A STATE MONOPOLY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 81, 13 March 1924, Page 4

A STATE MONOPOLY.

Those who have been reading the recent cables upon the crisis in French State finance will have noted several references to the “match monopoly.” It may not be generally known that in Franc© the manufacture and importation of matches has for very many years been a State monopoly. No doubt as a consequence, matches there are both dear and of poor quality as compared with those procurable in other countries where the trade is left to private enterprise and open competition. The French Government previously leased the manufacturing rights to a company. La Societe Generale des Allumettes Chimiques. But ever since 1890 the making of matches has been undertaken, at State, factories and, naturally, with no improvement in quality or reduction in price. Commenting on the monopoly and the proposal of tlie French Government to abolish it—a proposal being strenuously opposed in the Senate—a recently received exchange says that one of the most cherished socialist principles is that Government should control all production and distribution. Commodities ol general use, or of almost general use. it is stated, would be the first to be brought under the socialising plan. For many years the Government of France has had a match monopoly. French matches were recognised as inferior. Yet still the Government kept the monopoly, not. because it had socialist leanings, but because the monopoly was believed to bring in revenue. The Chamber of Deputies, on the proposal of th© Ministry, has determined to abolish the monopoly. The proposal for the abolition has been hailed with approval, except by the doctrinaire socialists, and when the mail left France it was generally anticipated that the bill would provide for the factories devoted to the industry and th© plant therein beipg handed over to private enterprise on a concession basis. The total consumption of matches in France is stated to be 48,000 million a year. Of the total demand, however. th e State has never been able to meet much more than twothirds, and has had to import nearly one-third of its total needs from abroad at a cost of between twelve and fourteen million francs a year. Even as regards the remaining thirty-six thousand millions, however, the State 5s unable to utilise the advantages conferred. on it by its monopoly, for out of this thirty-six thousand millions that are supposed to be produced in the State factories the sticks for twelve thousand millions are produced by French private industry, and another twelve thousand millions are purchased from abroad. Moreover, private industry, by adopting modern methods, produces its twelve thousand millions of match stalks in two factories only, while the State requires five to attain similar results By far the biggest match-exporting country is Sweden, where the industry is handled by big private corporations. It i s not many months ago that one of these had the prospectus advertised in the London papers of a debenture issue bringing its working capital up to something like five millions sterling. Though subscriptions were invited from abroad, care was taken to retain the bigger proportion for home investors, Swedish control being always jealously safeguarded when outside capital ijj admitted to these concerns.