CUTLERY AND THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16214, 27 April 1916, Page 9

CUTLERY AND THE WAR.

■ ■' ■ —i— CONGESTION IN TRADE. ABMY OBDEBS PARAMOUNT. MILLIONS OF BLADES NEEDED. Advices received by an Auckland firm this week indicate an extraordinary state of affairs in the cutlery market in the Old Country, consequent upon tho general absorption of manufacturing industries by the War Office. The following extract'from the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of January 8 epitomises a situation which is confirmed by tho letters of trading firms :— " Tho whole trade may bo said to be under control, in effect if not nominally, as every manufacturer is under strict orders—or rather a command—from the authorities to give first consideration to; the needs of the military. There is no l possibility of this command being evaded without grave consequences to the offender. It has been calculate that the requirements of tho next eight months equal the total output, of Sheffield and Birmingham "for tho period named. Spoons, forks, knives, and razors are being bought for the armies from America and Sweden, but even with this relief makers here will not be able to supply much to the public. Indeed, a famine in ordinary cutlery is almost a certainty. Already makers are discontinuing tho production of many familiar patterns of pocket-knives, becauso the men who put them together are fully occupied on Government work. Scarcely any of tho cheaper goods are now being made. "With regard to the very-small, if any, margin of output aiter the Government needs have been met, it is suggested that for economic reasons this should be applied to the maintenance of tho ordinary export trade. It seems, therefore, that so lon» as tho war lasts the British public will have to do without cutlery, or make shift with what they possess. Army tableknives are no longer confined to tho solid handle variety. So vast is tho number required that it is necessary to bring in every class of work-people and plant, and consequently knives halted in a fibrous substance are being accepted. These are quickly and cheaply made. Many millions of the above-mentioned cutlery articles aro on order at tho present time. Makers ot spoons are hampered by a dearth of nickel, as well as by inadequate •facilities for rolling. A considerable amount of machinery is being put down in the cutlery factories with the object of supplementing hand labour and expediting output." A letter from Messrs. McDonald, Scales, md Co/, a leading London firm, dated March 11, says:—"All makers are more ar less in the same position. We understand that for 1916 the Government had in inquiry out for three million undated spoons. The demand for knives, forks, and razors for the armies is naturally enormous. In addition to this, most of the works are under Government control, and there is the scarcity of labour, the impossibility of getting more men, and the probable depletion of the present numbers [or the army, to which must be added tho jver-incrcasing cost of raw material. In consequence of tho foregoing most of the makers will only accept orders at prices current at the time of the despatch of the Roods. It is quite useless expecting orders for the above-mentioned goods to bo executed under three or four months at the earliest."