WIDE REPERCUSSIONS

Evening Star, Issue 23499, 13 February 1940, Page 3

WIDE REPERCUSSIONS

SHORTAGE OF BUILDING SUPPLIES UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG DUNEDIN TRADESMEN PLUMBING AND PAINTING TRADES ALSO AFFECTED The serious shortage of supplies that builders require before they can proceed with even a minor undertaking has been stressed lately by " Cornice.” But what the public does not generally appreciate is that unemployment because of this acute lack of materials is also affecting allied trades, especially plumbing and painting. In Dunedin, as elsewhere, skeleton staffs are Working - now because, though there is plenty of work to do, there are essential requirements that simply cannot be had. Roofing iron is only one of many materials that is in short supply. A small shipment arrived from Australia recently, but it did not alleviate the position. The Government has complete control of all supplies of corrugated iron, and no importer with freedom can sell in any quantity without first obtaining the permission of the Minister of Supplies. As a consequence all building work is slowed down to an extent that all other tradesmen are affecthd. For instance, until a Construction has been roofed interior work relating to plastering, plumbing, electricarfittings, and interior decorating, to mention just a few, cannot proceed. PLUMBERS’ PLIGHT, A material that plumbers use a lot is plain galvanised or flat iron. All city plumbers’ stocks are low. From this, material is made ridging, spouting, dowupipe, and vent pipe. Thus it can he readily understood' that their activities, are being curtailed. Adequate supplies of galvanised pipe fittings are procurable, however, but as there is an acute shortage of galvanised pipe they are practically useless. Copper sheets, from which are manufactured cisterns! copper .boilers, hot water cylinders, ana sometimes copper spouting, are another line that cannot be' had by plumbers. The extent to which they are being handicapped in Dunedin through shorty ages of stocks is indicated by the complaint by one plumber to “Cornice” that he had lost business in two months amounting to several hundred pounds. After temporarily closing down a Dunedin nail manufacturing firm (the only

one here) was able to start operations temporarily because it obtained a small shipment of steel wire. As fast as the nails were made they were sent to city warehouses, which were rushed by builders endeavouring to obtain their ration. Like Oliver Twist they “ asked for more.” But as their allotments were strictly controlled they had to be satisfied with what they got. How short are supplies can be gauged from ■ the fact that stocks of galvanised nails, now almost double the price, and ordinarily. used for work involving boatbuilding, in which they are unaffected by rust, have been exhausted. PAINT AND LINSEED. Linseed oil is almost worth its weight in gold to painters. ‘Warehouses that normally carried 1,000 gallons or more have none at all, and have to be content with obtaining from time to time a paltry few gallons. Painters as a rule mix their own paint, but now they have been forced to buy ready-made paint (if it is procurable in a large quantity). The price of raw and boiled linseed oil has soared. It is now double the price; consequently the cost of painting buildings has risen accordingly, as no doubt many owners of houses are only too well aware, one informing “ Cornice ” that before contemplating having this work done recently he obtained an estimate from a painter who had done the job at almost half the cost four years ago. So dissatisfied was he with the price that he called for tenders; yet this painter’s quote was the lowest. White lead can be procured, but what is the use of it if linseed oil cannot be obtained with which to mix it to make paint? In short, to summarise the whole position as it involves the building and allied trades, unemployment is being created through the war to an extent, but mostly because of * the import restrictions and the monooolv of the Government, which ' has first call on supplies-for defence and housing purposes.