OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3334, 6 February 1918, Page 12

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(Fbom Otra Special Coekespondknt.) BRADFORD, November 22. PROBLEM OF SUPPLIES AGAIN HAVING TO BE FACED. Matters of considerable importance to readers of this issue are now before the whole wool textile industry of Great Britain, and there is every likelihood of question of supplies becoming a burning- one in the near future. A very apprehensive temper animates the majority, and the Rationing Committee, upon' whose shoulders devolves the responsibility of distributing wool, tops, and other textile commodities, have their hands very full. General fear is expressed that the trade will experience short commons, and everything indicates standing machinery at no distant date. Of course, this is all due to the submarine menace and the shortage of freight. The trade at this end seems to have completely overlooked the great strike that obtained throughout Australia during the month of August, when shipping and inland traffic was completely paralysed. It really is appalling to think that there are English-speaking people in the world who at a time like the present, when the very existence of the Empire depends upon all alike pulling together to defeat the opponents of liberty and freedom, seem to be doing their utmost to aid the destruction of. happiness, freedom, prosperity* and : comradeship such as binds the nations of the world together. An effort has been made recently to bring to the notice of the Shipping Controller the importance of granting facilities for bringing home sufficient cargoes of wool to guarantee the mills of Great Britain being worked, and certainly there is every indication of a squeeze. SUGGESTIVE STATISTICS. With Messrs Dalgety and Co. (Ltd.)' not being allowed to publish their usual monthly figures, the trade is now absolutely dependent upon 'the Board of Trade returns for all information regarding supElies, and even this source as been 'so overhauled as to give the enemy as little information as possible. However, the figures for the first 10 months of this year regarding inrports and reexports are very illuminating. Reckoning a colonial bale to weigh 3301 b—the average for several years, —we imported from January to. October wool equal to 1,723,307 " bales. That is exceedingly good, and even the imports for last October alone were around 138,000 bales compared with 75,479 bales in September. This shows the efficiency of the navy and 'the mercantile marine. October, however, was an exceptional month as regards exports, due to considerable, weights of wool being shipped to France and Italy. Still, we must at a time liko the present take more than a limited view, and, looking over the past 10 months, wo see things in their proper perspective. Of courso, in addition to the imports of colonial wools, we must-remem-ber that the bulk of the British clip has remained in this country, all helping to supply spindles and looms with something to work upon. The export of British-grown wools during tho 10 months of this year totalled only 8,488,1001 b, and when it is remembered that in 1915 we exported 37,865,6001 b, it will be seen that our reexports were very low indeed. Tho following tabic of imports and exports will be found very illuminating. Tho figures relate to tho first 10 months of tho past five years, 3301 b being taken as the weight of an Australian bale: Imports. Re-exports. Retained.

PARTICULARS OF STANDARD CLOTHS. More details are now available regarding the standard clo'th referred to during recent weeks, th* writer having seen the fabric. It is indeed a well-made, sound, servicable cloth, a fabrio that no man need be ashamed to wear—in fact, the generality of woollen tweeds are not so good in quality or so well made. It is too much to say that the fabric is all wool.-a certain percentage of cotton being carded with tho wool which has been used. Of course, the "off-sorts" of tho fleece, which cannot possibly bo used for combing purposes, form the ' foundation of this standard cloth. Tho warp and. weft are_ spun to 13 skeins; it is made in several shades of giey; is a well-milled fabric, which accounts for it presenting a very attractive appearance. The warp is grey and the weft black, and coming under the well-known term " bread-and-butter" fabrio, it is well adapted to meet a popular demand. The weight is 19oz to 20oz. I am able to say that other experiments are being tried, and everything seems to indicate the possibility of more ranges of cloths being produced, these grey tweeds being capable of being made in an endless variety of patterns. A cotton warp and a woollen weft fabric to come in around 4s per yard is also intimated, and this fabric is quite good enough for bovs' suits, while a cotton warp and worsted weft, or even a woollen weft used

in conjunction with a cotton warp, could bo employed in the making of ladies' blue serge dress fabrics, a cloth that is still one of 'the most serviceable any woman can wear. PROVIDING .FOR MILITARY NEEDS. I have already indicated that the chief work of the department is to provide adequate supplies for the ex.ccution of military orders, and whatever comes to pass regarding the civilian trade, all are agreed that it will never do to under-supply those engaged upon military orders. Of course, there are spinners who have sold practically the whole of their output for 1918, and who acted on the assumption that the Government could not afford "to let machinery stand, otherwise they would soon bring about a serious state of affairs in the labour world. There are well-known firms who said that they were running the least danger by selling, that being 'the lesser of the two evils. I thought at the time they were exceeding what reaifcn suggested, and now, when they see that supplies for civilian purposes are not likely to be available in sufficient volume to meet all demands, they are doing a good deal of squealing. It is the first duty of thoee responsible for State control of the wool trade to provide for our army and navy needs and those of our Allies. The big shipments of wool and tops to both Franco and Italy, particularly the latter country, during the past month are the chief cause for the forthcoming allocations being on the small eido. In all probability spinners will not receive much more than half of what they • are asking for, and possibly a supplementary ration will be allocated later, because 'the next allocation period will be for four months. A good deal has been hoard about the inability of the Shipping Controller to bring home any increased quantities of colonial wools. Those with a practical knowledge qf the trade know that Australia has not the storage capacity for a two-million bale clip, and pressure will be brought to bear both on this side and in the colonies for relieving warehouses and bringing home the wool wanted to run the machinery. WOOL MERCHANTS' DEMANDS. It is well known that the buying wooj brokers and wool merchants have been hard hit under the present echeme of State control. Many meetings have been held under the auspices of the British Association of Wool-buyers. A scheme haa been propounded and placed before a responsible officer of the department, merchants offering to be content with Jd per lb profit on all wools sold by them. The whole business is hung up, and all that one can say is that there is '' nothing doing." So far merchants have _ obtained no satisfaction whatever, and with there being to-day no surplus stocks, there is nothing to indicate the granting of any concession such as noil merchants have been able to obtain from the department.-

Jan.-Oct. Biiles. Bales. Bales. 1917 1,723,307 67,514 1,655,793 1916 1,701,530 124.545 1,576,985 1915 2,617,640 297,284 2,320,356 1914 1,862,846 885,978 976,868 1913 2,106,117 761,197 1,344,920