THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1930. MADE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21019, 7 May 1930, Page 10

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1930. MADE IN NEW ZEALAND.

In respect of tho attraotion of the shop window the education of the Dunedin public has not been neglected. Tire' art of window-dressing has been highly developed in our own times, and the displays that are set before.the public extend eloquent invitation to the passer-by. A good deal could be said about the fascination of shop windows and their appeal to the eye and to the mind and sometimes—though that is not a subject to dwell upon—to the ear as well. There is so much to be bought, so much worth, buying; yet for the great majority there ia always the cost to be considered. In the degree in which shop windows may represent the unattainable they generally derive, of course, an added allurement. But, when all is said, the object with which people for the most part gaze upon their colourful contents is not to behold what is beyond their reach, but to cast a practical appraising eye upon the attainable—that which comes within the category of what they have need of and propose to purchase. The display that is being made in ; our shops this week is preeminently one of commodities that belong to the province of everyday utility—that appeal, in short, to the general public as buyers of discretion. While shop window displays are necessarily largely competitive, those that make a special claim to attention this week have one important feature in common—they comprise New Zealandmade goods, No pains, have been spared to show these products to the best advantage, and' the manufacturers," pointing to the shops and shop windows as the guide to what they have to offer, are asking the public to buy commodities-produced in New Zealand, and thus assist particularly in the promotion of the welfare and development of the secondary industries of the Dominion by those to whom it is addressed. Their request or suggestion is not one to be lightly regarded as merely recurrent propaganda. Were it that the result of such an appeal would benefit the manufacturers only, and advance the interests of nobody else, the public might well fail to see any special reason for responding to it with en thusiasm. But the considerations by virtue of which the public is asked to buy Nc\v> Zealand-made goods are bounded, of course, by no such limitation. The grounds upon which an increased measure of patronage ancl support of local industries, is invited arc somewhat far-reaching; they may bo said to be national. The. messages which we publish this morning from members of the Government, leaders of political parties, and representative members of tho community constitute a symposium on the . subject well worthy of the considered attention of tho average citizen and householder. They all emphasise ouo point—that in encouraging the secondary industries of the Dominion by purchasing their products the people of New Zealand will be helping their own country and rendering the most useful service that is within their power at tho present time to reduce the stress of one of the most pressing problems of tho hour, that of . unemployment. The. greater the activity of the secondary industries of the country, the more vigorous the routine of the factories in which Now Zealand-made goods are manufactured; and tho more [ (

imposing their output the larger, will be the number of workmen for whom they are able to find employment. The reaction of increased activity in the secondary industries would be to the advantage of the country generally, would affect beneficially the local market for the primary industries of the Dominion, and make for {frogresa in the very desirable direction of increased production all round. These arguments have been reiterated time and again, but, as the Prime Minister has observed, the value of a continuous appeal to the community upon such a question is too important to be overlooked. ' When all prejudice is ruled out it must be agreed that it is an entirely reasonable appeal that it made to the public to buy New Zealand-made goods, to give first preference to articles manufactured in this country. So far as the purchasing public is concerned considerations of quality and price naturally affect the selection of goods. Slogans and window-dressing would count for little were the appeal which they arc intended to exert discounted by practical considerations of a kind by which tho .public must necessarily be influenced, The manufacturers in New Zealand must needs recognise this and they do. They ask that their goods, for which they court comparison in quality and value with tho imported article, should upon their merits be admitted to have a special claim upon the attention of the New Zealand purchaser precisely because they are New Zealand-made, and it is a reasonable request. The argument-in favour of the support of the industries that have been created by New Zealand capital, and are manned by New Zealand labour, has certainly never been more substantial and impressive than at the present time. The manufacturers of New Zealand enjoy the benefits of a protective tariff, and the tendency has" been to seek further protection. But the safeguard against a raising of the tariff wall which would react to the disadvantage of the consumer should be tho public vigilance against movements that tend to raise the cost of commodities. Moat desirable is the development throughout the community of a spirit of appreciation and sympathy in regard to the part which local industries are playing in the life of the Dominion, and, given that, tho established industries of the country. should find themselves in a position fraught with assurance for their progress. ’ If industry be in an unhealthy condition through internal causes no amount of effort to bolster it up by artificial means is going to have much effect. The demand for its products is what counts, and this Dominion must be safeguarded against the ills that have brought about the present position of 'the Commonwealth with its accompaniment of possibly heroic but very 'dubious attempts to 'supply a remedy.