PRICE OF TWEEDS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume X, Issue 243, 30 October 1920, Page 2

PRICE OF TWEEDS.

THE WAREHOUSE PROSECUTIONS CASE ADJOURNED TILL 15th. Wellington, Oct. 29. This afternoon at the Magistrate’s Jourt, before Mr. Evans, S.M., continued the hearing, on nine charges of profiteering on tweeds' and suitings .aid by the Board of Trade -against four well-known Wellington warehouse firms —Bing, Harris and Co., Ltd., R. Jameson and Co. t Robert Wilson and Co., and Miller and Ahearn.' A. E. Kitto, tailor, said he regarded the suitings bought from Bing Harris as good value. There were ten to fifteen firms in Wellington- dealing in Suitings in free competition. _ Joseph Lewis, another tailor, regarded the cloth sold to him as worth the price at which he had offered to buy the whole piece. . John Allen, representative or the Mosgiel Woollen Manufacturing y°y-> Dunedin, gave evidence,of the sale or piece No. 7766 to Bing, Harris and Co. on March 4, 1920, at 13/2 per yard. The company’s output was sold beforehand. There was a greater demand 'than before the war, for last year the prices of English tweeds were 100 per cent over the same lines of New Zealand tweeds. Before the war English tweed could be landed cheaper. No price had been fixed' for forehand but a rise had been anticipated. Witj ness mentioned the rises from the Janu arv price of 13/6 to 1472 and from 5/11 to 9/- as indicating the rise m the replacement vakle in three months. Charles Baker Bowie, general warehouse manager, of Kaiapoi Woollen Company, said that a profit of 25 to 33 1-3 per cent was put on colonial tweeds on turnover or 33 1-3 to 50 per cent on cost. This was the total amount put on before it reached the tailor. , Charles William Rushbrook, s'ales. manager, Wellington Woollen Co., which manufactures clothing as well as cloth, said' that the company added 33 1-3 per cent to the manufactured cost to cover warehouse charges apd profits, but the mills made no profit. Frank Clark, for four years supervising wool valuer for the Imperial Government, said that medium and coarse wool represented about 60 per cent of the entire New Zealand dip and the pi-ices ruling in London now were lower than the commandeer prices. The English market was at present overstocked with wool and the trend of the market, as shown by the auction sales was downwards. Witness admitted that a slump had come somewhat suddenly. Mr. Macassey stated that he had intended calling a witness to .give’evidence as to the practice of other wholesale merchants selling tweeds, but Mr Skerrett had objected tp- this and desired that the merchants themselves should be called. In view of this, he would have to ask for a long adjournment because of the criminal .session of the Supreme Court beginning next week.

He obtained an adjournment until Monday, November 15, and • it was agreed that the evidence taken in this case applicable- to the others would be admissible at the subsequent hearing.