NEED FOR CAUTION

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 74, 25 September 1945, Page 6

NEED FOR CAUTION

The announcement last night by the Minister of Industries and Commerce regarding the future of the'linen flax industry left so much unsaid and so many obvious questions unanswered that it is exceedingly difficult to form any reliable judgment of what is proposed. According to the Minister, the industry, which was established as a war effort at the request of the British Government, is. to be continued on commercial lines, and a corporation is to be formed, consisting of two representatives each from the Government, the flax growers, the manufacturers concerned, and the workers in the industry. The corporation is to process fibre in Government-owned factories and capital is to be provided by the State. Seven of the 17 factories built as a war measure are to be retained as the basis for the provision for the spinning and weaving of coarse and fine threads. Mr. Sullivan gave an assurance that the new industry would be conducted on an economic basis. This all sounds very promising, but before such an assurance can be accepted at its face value a great deal more needs to be known of the conditions under which the industry will operate. For instance, is it contemplated that the industry will be able to compete with overseas industries without a special form of protection? If it will not, then what will the effect be so far as the consumers are concerned? Another danger to guard against is that of over-development beyond the needs of the Dominion. It is well known that in one industry— the manufacture of woollen goodsdevelopment and competition in some lines outpaced demand and that if it had not been for the war some concerns would have'experienced great difficulty in carrying on economically. Before the country is committed to establishment of a new industry on the lines indicated by Mr. Sullivan there should be a thorough examination of all the factors concerned, not the least of which is the welfare of the consumer.