MR LYSNAR'S MISAPPREHENSION

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLII, Issue 11616, 15 August 1918, Page 4

MR LYSNAR'S MISAPPREHENSION

Tho? n who know Mr W. p t I express no surprise at the a he sometimes adepts in his *iNI to establish a case. As a |wl mentioned, ho argued and cessfully convinced a u taj ity of the Farmers’ Union del* at the Dominion Confer#nnl ceutly, that the British turers are making huge profit of New Zealand wool. This is 1 lie has stated, and it is a pampluet by him, as ofii G i a i*l discussed disclosing English’ a 1 facturers making large profits 1 of New Zealand patriotism” v. 5 ! “The basis of Mia pmchas'eT I to be fifty-five per cent, on the ?! nary prices in New Zealand'a was important, iherofore, to kj what their wool was sellinGl Home. The Loudon ‘ChmahtJj Commerce Journal’ for J anr 4 BUS, stated that the price fo r was 7Acl "per lb for -Id’s, aa ’ jiMI case of yarn it was two hundreds! cent above the pre-war rates 11 did not pretend to bo a wool eirsi but'two wool experts had haf] that if tops were sold at 7r>d «»3 wool would be worth, after eerfl deductions, 4s 3d. If,.they defiJl 5d for expenses and the buyer Jj Is Sd that still left a profit' of>o per lb. The growers should* J half and tire Imps rial GovernJj the other half of that excess pt o d On tbo basis of the Is 3d whichtu growers should get they werelosw between £3,000,000 and £4,000,00y year on the New Zealand quota jjjj by the Imperial authorities u civilian purposes ’’ 1

But wnat did the ‘ ‘London Chsj her of Commerce Journal” ; c January, 11)18, actually, say? “The British,' Australian, New Zealand clips and a part of thi Capa clip (estimated at three-eights) have been bought by the Impetii Government, and all wool jut),. United Kingdom became, j n k course of the year, the propertyy tha State. The process of to* making, too, became a Governing monoply, and tha values of wool and tops were fixed ami set oe in official schedules. The highs prices recorded for tops prior to tij completion of the State controld prices were Tod per lb for merino, G2d for 58’s crojsbml fi foi JO’S, 73d for 4G’s, and 33d fo 40’s prepared, which represents! advances varying from 100 to 133 ps cent., as compared with pre-w rates. The first Government schedule effected substantial reduction all round, hut the prices worouvised as from December Ist."

The December prices were mi quoted in the ‘‘Journal,’' but they have appeared [in other official pap. ers, and were as follows: TWfe 70’s moiino, Gad for sS'a crossbred, 48d for 50's, odd for -IG’s, ami Sid for 40’s prepared. Kir Lysmir. therefore, distinctly misled his audience! when ho stated that 4G’s tops vren worth 75d and that a profit of2s!d per lb was being made out of them, when, as a'nmlter of fact, 40’s,tois were only worth at the time 30a, or just over one-luilf of the figure b based his argument upon. Merino wool of 70’s quality is so fine tliat very little (would be found in Now Zealand, and -IG’s quality may be stated as strong balfbml or lino three-quurterbrrui, a good selling class of wool that would lose about one-third in scouring, so that if tin tops were [quoted at 3l)d (theyJW increased to 43d rn“April Ist, IOSSj, there is no ground for auy wild statement about excessive profit being made by manufacturers. Although there have[beon rises in the prices of tops as compared with prewar figures, it must ho remembered thut the growers have had theirS per cent, out (cf the advance, atd the Imperial Government lias tops; all the* heavy expenses incurred in putting the wool into mannfscturers’ hands. Had it been pointed out at the Farmers Union Conference that Mr Lysnar’s figures were not correct, it is very doubtful whether a majority of the delegate comd have been found to supprcti case based [upon that class ci evidence.