OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 17

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, March 1. v SOME POINTS OF INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE. Wool values continue to arouse considerable interest, and much attention is being paid to the course of the market. With. the opening of the second series of colonial sales next Tuesday there is naturally a strong disposition to wait and sec what London has in Store, and the fact of there being available 191,500 bales shows that there is still a fair moal to digest. Various view 3 are expressed as to the probable course of prices, and whether we shall see any change. There seems at present to be so many factors at work and so many things exerting an influence upon the textile trade in general, that anything can happen. Just exactly what takes place will be decided by developments in. the industrial world. As I write this a big effort is being made by the Government to induce masters and men engaged in the coal trade to come to an amicable arrangement, in which case a big weight would be taken from the minds of the whole commercial community, and this would undoubtedly be the best move towards making the coming series a successful one. So much depends upon industrial peace, and so much depends upon the trade of the country being kept furnished with ne v material to raise steam and keep machinery running, that if there is a coal strike the consequences can be serious. However, I do not think we shall see a national disturbance, and given an honourable settlement I have every hope that the textile industry will continue to forge ahead. The-arrivals for the forthcoming sales are rather larger than was generally expected, but notwithstanding the heavy direct imports which are now coming forward weekly to consuming centres, there should be no difficulty in lifting all the wools available.

THE OLD HAND-LOOM DAYS. I had this week a letter from the principal of one of the largest firms of hosiery manufacturers in Leicester, and I am glad to inform readers that, although there is hardlv the same briskness in that important branch of the textile trade as was seen 12 months ago, yet on the whole most factories are fairlv well run, and consumption is normal. This is very reassuring in view of the many statements which have appeared in the pross that som e spinners were quiet, and that the production was sensibly less than a year ago. I do not suppose the reader has any intimate knowledge of the amount of wool that is being used in the hosiery trade, but to-day it is colossal. I know no branch of Bradford's industry that gives such strong support to the consumption of merino as well as medium and fine crossbred yarns as this branch of the trade, and during the last 10 years there have been big developments. Twenty-five years ago the hosiery trade of Leicestershire was largely conducted in the homes of the people, just the same as hand-loom weaving was carried on in the cottages of the West Riding. I can well remember those days when there were to be found " upstairs," as they say in Yorkshire, looms and jennies in every home. Those wore different days from what we live in now. To hear the " click, click" of the shuttle and the stroke of the loom was music to many an ear, and those times laid tho foundation of many firms which now require large plant and extensive premises. With tho invention of spinning and weaving machinery a great impetus has been siven to the' textile trade, and the old methods would now be altogether inadequate to meet the world's demands. There are some things connected with mill life which are not of the b c st. but on the whole people to-day work under fairly satisfactory conditions, and factory life is not so demoralising as many wild Socialists set forth on the platform and in the press. But it is tho hosiery trade which I think provides to-day a topic which is well worth considering. THE HOSIERY TRADE One has only to study the changed lifo of the average citizen to see that the hosiery trade provides a big outlet for raw wool to be manufactured into under garments, jerseys, shawls, scarves, children's hoods, etc. ' The fact is, the hosiery trade is consuming to-day immense quantities of yarns spun from 4Vs to 70's quality, and there is every probability that this business will expand. During" the very hot summer of 1911 sweaters were very little worn, but I am glad to be able to say that this useful garment has met with considerable favour in all civilised countries, and this being so, the way has been paved for a big consumption in medium quality crossbreds. One has only to travel throughout the Continent, as weft as America, to find these useful jackets being worn by the gentler sex, and the latest is that these same garments are made in clo«e-fitting jacket form for men. It is really astounding to look through a set of traveller's samples connected with the hosiery industry, for everything imaginable which is likely to be worn by the human race is being produced. Another important development in connection with thi3 industry is the universal wearing of half hose —that is, stockings produced from merino wools. Several Bradford spinning firms have warehouses in Leicester whero they stock yarn which can be supplied at an hour's notice to their customers in that town, and one important reason why fine wools have maintained such a prominent position during tho past few years is that big weights are now being consumed in the production of fine merino underclothing and stockings. The most bitter complaints have emanated from Roubaix during tho past nine months, and yet tho hosiery trade of France has been better than any other branch of the textile industry. This is one reason why French firms have been fairly largo buyers in Australia, yet all the time there has been much grumbling that trade was " rotten." It is rather noteworthy that immense quantities of short, faulty wools are consumed in France and Belgium, and when these are carbonised they are combed on tho French principle and tho tcp mule spun. This is a specialty of the French trade, and no doubt large quantities of faulty wools are shifted which would otherwise prove a drug on the market. Important branches of the hosiery trade are established in Halifax as well as in the South of Scotland, and some fairly big weights of wcol are consumed; but it does not matter one jot or tittle where hosiery spinners ."nd manufacturers are located so long as a market can bo found for the raw material, and so long as it is absorbed at a satisfactory price. On the whole, the present winter has been mild, and somewhat large stock? of heavyweight hosiery fabrics remain in the hands of retailers; but as I have already said, a normal trade seems to be doing, and'manufacturers see no reason why an average trade should not be done during the coming spring and summer. I do not know that there is any new feature connected with tho hosiery industry tliat calls "for special comment, though it may be said that a very encouraging feeling prevails in Leicester, and it is believed that with a settlement of tho present labour trouble, a fair amount of new business will come forward which is now being held back. Tho export trade is being fairlv well maintained, although it is not on the large scale that wo have neon accustomed to see. Still, tho home trade continues to provide a fair amount of work, and it is rather noteworthy that it is the hosiery trade which is responsible for such long nrices being paid in Coleman Street Wool Exchange for tho very superior greasy and warm-water-washed lambs from Victoria. AX IMPROVED SITUATION. I am glad to be able to say that things are better, and, strike or no strike, considerable business is passing. It simply amounts to this: that tho majority were satisfied that there was nothing to gain by waiting, and they chose to come into the market and cover part of their wants for the next two or three months. It appears that manufacturers :n the first instance placed some fair yarn orders, thereby inducing spinners to accept about the lowest prices they have taken all through the past season. I do not wonder at this, many being keen to sell, rather fearing that if things came to the worst they might be faced with standing machinery. Then again, tho knowledge that the weekly auctions in Australia had finished with prices firm also strengthened the belief that wo were not going to see any rensible lowering in values, this confirming what I have said for a month pas,t. Many in Bradford have done their very utmost to keep things down, and have cried ." stinking fish," but I have boon convinced all along that we were not going to see any change in values. If

the London sales go off with prices firm I think the ball will be set rolling- and a very much belter feeling will develop throughout the whole industry, and settle for a. long time to corne the probable course of values. I am satisfied that at the foundation things are fairly healthy. Though we may not see any sensible advance, it is possible that by next May, when less weight of wool is in sight, merinos may be the turn against the buyer. However, prices are firmer today than they, have been for a month, and whereas a week ago 64's tops could easily be bought at 24|d, all topmakers are now very firm at 25d, and some are asking 25id. During the week a fairly big business has been done both in tops and yarns, and while I dare say the bulk of the* sales of tops have been mode at 24i|d, still today topmakers are adopting a more independent attitude, and "they now say that they_ will not accept less' than they are quoting until London pronounces its verdict. The only fly in the ointment to-day-is the outlook in the labour world, a serious coal strike being entered upon. This is bound to arrest progress.