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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14236, 2 March 1917, Page 8

<trade on December 31, and must be rot turned before January 7. It certainly 1 'seems as though the only way for mills 1 to allay their fears about obtaining sup- . plies is to take on war orders or export s trade, for if they want wool for civilian t goods they are likely to be disappointed, i The Government are asking for wool \ sorters, and have taken over one or two 1 warehouses m Bradford which belonged s to private firms m the Colonial cross- c bred trade. These firms have been told \ to 'supply " sorters to deal with English t wool and probably before the Government has finished with its wool business, i all firms of any size will be working on ( either English or Colonial sorts owned by -| the War Office. Payment for all Govern- \ ment work is as nearly as possible re- .j duced to a commission. It is on com- .; mission m wool sorting, for combing ! the standard rate is paid, or spinning a fixed margin is given, and prices for "1 khaki are at such a as to allow -manufacttirers no more than a normal profit, and not always that. A YEAR 01? GROWING GOVERN- { MENT CONTROL. , ♦ The year 1916 will always bo remem- ] -tiered as having been ono m which the , Government assumed control of nil the , large industries. Iron, steel, copper and , 4>£he_. metals have been taken over foi- - 1 sbme time ; wheat and. flour have been ] ' subjected to restrictions, and not least '■ ajqong the trades affected is that m wool j and textiles. Economists of the future | -will have interesting data to work on > as the result of the present Government experiment, for after all it must be con- ' " sidered m the light of an experiment. 1 > The times are exceptional, and need ex- [ ceptional handling. , In the beginning of June, tho War .. • Office, without warning, struck, swiftly, and commandeered all' the wool grown m . these Islands. Later the order was made to refer to skin wool, all wool produced 1 coming under Government jurisdiction from the beginning of October. The re_ ', quisition of all the home gi'own wool was a ( .subject of-, much comment ; farmers considering they had been unjustly treated, and certain it' is, 'that m a free 1 market they would have received 3d to 4d per lb., perhaps sd, more for their i wool than they have done, As an incen- : tive to increaVfe ' sheep stocks * n tliis ; country, the Government experiment is • hardly to be Oonjimended. The business j of many merchants and dealers m Eng- > lish wool has 'been entirely dislocated ) ahd m. .many cases almost taken away. , There has been. much unfair distribution, i and the vested. ." interests of tho wool > trade have suffered' considerably. • * .The requisition of aH the home-grown , J^ool formed the basis of many remarks : aiid forecasts to the effect that tho 1 Colonidl clip would also be taken over. • A rumor' was made publio m tho trade, > and was borne out by 0110 of Mr . Hughes' speeches, tliat the idea of comk mandeering all the Colonial clips was ; not entertained at the War Office. J" j > spite of these, those m the know m 1 London wero persistently repeating that • '.the" Government would take over both E the Australian and New Zealand clips, I and the Cliristchurch sale, which should 1 have opened the New Zealand season m 1 November, was stopped mas suddeai and 1 dramatia a way as that of Kettering, \. wbjph should have opened the English : " 'sfcison. The English wool was taken J over at 35 per cent, above pro-war • values and the Colonial at 55 per cent. I .advance, the Government to bear all > expenses of handling. For casing and > warehousing merchants m this country . are getting gd per lb, and for sort-' , iifg ready for combing, a further |d. , j' Out of this they have certain expenses, ■ but probably they will receive Jd to f d » per lb for themselves, at which no exr ception can bo taken if only they have _ a normal supply of wool granted to them £ to-'handle. < p * EXISTING DISTRIBUTORS THUBAT- • ENED. *■ Tha Government has dispensed with ? country auctions for English wool and ? it wae feared that it would also dispense 1 with the London sales for the distribu-

tion of Colonial wool. Two largo trade "meetings wero hold m Jit-gland,, ono ip Ijondon, the othei' m Bradford, at which, with tho fctrongcßt support possible, representatives were chosen to interview the War. Oflice and impress upqh it the wisdom of continuing to distribute wool .through the 'usual well-tried channels. The trade has practically, ari assurance that the" Loudon sales will bfe contiiiued m 1917, and probably there will be more merino wool sold there than m 1916. n . i x It has been repeate^y-. stated .that the Government could' have^ secured.; Mhmt desired ends without actually taking , bvsr the Empire's wool. Wax i'goods, first;, then export trade, and lastly „ civiliap trade, m tho order m which the wool is to be employed, and to secufce this, and secure .supplies o{^ < khaJ_i...Jß{lj..a reasonable price,, are the. 'reasons given by the War Oflice for 'the pu£chjjs eJ t .J j . .Njo doubt the officials knpw they tje doing considerable, m jury to private ia-. terests, and would not have taken the &tcp unless it had been' necessary. As more evidence comes, to Jight; it is m favor of the ttovea'riihent's'plan,' \btyt even yet it cannot be consiaered thpi*oughly ' justified. Some fjtjrilpng' figures of the (quantities ordered by 1 bur U6vernment for our own army haye'^y&ntly beeu publsihed, and' are Wo-iiewhat a? follows : 13 million cap comforters, le«c million •pairs of diawers, 8 minion w&pl gloves, S7 million socks, ; 10 million Vests,- 29 ,l million blanket^, SO .jrinillidn yaa-ds uniform overcoating arid trousering khaki, 110 million partis, 'flannel. These figures, of* coux.se, include; .none of the big, orders that hay o been placed tyy sour Allies, : and . represent ( solejy what ?haa been bought ior .our- o.too„ jarnjy from the outbreak . of the wait to. tho end of N-o.venvbeaf; tliis. year. r. Russia' has been a big buyer this yeai;, and* jn some cloths has go' filled up mill? , that th^y have up machinery left .to. employ for our o^n Government..' >3.1i0_ above quail* tities should Ije doused po i&ctyde the orders that have /bee,n placed ( herein England b'jN our. Allies, and beside these all the mills m iVanee) Italy aiid, Kussia are working at f^ill pressure, "fnt. British army's needs 'alone, coultf tise, up about; one : third of the' annual ■"wool production of Australasia, • sjj. that "m putflishiug those details.', the'j Gr^Ylernment gives one of the strongest." reasons it possibly could why it \vas necessary to assume complete control of all the wool j' iii ,ihd Enipire'. ' ' ' , During the year; ti;adiug>.in , nyool not under the O^erumenjfVj control .has-been brisk at steadily advauciijg prices^-, aiijl both m Ij-ngland and. Colonial, sorts, record values have been tyuchdd.' Merino tops have visfcn to' a level, but thene " are those' who 1 say' that before very long val U6s will fall oJfisiderably. The result of (xovernment intervention m copper ' and cotton has Ijeeii 'to,, bring down prices- smartly' and- they expect the same thing -in* woolT"^- " i - tj^ »'•'-