DOMINION INDUSTRIES

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 221, 19 August 1931, Page 3

DOMINION INDUSTRIES

NEED FOR REDUCED COSTS. WELLINGTON, Aug. 19. Referring at tho meeting of 'the 'Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Company yesterday to the urgent necessity to reduce costs, the chairman, Mr W. H. P. Barber, said that while the Government took the initiative in cutting wages it at the same time increased taxation in very many directions, making it difficult to bring about tlie reduced productive costs to the extent looked tor by the country and so much to be desired.

Mr Burber said that in liis opinion the ordinary type of unemployment was reducible to a large degree by any Government courageous enough to stop, or greatly reduce, the dumping of goods of no real intrinsic value. He had on several previous occasions strongly advocated such a course as being a good deal better than putting up ad valorem duties. If one-third of the value of imported woollens were ordered in the Dominion all the existing mills would be running to capacity. There was a well-directed campaign at present urging greater support tor New Zealand-made articles, and should converts not stop at lip service the people ought to benefit greatly by the tardjv effort to correct past mistakes, which shut out many of the rising generation from obtaining suitable work. The importance of support lor local industry had been brought home to many by the unhappy state of trade, which was “teaching rather painfully, an elementary lesson in economics.” The attitude of some members of Parliament had changed in that regard, and when they could speak as strongly as did the member for Clutha recently it looked as if local industry would soon get the ungrudging consideration it should get from Parliament. “As an illustration of how local industry could be made to benefit,” Mr Barber asked, “if a manufacturer with, say, a wages bill of £150,000 a year, employing 1000 persons at an average of £3 a week, and an indentor with an adequate staff at a cost of £IOOO a year, could sell as much stuff to be brought into the country for that expenditure as the local manufacturer could produce, which would be better for the country, 500 manufacturers (which New Zealand some day could easily support), employing, say, 500,000 persons, or 500 indentors, booking orders, and employing 1500 persons f Those engaged in overseas factories to manufacture the indented goods are, of course, no help to New Zealand, hut they are being Kept busy at our expense.”