WOOLLEN GOODS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17936, 15 May 1920, Page 10

WOOLLEN GOODS

A PRONOUNCED SCARCITY. IFbom Oub Own Cobbcspondint ) AUCKLAND, May 14. Tho problem of keeping warm during tho coming winter loouw ahead of Nuw Zwv liuidors as 000 that does not admit of easy

solution. In reply to a query yeetarday as " to whether tlw position was better thon at this tiniQ last year, tlie hotd of a loading ° firm in Auckland gavo his assurance that 0 it waa a groat deul worse. Ho quoted ° from a letter just received from an English 0 firm in regard to an order for flannel whioh 3 " had been despatched in May, 1919. Owing ? to strikes, it could not oven yot bo completed, aiid only a small quantity could bi forwarded. "What about local supplies?" * tie was asked, "what is tho position in the * New Zealand mills?" In reply ho showed e a letter from a local mill referring to an 0 order whioh had been placed some time 2 ago for 2COO pairs of blankets, 1000 rugs, j and 500 pieces of flannel. Tho letter j stated plainly that the order oould not be r accepted, as orders plaoed last year would ) not be completed until the end of next a montS. Any supplies available after that .. date would bo allocated fairly among the - mills. Many customers had questioned ,1 as to whether Auckland was anv better r f in regard to woollen goods through the s purchase of the mills by local firms, and 1 on being naked his opinion tho merchant s replied that it was not, as these firms now 3 divided the output among their numoroua s branches throughout New Zealand, whi-> f meant that leas was coming to Auckland £ warehouses than formerly. " Another 1 point," he continued, "in whioh the rer toilers aro worse off than before is thn.t 1 these wholesale firms aro now using up ' their tweeds far suite and costumes for * their own trade, so that much less oomes to J the retail houses." Flannel was stated to ■ be in particularly short supply just now, ' and this was held to be partly due to the 1 fact thai a groat deal of New Zealand flannel had bean used for women's oos--1 tumes owing to the continued shortage of 1 low-priced areas goods. With regard to ' blankets, it was stated that one leading New Zealand mill had announced that the whole of its output had beon allooated for a year ahead. Auckland's a.nd Gisborne's , portion come to 670 pairs, and the mill had 500 clients from these districts too, on its , books. " Why, our firm alone could take the lot four times over," remarked an- , otlior manager. An endeavour had been . made to supplement the supply by ordering from English firms, and a cablegram was ' shown indicating that tho price of good quality blankets thus imparted would lie £7 10s a pair. A better quality blanket oould be produced locally at three gmineas, but unfortunately thoy were almost unprocurable. •