OUR ENGLISH WOOL LETTER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14665, 24 July 1918, Page 8

OUR ENGLISH WOOL LETTER.

REVELATION RESPECTING AUSTRALIAN WOOL STRIKE.

ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT RESPECTI NO PR OSPE CT I YD S V 1 » - PLIES.

(From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD* Mav 22.

Another illuminating statement has been made by Sir" Arthur Goldfinch, Director of Raw Materials, bearing upon the' current wool situation and among all the leading officials of the Department no man commands confidence or respect more than lie does. He is a business man- himself and talks in a. businesslike manner to those engaged in the industry. Only too often there has been an. exhibition of a totally opposite nature, and it is hard ito reconcile some of the statements made by the lesser lights who occupy positions in the scheme of State control. He tells the trade candidly that we cannot expect that the "average arrivals Avill be more than at tho rate of 13.500 tons per month," this being "the maximum that can safely be reckoned upon." Although in the inner circles of the trade the actual tonnage set apart for bringing home colonial wools has been known ever since last September or October, no one durst make it known, and therefore it is well worth asking what 13,500 tons represents in bales. Reckoning a colonial bale at 3301b5. it works out at ah average monthly shipment of approximately 91,000 bales. It would be most interesting if one could ascertain the actual weekly consumption, but \ye ventm*e the opinion that the arrival of this quantity of raw material will be sufficient to keep the combs, spindles, and lodms working throughout the whole of Great Britain, and if the freight indicated can be kept up, there is little reason to be unduly pessimistic regarding the future/ At a matter of fact,the wool trade for half a century has been an industry where its members have always walked by faith and not by sight. 'One has only to go back to the stirring times of last August, when the cry of shortage first began to be raised. We I nb'e'd not here ref er to the revelations of tha Committee of Inquiry set up by |^Tr. : .H. W. Forster,- Financial Secretary to the War Office, and ever since tj^at cry has been more or less echoed by a | certain section who always look at things (Sossimistically. Sir Arthur Goldfinch las, however, recently informed the trade that at the present time stocks are sufficient to meet all present and prospective needs/ simply acting a wise man's part in cautioning the trade that there can be no prodigality in the use of wool, but as long as the freight allocated is maintained, he ' expects there to be sufficient raw material to meet all present and prospective needs. It has come as a revelation to a certain section of the industry to be informed that French mills are calling for combing merinos. Unless the writer is greatly mistaken, the class of merinos wanted by our Ally will be of medium , length, and, of course, under present conditions there is no alternative, but ■ for this country to satisfy as far as possible the increasing needs of France. At tlie. same time we believe our own department has been supplying fair weights of tops to France, and fairly big quantities to Italy as well, while Canadian needs, which are certainly not small, are also havinor to be fully met. It would bo very enlightening to know if French boats have hitherto been able to satisfy the needs of their own country bringing wool home from Australia and the Cape, and it seems to us that French combing establishments can so manipulate short medium combing wools on their Schlumberger combs as to meet all their requirements. SCARCITY OF COMBING WOOLS. The statement made on the above subject by Sir Arthur-. Goldfinch compels close- analysis. He declared that "he was now ablo to state with greater accuracy than at any previous time what the exact position of stocks in Australia was at the beginning of November last, when the first arrivals in port of wool of the new. clip were appraised and became available for shipment. The position at the moment was that with tho exception of 29.000 bales distributed over a number of ports, the stocks of merino wool available for shipment to. the United Kingdom were absolutely exhausted, and for a week or two clothing wool at some ports had to be shipped because no combing wool was available. It was thus evident that the stocks of merino combing wool in ( thi4 country at the commencement of the year, though very low, would not have, been greater to any appreciable extent even if shipping facilities had been freely available on a pre-war scale. It was a strike in Australia and not the want of sea freight which limited the supply at that particular time. Since then the percentage of clothing wool in shipments from Australia has been extremely small, and the want of ship room is the factor that has limited the supply of combing wool."

The -writer mentioned at the time that the strike in Australia last August and September, apart from being a disgraceful affair, certainly led to our Btocks of wool being depleted more than they should have been, and one is quite prepared to accept -what Sir Arthur Goldfinch says in regard to the character of the stocks on hand in Australia at the beginning of last November. At the same time we must express surprise that more combing wool was not then in store, because fairly big weights of new clip were shorn in Queensland and New South Wales, long before that time', and while a fair weight no doubt had been despatched to England, there must have been considerable quantities at the various appraisement centres. However,' the trade has got through so far very nicely, and when one remembers that from July 1, 1917, to June 30, 1918, the top side of two million bales of wools will be shorn and should be shipped from Australia and New Zealand, it is hard to believe that the consumption on this side ,ia such as to create any real scarcity in wools suitable for combing. However^ we are still optimistic that supplies, will come to hand in sufficient quantities to meet all requirements, and SO long as that is the case the trade will be satisfied. MAN POWER. The declared policy of the department as set forth in the official report of the Board of Control has given rise to ( a good deal of discussion in wool textile circles, and from what was stated it is plainly eyident that the question uppermost to-day is not wool supplies, but a prospective shortage of coal and labor. To the outsider it may seem ridiculous to be putting mills on to full time with a- prospect such as the trade is now faced with, but apparently the Minister of National Service has come to the conclusion that it is policy for manufax^ turers to run fewer machines full time and so release more men for the army, rather than countenance short time "and the running of more machinery. Most firms have accepted the verdict with equanimity, * but it is apparent what everyone is up against. It simply means that in filling pivotal positions all firms are going -to nave to let their grade one men go, and these positions will have to.be filled by men of 40 years and upwards. We are glad to think that Sir Arthur Goldfinch knows the importance of keeping responsible positions filled by capable men, particularly when the loss of one mart can lead to the stopping of a whole spinning plant, thus throwing out of employment scores of others. While all the men available aro urgently wanted, we are satisfied that "every effort will be mado bv all firms alike to carry on, and if they cannot obtain* all they want in the way of men, they will see to it that their positions are filled by the best men that are available. While present conditions are ; far from pleasant to anyone, and difficulties have to be encountered in getting satisfactory supplies, there is a willingness on the part of all to do their best, and it must be said that the businesslike statement made by Sir Arthur Goldfinch will help to bring the, whole industry into a, better frame of mind, far different from the pettifogging statements which are made by others who do things which will hardly bear looking at. So long as the central For Chronie Chest Oomplaints, Woods' Qrsat P«pp»rmyrt Osr#. 1/6, I/*.* i

authorities have got a. thorough grasp ol' what, the trade needs and is most anxious to^ know, little fear need be entertained respecting tho working out of details. . When State control %vas first introduced tho most serioiis cause for dissatisfaction was that the authorities were apparently unwilling and perhaps largely unable, to. grasp the points which responsible members of the trade ( and also the rank and file had clearly in view. The making of these periodical straightforward statements will do more than anything else ito allay apprehension respecting the future.