COTTON CROP SHORT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10108, 16 October 1917, Page 6

COTTON CROP SHORT.

PRICES smil RISING, GLOOMY PROSPECTS AT HOME. j, “News of the cotton.; aml wool urnr- ! kets al Homo by, docent mails is m- ( torostjug, but hardly exbdaratnig, said a wholesale softwoods ccntly to a pressman, as,lie.handed out a, couple .of recent letters iroin- tiiu firm’s London buyer... : ,i A letter dated .July 10 last -states;- :■ 1 ‘Tho tot al Stocks-in tins country arc 75 per ■ cent, .below, last years stocks, ami last year’s stocks were considered, to be : considerably below pre-war stocks.' The American Government some Lime-ago commandeered one million bales';.- /This will, time you some idea. of. the shortage which will , natmally arise. You will', therefore see this is going ro eonsmtcriibly allecw lue prices. .-. A new control-' board lias -been fixed 'for dealing witli.hhls matimr. and the idea- is as nnioh- 'fts possible-to allot a the various certain proportion. of;, \ybat their piuch,usc.>| were in pre-war days. Of course., what ; the proportion will- bo is according to the raw cotton coming into this country. In conversation dyith several manufacturors, they look at it in a- very o-lopmy fashion, and -they say that-, it they/get a. third of/their usual incutSx it) is about us uHiclv .as tlii'v.-.v.iil : got.. Another schemeywliich wo think this hoard -will also-piny into work . will be the, shortening 'of lj\.b6'ur, as already in the Bradford district men only work five days per week, and get- paiu lor six' days. Wo think that, some arrangement similar to-this will take place, and tills, of course,,you can veil understand, will moan' considerably increased cost." Even if -the . war were over, goods would not lie cheaper for some, considerably time to come.” The same writer, under date August 8, says:—"As ‘advised in last mail, the writer has bgon, dowii to Lincesier. Things arc very acute, and. hosiery is now one of the worst departments to buy for. . Since the writer was, dpivn there, which, wast only a month ago. prices Jiaye:advanced'. 80 per,cent., and woollen hosiery is now practically unprocurable, except a.pexorbitant prices. Tliei-e. Ls no-.claubt- tlia.trw.e, have eoin'e 1 to the most- difficult period, and should tin) - war, last for;.-any /.great. .length "of time. we dia.>m.,im;-dou)jfc ; lhaf there will be very lew grades of wo.oUeu hosiery made, although the Government Mar Trade Department- lias-.issued ns certificates, s-o that, wo can place .orders, and the- manufacturers arc . able, to' present our .certificates to tlic spinner to get the necessary- yarn, .but-owing .to . the present-day ■ requirements of the'-Gov-ernment alone their needs are. consuming ■ all'the 'woolthat ,we . have, .and that, alt hough; the. nfannfaciu're.r.s have our. certificates- those ’arc of ,-von; little use to-t-hcin,/' .Of/coiirse/.we hi! -know; that the/.Governincut requirements are, the most-' important, and until, il .is' cased-down,,i-whicb is not- ■’likely" to he tihis -si.de. Of the' end of tlu.y war,, spinners will have cousiderablc- more. dim-, ci'ijlics. Tim lines• of black cashmere boso which we, last, bought, and then at a considerable advance, at los ltd and IPs fid,-is 21s 6d■-to-day, and even, this price" is nob' fifin''or. delivery' certain.'As a matter of fact, ■ very, lew manulacturors',will,now accept firm orders, because, they -have no .- idea, of whether they will be able to • got tho yarn to fulfil the various orders. : “The cotton, market, although _ at present not in quite.hq bad a position as,tho wpoj market, is now gCttipg.yvry acute'/",Tlie,/abti<npat(M,l : crop, buy next, year is twelve million bales/'arid this is-.not .nearly--.suilicient.. foiy-:tbc,Arorld’s demands,. America last year " used seven million bales, -uyd has .put Ter dqwn this year yd eight million bales. ■ This country alone -requires six million’ bales, and other markets are using more cotton, so that prices- arc- likely/tp go*very high.. as' the demand 'considerably exceeds - the'.supply -As a -imat-ter/of'. fact, TO per cent, nth'ihe.-' mills .fare closing flown, and weavers aml spiiinti-rs v.ho lil.tljerio have/ been considered -,a : r.exi/ryod oecupa;ion, arc now having.-to ■''■‘join up/ There . is not the • slightest /•doiddvdbaththfire ■will- not' be "a iiy • "eot ton a viii I able"" f for, ordinary coiisuniptiou.” ' ; I