BRIGHTER BUSINESS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 September 1933, Page 7

BRIGHTER BUSINESS

EVERYWHERE IN BRITAIN WOOL VALUE PROSPECTS [by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Received September 18, 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, September 17. Among responses of business leaders to “Sunday Times” question, “Has the industrial tide really turned?” Mr. Barnby Official returns clearly show an improving trade and increased exports. The manufactures, reflect the lower manufacture costs, owing to a more reasonably valued currency. The import duties are now clearly beginning to help.the iron' and steel trades as they have already done in wool and textiles. Regarding.’ the latter, the continued increase in exports follows the previous marked decrease in imports. World values are

undoubtedly strengthened by the ad vances in wool prices. In the Unitet States, wool is still reasonable agains

pre-war values, measured in terms of gold. Woman’s fashions still favour wool products.

Mr. Devereux reports: Recent fluc-

tuations in Continental exchanges affected the wool market. There is a tendency in all centres to wait to see the result of the opening of the London sales, the prospects of which are fairly good. An all round advance of 10 per cent, is anticipated. The Bradford merino tops market is comparatively quiet. Users are well covered. Crossbred tops are unchanged and firm. The yarn business has slowed down. Crossbred yarns are firm, with only moderate business.

RETAIL PRICES RISING RUGBY, September 17. The average level of retail prices at September 1, was approximatey fortyone per cent, above the level of July 1914, compared with thirty-nine per cent, a month earlier and forty-one per cent, a year earlier. SMALL CAPITALISTS’ DAY RUGBY, September IS. The well-known economist, George Paish, speaking at Nottingham, said: We are witnessing, to-day, a revolution in the financial sphere, in which a few wealthy capitalists are being replaced by a vast army of small investors. Something like fifty-two million pounds worth of national savings certificates would be sold in the current year, and when this sum was added to deposits in building societies, investments on Government securities and other forms of working-class thrift, it was realised that the savings of the non-wealthy section of the community now formed a very important factoi’ iq national economy. It was calculated that the small savings in Britain now reached a sum of twenty-four hundred million pounds, but he thought the aggregate greatly exceed that sum.

ECONOMICS AND HEALTH. SIR G. NEWMAN’S REPORT. [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] RUGBY, September 15. The effect of the prolonged economic depression on the public health, a subject affecting practically the whole civilised world and millions of people, is carefully analysed in .relation to Great Britain by Sir George Newman, Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, in his annual survey for 1932.

Sir G. Newman points out: “The surest of all tests of grave results are mortality returns. Any long sustained physical pressure itself ultimately in 'a rise in mortality. Here we have a long-continuing experience of unemployment, gradually becoming more acute, and yet mortality in England and Wales as a whole, with few exceptions, even in many depressed areas themselves!! ahs been uniformally decreasing. Mortality rates for England and Wales for 1932 -show the same steady definite decline witnessed since 1921-25. They indeed are exceptionally low, namely 12 per cent per 1000, as was also the infant mortality rate, which continued a decline which began 25 years ago. Deaths from disease were the lowest ever recorded in Britain. Patricularly notable was a decline in tuberculosis, which disease is accepted everywhere as affording a valuable indication of the high level of nuitrition, especially of children. The conclusion reached is that there can be little or no under nourishment in Britain, but that the population as a whole is better nourished than ever before.” The Chief Medical Officer declares there has been no general excess of sickness, ill-health or physical incapacity which can be attributed to unemployment. The reason for this consoling state of affairs is that before the period of economic depression superior social medical machinery was already available in Britain for meeting exceptional circumstances. As one instance, Sir G. Newman points to the operation of an immense scheme of supplemental J feeding for nursing mothers and for children up to the age of 14 years, and mentions that in 1932 there were provided 62.000.000 school meals, while 900,000 other school children received supplementary milk.