, more American implements were sold in New Zealand in 1904 than were made hero. Had this machinery been made hero, it would have found constant work for 320' men, and would have helped 100 bSys tobecome mechanics; would have distilbutcd £3200 amongst other tradespeople in wages ; would have placed money into the Government exchequer by way of duty on raw material ; and would have reduced the aveiage colonial debt considerably, instead of which it has gone to swell' the banking account of American millionaires, ang probably has provided ammunition toward bombarding and carrying on'ths monopolistic war. in those British dependencies which have somo protective duty, and consequently cost the Trust more to conquer than, poor freetrade New Zealand. You are- quite right in your surmise of the- Trust methods. Even in America they don't accuse the Trust of being philanthropists, and there is no doubt they won't mind losing a considerable sum in New Zealand for two or three years to enable them .to secure a monopoly 'for all time. „ x * THE- VITAL STRUGGLE HAS ARRIVED. There is undoubtedly trouble ahead The figures given above are for a year when the Trust 'people were busy warring in, Australia. What is it going to be like when they really get going here? That time is here now. Christchurch. is to be the headquarters in New Zealand, and already the organising staff is^here. Their first move is in shunting New Zealanders who have been in the Trust's employ and filling their places with pushing Yankees, whose businesn training has made them not 'quite so sensitive as the colonial in carrying out the Trust's methods. New Zealandero •who for years have been purchasing agents of American machinery are being shelved, and the various machines known under various ■ names are being concentrated under one roof, and, as you say, "What nest?" 'It seems foolish to blame the heads of the £24,000,000 sterling, trust. They would not be the head if they had not sufficient sense to see what an opening was left for them here, and it is only reasonable to suppose that if those same individuals - wera domiciled in New, Zealand, instead of in America, there would be no free port here — nothing less than a 45 per cent, tariff would suit them. Then why nob have it now? "It's only business,"' as these same millionaires, would say. Keep the tariff free for countries that' have a, free port if you will. IF 'OUR. INDUSTRY WAS PROTECTED. We would then, be competing on somewhat equal terms, plus, of course, the minimum wage against New Zealand, but' this we can stand," can stand .better then than now. But without' some such, tariff we simply can only stand so long as Messrs. Pierppnt Morgan and J. Da Rockefeller in their mercy will permit; and we can only hope they will be merciful, as I am afraid there will be very little mercy here, from our great men, unless the workers and farmers of New Zealand as a body will insist upon tho only remedy possible, jrevious to the elections in November. It is no usa leaving the matter to the manufacture ers. They may or may not be satisfied to be submerged. Those who are principally and equally interested are the workers and the farmers, and unless some action is taken the worker wul lose the means of earning his daily bread, and the farmer will suffer in, consequence, and in addition will bo ultimately in the position of the Argentine farmer — that is, of having to pay £140 for what can and is being sold where there is competition for £85. As to competition Amongst American, machines, it 'is quite dead, and the farmer can b_e quite certain that American machines, although' bearing different names, are all, without exception, father ed by one, and he is the Trust..

The story of the hardships undergone by Miss Isabella. Evans, of Bourke, neas Daylesford, during the five days and fivq nights she was lost in a forest is a pathetic one. On her way to her sister'a house, not far from her home, she noticed a stray cow, and drove the animal away a distance of a mile through tha forest, and was returning, but took tha 'wrong track, .and was lost. The firsb night she tramped the whole of the time, and also all day on Thursday. Thursday,, night being wet and intensely cold, sho crawled into a hollow tree, and availed) herself of the meagre shelter ifc afforded. She had neither hat nor coat, and aa rain fell most of the time she waa lost) her scant clothing was soon saturated,, and the cold increased her sufferings, Sha had no food with her. GraduaUy hep. clothing, catching in the undergrowth," was torn her, and her limbs wera scratched and bruised through falling over stumps, logs, and protruding sticks. 'Th« only living things she saw in her wanderings tfere four kangaroos and a fox. 1 A! hundred and fifty men scoured the district) in vain, and native Jrackers were engaged. On Monday the trackers picked up tracka about two miles from "her home, which they said were made on Sunday evening. Th«?se were followed, and .the trackers remarked- as they went that the young woman's feet were getting sore and tho steps short, and they were sure to find! her soon. This prophecy turned* out correct, as on Monday afternoon she waa found sitting on a stump near a stream of water. Her boots were w-orn through, and her stockings torn into threads. > Hei? feet were a mass of 'blisters, and injured to such an extent that ifc will be a considerable time before she will have tho use of them. Several leading {members of the Labour party are reported to .be in favour of (reviewing tho contract clause of tho' Immigration Restriction Act with a view, ■to inducing emigration from the south of Europe to Northern Queensland. One. of these members says : " I recognise th«" great danger to which Australia must bo exposed through tho want of sufficient, white population along our northern cousts, and that if this as -to >be-reme-died we must have immigration. Wo shall have, I think, to widen our plat- • form, co that people from Southern Europe, who are accustomed to working in hot climates, may be induced to accept the engagements of work in t/ho Queensland Sugar fields. Tho engagemento would have -to bo under strict Goveraanent control. I would even go so far as to agree to a system of assisted passages on condition that tho State Government would undertake to settle th© immigrants on land on the completion of "their engagement." Mr. Morgan, Premier of Queensland, recently at Brisbane, referred to tho splendid prospects at the Darling Downs'. In consequence of the recent rains, the young wheat planted a little while ago is well above the ground, and unsown areas will be put under seed at once. The bettor indubtay is attracting more and moro attention, and each week new factory plants ' ajc being established. The State's surplus, Mr. Morgan says, has added to the brightness of the outlook, and the fact that the States were now beginning to live within their incomes would encourage enterprise. The census of 1901 showed that there were sixty-four Chinese and twelve Japanese naturalised British subjects ia New, South Wales. The States of Victoria, South Australia, and West Aus. tralia then had, between them,| thirty one Chinese and eight Japanese who k were naturajiged. British subject