MEETING THE MARKET

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11448, 24 February 1931, Page 3

MEETING THE MARKET

THE MANUFACTURERS’ PART.

(Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON* Feb. 20.

There are eubolifagitlg indications that tho tide of commercial adversity kaa tlU'ued, and that the flood will swoop forward gradually ta 0. satisfactory level Of prosperity. •Nqty'i£o Aland butter on tho Louden market lias risen during the past fortnight from 112 s. to 1245. Oar cheese is also slightly higher in priceThe last Wellington wool salo re* corded an advance of a half-penny on some grades of. wool.

Those facts nr« significant to New Zealanders, for the prices of dairy product, wool and moat are tho barometer Upon which our commercial uud industrial well-being depends. Economists assert that- a period of depression is often healthy* Or at 3<?ast }is essential for industrial health. It restores 1 the proper balance of the industrial organism, whereas a period of activity is often one'of prosperity in appearance more than in reality. This. Dominion is now in position to tost tho accuracy of this theory, for it has passed through an era of amusing prosperity and now has emerged into the most disastrous “period of depression” in its history. Tho next tlireo or. four months should prove whether the test by firo has restored our industrial health. Tho signs are propitious, and if our captains of industry and of commerce read them, aright and act on them with confidence there should soon bo an improvement bo record. There is a natural tendency in a crisis for business men to hesitate to engage in. now enterprise; and to )jo cautious in tho conduct of tho old. Those who are still doubtful are reminded of the Prime Minister’s assuranco that “given the support of all sections of the community it should nob bo long bolero the economic machinery is back into good working order.”

Merchants and manufacturers can give this support by a definite lowering of prices. Appeals to retailers are apt to fall upon deaf cars if the prices of their goods at tho source are maintained at prosont levels. It is well-known that in some businesses not affected by awards of tlio Arbitration Court, wage reductions have been enforced for some time, yet the prices of their goods and services do not appear to have fallen to any appreciable extent. With the almost certain prospect of awards being reviewed by tb 0 Court, it is reasonable to expect that all businesses concerned will gladly adjust prices accordingly. It .is possible that there ar e many people in every community prepared to tako advantage of lowered prices. Tlio periodical sales conducted by various business firms prove that that tendency needs little encouragement. Hence it appears certain that a wide field is offered to the manufacturers and wholesalers to reap substantial benefits and at tlio same time do their share in restoring normal conditions.