WAR AND TRADE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 106, 31 October 1914, Page 3

WAR AND TRADE

NOTES AND COMMENTS (fROU OIJK GttN (.nr.RESPONDENT.) GERMANY'S PETROL SUPPLY. LONDON, 18th September. The Russian Minister of Commerce and Industry has despatched a, commission of engineers to the town of Stiyj, Galicia, which has been recently occupied by Russia, with the view of studying the resources of petroleum in Austria. By the conquest of Galicia, Germany is now completely deprived of her sources of supply as regards petroleum and naphtha pioducts, almost the entiro yield of Galicia having been annually taken by Germany. As the Germans are waging this war mainly on a mechanical basis, this loss of motive power for motor-cars, aeroplanes, and airships must tell heavily on their effectiveness. ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. While the total value of the artificial flower trade of the United Kingdom amounts to £94,900, Germany in 1912 sent artificial flowers valued at £202,400 to our market and £382,000 to colonial and neutral maikets, while AustriaHungary, in 1913, sent these goods to the amount of £32,000 to our Home market and £62,700 to colonial and neutral markets. Two-thirds of our total exports of artificial flowers are sent to two markets only—Australia and Canada. We send a few artificial flowers to India and to the United Tstates and some of the South American countries. The remaining markets,, mostly European, seem to be entirely neglected by our manufacturers, while German competition is becoming severe even in Australia and Canada. The Board of Trade points out that, while an appreciable pioportion of the German and Austrian trade may be obtained by British manufacturers, it will not be obtained or retained without effort. SCARCITY IN THE DRUG SUPPLY. The scarcity of various important drugs is becoming more pixmounced day by day, and before the end of the war supplies of some of them may be exhausted. This country, hitherto, has been dependent almost entirely upon j Germany for a large number of extremely I valuable drugs, notably those complex organic compounds which in compara tively recent years have brought about great changes in the practice of prescribing. Some idea of the relative position of the supply and demand of various drugs caft be obtained from the increases in market quotations. Thus acetylsalicylic acid is about five times the value quoted before the war; ontipylin has nearly doubled in price, as has suphonal; antifebrin is at least twice as dear > as it was; and, in fact, most of _ the coal-tar products have advanced in price to a very serious extent. Chloral hydrate has trebled in value, cocaine has doubled and salieylates are very much dearer. The effectof the war, too, is not felt solely in the sphere of manufactured drugs, 'in Belgium, Germany, and ' France are produced many of the most importaht of the regetable drugs, and new crops of some of them were awaiting harvest when the call to arms removed labourers from the Acoiute. chamomiles, arnica, belladonna, digitalis, colphicum, gentian, valarian, lavender, conium, and other vegetable drugs are grown in the parts of Europe which are in or npar the zone of hostilities, and consequently theie is bound to be a scarcity in the supply of all of them. > THE COTTON INDUSTRY. The effect of the war is shown by th* cotton consumption report for August. In that month only 21.210 bales of cotton were exported from Amevica, as compared with 257,172 for the same month of last year. Great Britain took 6370 bales, compared with 77.288 last year; Germany 52 bales, as against 72,928. The falling-off in English consumption was not due to the inability of vessels to transDOrt the cotton, but to the deadlock in the Foreign Exchange, which made' it impossible for English apinnera to arrange for payments on this side. But now that Exchange operations are about to be resumed, British cotton imports will shortly return to normal. , With Germany it is different. Not only is she unable to pay for cotton in the American market but the destruction of her commerce makes it impossible for shipments to be made, and whan the stock of cotton On hand is worked up German cotton factories will bp brought to a standstill and the ranks of the unemployed will be further increased. CHRISTMAS TOYS Scenes of great activity are to be seen in the, East End factories, where the workers are producing toys which would have come from Germany if war had not declared- Of course, vast stocks of toys had been imported, long before the outbreak of hostilities, and the shopkeepers here will be hard hit if their customers refuse to buy the goods. It is certain, however, that the public will require a lot of persuasion before they accept the article "Made in , Germany." Many manufacturers are making a great effort to produce tin trains and other toyß formerly made abroad, but it is thought to be doubtful whether they will be ready in time for Christmas. The large stores are enthusiastically co-operating with Home manufacturers, and are allowing them to examine their stocks in order that they may note the "points" of the German "toys. GERMAN ORDERS CANCELLED. In December of last year the Port of London Authority gave to a fir-ii at Oberhausen an order for three pairs, of lock gates. To a firm at Nnrnburg they gave orders for a bascule bridge, swing-abridge, and caisson for a dry dock. These orders were in connrclion with the Royal Albert Dock (south) oxtension. The lowest tender by a British firm was stated at the time to be £179,071. By giving the work to Germany the Port of London Authority claimed to sa\ c over -£46,000 on this order. With tho declaration of war no alternative remained but to cancel the contract. Its ultimate award to Sir William Arrol and Co., while undoubtedly requiring an increase of expenditure, will be greatly appreciated in Glasgow. This is only one instance of many. TEXTILES BOOM. For makers of Army blankets and cloth a "boom" bos already begun at Dewsbury, where there are the lari?c&t. blanket factories in the world, ns Batley claims to have the largest cloth mills. In both towns large Army contracts have been placed, and the biggest firms are running night and day. Indeed, the pressure is so great that at one large factory it has been decided to work until 12 p.m. on Saturday nights. Although the demand for ordinary goods has been interfered with, manufacturers are making to stock, in the confident- belief that before many weeks elapse there will be a tremendous demand for deliveries. The mills of France, Belgium, and Germany are idle, and the customers of all three countries must for a time turn to England for supplies, and even the small manufacturers who are not making khaki cloth or blankets are preparing for prosperous times.