COAL INDUSTRY

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 190, 16 July 1925, Page 7

COAL INDUSTRY

CAUSE OF FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY. ENGLAND’S SERIOUS POSITION. MR JAS. WALLACE’S VIEWS. Some very interesting information about the present unsettled industrial position in England was furnished to a “Standard” reporter this morning by Mr James Wallace, who returned to Palmerston North yesterday afternoon from a trip abroad. Mr Wallace, who dealt with the question fairly exhaustively, holds the opinion, .and substantiates it with facts and figures, that the position of the British coal industry is the cause, of the financial uncertainty in England today. Mr Wallace was accompanied on his nine months’ tour by his daughter, Miss I. Wallace, and included in the places visited and ports called at cn route were Rarotonga, Papeete, New York, San Francisco, London, parts of Scotland. Paris, Brussels, some of the battlefields in France, the Wembley Exhibition Naples, Suez, Colombo. Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Mr Wallace stated that the tour had been a most enjoyable one, and some of the most favourable jmpressions gained were of the cordiality of the Rarotongans, the wonderful church services in San Francisco, and tho magnificent journey to New Dork via the Grand Canyon. Christmas Mr and Miss Wall ace spent in Scotland. and the Somme battlefields were seen in the grim garb of winter. They were present at the opening of the Wemblev Exhibition, the reception to ihe All Blacks and the memorial*service to the late Mr Massey. WHERE COAL INDUSTRY STANDS.

“General industrial conditions in England are practically governed by the position of the coal mining industry,” stated Mr Wallace at the outset of the interview, adding that the output of the mines had decreased enormously since 1913. In that year, he continued, Britain exported 74.000.000 tons of coal, whereas in 1924 the amount was only 02,000,000 tons. On the basis of the 1925 output to date it was calculated that this year's production would be only •52.000.000 tons. “The cause,” he explained, “is largely found in German competition.”

MINEOWNERS LOSING MONEY. “The British mine owners have reduced the price to meet overseas competition, with the result that they are now losing Is 6Jd on every ton of coal produced. In many cases the pits have been closed.” He proceeded to mention that, in the endeavour Yo keep pace with the competition, the British mine owners have reduced the average price of coal from 23s 4d to 20s 9d per ton. The position cited, affirmed Mr Wallace, was absolutely accurate, for the figures had been arrived at as the result of a conference between the mine owners and the coal workers’ union whereat competent accountants from both sides had exhaustively investigated the condition of the industry. The conference had been called to endeavour to arrive at some more satisfactory basis of working to combat.the-competition from the overseas coal producing countries and notably Germany. Naturally, be had been out of touch with subsequent proceedings while on the voyage, but he had learned that, following a deadlock it bad been decided to set up a further commission to consider the position. Proceeding to further explain the position, Dir Wallace said that, in 1913, a ton of coal cost the merchants to place f.o.b. 9s ojd per ton, while the price received was 11s, showing a profit of Is 6Jd. From. May to December. 1924, according to _ figures certified to by both owners’ and the men’s accountants, a ton of coal cost 18s 11.74 d. and was sold for 19s 2.83 d, but the latter did not include certain railway and other charges which resulted in the fuel being sold at the loss named. THE WAGES ELEMENT.

To-day the wages cost in Germany of raising a ton of coal to the pit moutn was os 11.5 d and in England 12s. 6.70 d. That was the wages cost •alone, and it served to show what England waa up against in the matter of competition with that country. 1* urther, while the output per man in Germany had fallen off a little since the war, it had decreased more considerably in England. In Germany before the war the output per shift per man was ninety-two hundredths ot a ton. and to-dnv was eighty-eight hundredths of a ton. The British output in 1913 per man was a little over a ton (20.32cwt5.) and tc-day was 17.86 jtwts. The coal owners, ho said, sought to meet the position by asking the men to work longer at the coal faces in the mines. Just what that meant was evidenced by the realisation that, in some of the bigger and older mines, it might take a man nearly an hour to reach his “face” from the pit mouth and, of course, a like period to return from it after the day’s work was done. During that travelling time he had to be paid the minimum wage, and, of course, the time of actual working was cut down considerably. Railway charges in England, too. said Mr Wallace, complicated the position, for they were 100 per cent, above the pre-war figure, a state of affairs created by the rise in wages. Some economy had been effected, though, by the amalgamation of several of the great railway companies, but still the freight charges remained a factor militating against successful competition against overseas elements. ELECTv.CAL POWER. The coal industry, it was clear, stated Mr Wallace, dominated the financial position of the country or at least most of its great industries, such as the steel industry, lor coal was the great medium of power supply. The Government, however, was endeavouring to cope with the problems and one of the ways in which it was hoped to afford relief was by the more general use of hydro-electricity. It was proposed to set about the construction of some large schemes in England and Scotland for, in the matter of hydroelectric development, England was far behind New Zealand. A German firm had secured a contract to contract a large hydro-electric scheme in Ireland, he mentioned, and, reverting to the rreneral slackness in trade, stated that all steel shares and shares in branches of industry which indirectly pivoted on the coal position had fallen in value very greatly. It was hoped, however, that yet some sound reciprocal agreement would be arranged between the mine owners and Employees whereby the state of affairs might be materially improved. WOOL FIRMS CAUTIOUS. “While in England I was in tonch a

good deal with Bradford and Leicestershire wool and textile manufacturers,” stated Mr Wallace, turning his attention to another phase of his observations. “They lost so much money through the high prices paid for the raw product at last year's sales that they are now thoroughly scared, and are only buying for immediate requirements—conducting business on a hand to mouth basis, go to speak. It virtually means that they are only buying wool when orders to hand compel them to do so. The position may be altered if a strong demand sets in from America, but France and Belgium are handicapped in wool buying. Their exchanges are against them. , : “There would appear to be a raj' of hope in the fact that it would seem that there is not much wool in hand,” observed tlio reporter. Mr Wallace agreed that was so, but lie proceeded to state that the position of both wool and cotton at present was being seriously prejudiced by the advance being made in the artificial silk yarn industry. Material made from artificial silk yarn to-day, he mentioned, was a powerful competitive factor for from it magnificent effects were produced, and it had a splendid wearing appearance as well as strength. It took the dye beautifully and at the London drapery exhibition, which be attended, the effects produced from the material named were really bewildering, and there was a wealth of originality in design. LONDON PROSPEROUS. “In prosperity and business activity London is not at all behind New \ork at the present time,” was the reply to a question put by the reporter. It had been observed by Air Wallace that the business world of London was most active and seemingly prosperous. In conclusion, Mr Wallace briefly referred to the very bad condition of the shipbuilding industry at Home and the effect which had been produced by orders for the building of vessels being placed with Germany.