THE PRICE OF LEATHER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15235, 24 February 1913, Page 5

THE PRICE OF LEATHER.

HIGHEST ON RECORD. FOOTWEAR WILL BE DEARER. The price of leather and hides is at present tho highest on record, with every indication of the continuance of an upward tendency. The direct, result must necessarily be an increase in. '.lie cost of boo r ■■;( shoes. A Herald representative n-adu inquiries as to the causes iufluer .p. 3 f/..« rise in the price of tho raw material, and was informed that they are both natural and economic, besides being of such a character as to render a remedy difficult. All over the world the same process is stated to be in operation. The huge expanses of prairie, on which there formerly grazed an enormous number of cattle, are year by year being utilised for tho growing of coin and other grain in preference to cattle-rearing. This is said to be particularly the case in tho United States, where (ho statistics of a recent decade summarise tho whole position.

From 1900 to 1910 the population of the United States increased by 21 per cent., but the number of cattle in the country declined by about 10 per cent. The extra millions of population demanded boots and shoes, but they found a diminished supply of leather to meet their demands.

Supplies Taken in New Directions.

Two other very potent factors are at work tending to bring about a shortage in the supply of leather and a consequent rise in its price. For ono thing, the automobile industry requires several million hides annually, a stato of affairs which a few years ago did not exist. Again, there is an increased demand for leather from tho East, where practically 110110 is produced. The boot industry is .already feeling tho effects of tho restricted supplies and the, increased cost of leather. Tho manufacturers declare that in the futuro there must necessarily be a proportionate rise in the price of all leather articles, the actual amount depending on the relative scarcitv of hides. Prices of Labour and Material. There are -other factors which, in New Zealand, contribute to a "rise in the cost of leather. Curriers' wages in the Dominion have advanced from 54s per week in 1895 to 64s in 1912, whilst general wages have increased to 51s per week from 425. Tanning materials, too, have undergone a general advance of 25 per cent. ' The tanners, however, claim that as far as they are concerned, the low prices of years ago paid them better than the higher prices now ruling. During the past two years the price of hides in New Zealand has advanced fully 30 per cent., wages 7 per cent., and tanning materials 25 per cent. ■, The present requirements of the New Zealand tanner are about 200,000 hides yearly. The country's production is now beyond that, and, roughly speaking, the number of hides exported may be regarded as the excess that cannot, lie used locally. The competition from outsido for this surplus has been so keen that prices have risen exceptionally high.