[ESTABLISHED 1875.] Manawatu Daily Tines The Oldest Manawatu Journal. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15 1913 KEEPING ABREAST.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 2025, 15 September 1913, Page 4

[ESTABLISHED 1875.] Manawatu Daily Tines The Oldest Manawatu Journal. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15 1913 KEEPING ABREAST.

As a writer in Dalgety'a Review recently stated (a statement we published on Saturday) it is extreme)} difficult to surmise what effeot the removal of the United States tarifi I will have upon the wool markets oi the world, or indeed upon our owe export trade. The effect must ceritainly be beneficial for New Zealand as a producing and an export country. But it remain? jet to be seen what effect the American competition for ihe raw article, and American competition in the world's mari ket with the finished article will have upon trade. So far America J has net to any great extent exported „ woollen goods. In 1912 her most -' prosperous year, she exported woollen . and worsted goods to the value oi I £BOO,OOO. In the same year England exported £26,000.000. Ameiica's competition it will thus be seen it quite insignificent basidea Britain's But possibly America recognises possibilities, Undoubtedly the policv , of her manufacturers is undergoing I a change. For many years the idee has been to manufacture foi 1 home consumption and export the surplus Her w ollen exp>rl trade, though so small, increased bj almost 100 per cent between the years 1910 and 1912. Britain practically controls the world's trade Britain therefore must feel nob onlv i any increase in American output but America's competition for the i raw material. Frenoh wool and worsted exports have been gradually 1 decreasing since 1830 when thev almost rivalled Britain's. In thai , year th*y were £14,000,000; in 1912 they were exactly half that ? sum. Germany has shown only a two millions increase since 1880— *) she has gone from ten millions to twelve mihions. Britain on the contra-y has risen from seventeen millions in 1880 to twenty-six millions in 1912. It would be idle to surmise the effect of American competition upon B itish trade, and British demands for raw material, Very probabiy, for some years at 1 least, it will have no appreciable effect, unless an attempt is made to i corner supplies. Al* over the world great bodies of mun are demanding a higher standard of life. There is not the slightest doubt this demand will be satisfied. Evety such sati fied demand means in txpan , sion of irade. British trade writers state th.tt there is an enormous unJ satisfied demand in every country for the product of the woollen trade, and a* the s andacd of com ort ini, creases so will this requirement grow and continue growing. Even 1 in the white civilisations it is but a ; tiny fraction of potential de- , mand that is satisfied. "Commerce," l' says one great present day authority, " in its true sense, is the J satisfier of needs, if still in its childij ho.d, and befo:e the present century I is middle aged the trade figures of ) to-day will appear exceedingly small." This fact has a most imporant bearing upon our country and our futu e. Would that politicians would lift their minds above tha petty questions of the momens. and look ahead, and legislate Lr the future. The raw materials for the trade must come f'om the producing countries ; England cannot supply even a email potion of the wool she weaves or tne cotton she spins ; neither can America. To these young southern countries they must look for increasing supplies each year. And as the demands increase so will the laud be expected to yield in greater abunddance. Land values, high as they are, will become greatly enhanced, and every acre will be required to yield its profit; aud this can only be achieved by those who are our producers being skilled in the methods that give the highest results. Yet strange to Siy we find no mention of such matters of outside demand, which means so much for our futura prosperity, even casually mentioned within the walls of our Parliament; and stranger stili we find a Government, which is presumed., foilovving upon the lines of its predtcessors— -to be a paternal Government, absolutely indifferent to the great question of adequately educating the present and future producers of this country in a!l up-to-date methods of land utilisation. Perhaps they do not realise how much we have to learn. Com- , parisons with the inten-ive methods • of France, Austria, Denmark and ' Italy would open their eyes. They are ' blindly studying land systems that will keep them in office rather than ' legislating for the ultimate good of j this country wnh a a eye to the total * yield.