The Rangitikei Advocate. TWO EDITIONS DAILY. FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1920 THE BOOT TRADE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 12086, 25 June 1920, Page 4

The Rangitikei Advocate. TWO EDITIONS DAILY. FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1920 THE BOOT TRADE.

IN these days when the price of footwear is a matter of considerable Interest to the individual and of still greater importance to the man with a family, anything relating to it may he regarded as a matter of public concern. At the present tim'd the Arbitration Court is dealing with an application by the employees for higher wages, the employers themselves are asking for removal of import duty on certain classes of leather and certain local bodies are urging the abolition of import duty on children’s boots. We seldom agree with demands of this class, but the circumstances connected with the claims compel support, for the demands are justifiable so long as onr present system is maintained of making work for work’s sake, arbitrarily fixing prices and attacking the law of supply and demand. There are several considerations arising out of the present position of the trade. In the first place it may be noted that while the bootmaking „trade in this conntrj' is the most highly “protected”—that is, it is working behind the highest barrier of restriction—its employees have been the very worst paid of any engaged in manufacturing operations. This, of course, is in itself, about the strongest possible condemnation of the policy of restriction, but it is an inevitable result of excessive com l petition in alimited market. If the tariff were raised still higher the effect would be still more disastrous, because there would be more factories established to enable capitalists to profiteer, which again, indicates that if local industries have to be fostered this should be done by means of bonuses or subsidies, so that the State could limit their number, instead of by the tariff which induces greater rapacity. We sympathise with the employees’ demands because, under the circumstances, they are just and if they result in further increase of the cost of footwear this mav induce earlier attention to be given to reform ot the whole of our taxation and industrial systems. The demand of the employers in regard to the duty on certain materials is

also, t-o a certain extent, justified, and gives point to the fact that restrictive duties injure the people. We do not, however, go so far as to approve complete jnsmoval of duties either on raw 'material or on the children's shoes, because the State must have money. Purely rev* enue duty should be applied to all articles and it would not in the slightest degree exercise any injuria one effects on the people. It is only when a restrictive duty is applied that the people are injured and the State ’’aflo ; snffors loss of revenue owing to the consequent decrease of imports. At first sight it m ight seem that the lowering of the duty on certain classes of leather would injuriously affect the tanning industry, hut if this were so, it would pay us better to close the tanneries. The employers, however, have made it clear that the tanners cannot supply them with leather of the quality they require. It was - stated hy members of the deputation of boot and shoo repairers who waited on the Minister, that “their concern was in regard to good stout sole leathers. If they put on;;> sole that wore out in six] weeks the customer would naturally come back and complain about it, and they would lose custom. were almost unable leather, and had ,to use ;;the light colonial leathers, which cost the same amount,'];bnt had nothing likejthe Under present conditions]boot repairers could not give the public what they give in am 'fair value for the money they i They might get a 151 b hide of colonial leather one day and be obliged to take only light stuff the next. They could not rely upon getting a reliable supply of good stout leather. What they were asking for, he maintained, would not inflict apy hardship upon the tanners because the bends they wanted to come in free were bends that the local tanners could very rarely supply them with; and when the tanners could supply such leather they could get the same price as for English leather. The light colonial leather was only suitable for the boot factories. ” The last sentence particularly compels attention,|for it implies that our factories are using an inferior article because we are employing a certain number of our people at the work of tanning. The in erence, of course, is that but for our tanners we would have better hoots, and hut for the restrictive duty that enables the tanners to he employed we should' have very much cheaper hoots. It is a curious commentary on the effect of restriction that the leather ,we are forced to wear is not good enough for repair work.

Sir Frederick Lang has been appointed. Speaker £of the House of Representatives for the third time. Lord and Lady Liverpool were given a civic farewell in Wellington last evening. The United States Chamber of Oommerje's statistician predicts that the United States' winter wheat crop will exceed half a billion bushels. Mr Fred Pirani has accepted the position of secretary and organiser of the Wellington Master Printers’ Association, and will take up his duties at the end of next mouth.

London reports that the Corinthic’s consignments of New Zealand apples and pears were discharged rapidly They lauded in excellent condition, and are realising full control prices Mr Robert Cobb, at one time one of the principal sheep-breeders in Manawatu, and one of the first farmers to introduce Romney Marsh sheep into New Zealand, died at Otaki on Monday, aged 68 years. He was a son of the late Mr Thozpas Cobb'of Ivyehnrch, Kent, ana arrived in New Zealand in 1880. A Wellington business man has notified his intention of bringing the price of bananas under the notice of the Board of Control. A set of figures purported to show' that bananas from the Islands could be landed in Auckland at 9s and these were offered to shopkeepers at 245. Of four sections on Aorangi Road, Kairanga, offered by Abraham and Williams, Nos, 1 and 2, comprising togeggther 199 acres, were sold to Mr J A Sanson, of Glen Orona, at £137 and £l4O respectively. No. 3 was passed in at £lll and No. 4* at £lO5, and wera opened to private sale. The Kaukapakapa correspondent of the N.Z. Herald telegraphed on Wednesday: An old settler, Mr Dormer, was found dead in a small creek this morning. It is supposed that the deceased had been cutting a pine tree, cut his face, went to the creek to wash the wound, fainted, and fell into the water. - COLLEGE COATS—Knitted Wool Sports Coats, in navy blue with belt, posted to any address for 355. —Feiiding Clothing Company, Kimbolton Road.* Ladies to whom dainty and attractive underskirts appeal will be charmed by the magnificent ranges of these goods showing by Lloyds, Ltd. In addition to a large stock of old values some specially smart new lines are now on show in xnoirene, moirette, sateen, and satin. Prices run from 7s lid to 655. It will be interesting to know these goods have recently risen in price 30 par cent on he Home markets.*

i Marton residents will be interested ■ in the fact that a small direct shipment of Dent’s famous skin gloves ■ has just been received by The Eeono- ; mic (Low and Gregory), Marton. i Dents are finding it almost impossible Ito obtain supplies, and future | deliveries are very uncertain. Ladies ' are advised to make an early seleoi on.*

At Marton Court yesterday before Mr Stout, S.M., *a local resident pleaded guilty to a charge of theft of “a motor jack and was fined £3 and ordered '.to retain it. A prohibition forder was a Jso issued against defendant for whom Mr Lyon appeared. Albert Hinton, for whom Mr Mackav appeared, was fined £1 and ?s costs for procuring liquor while prohibited. Watson Witliell was fined 10s and costs 3s for riding a motor cycle in Broadway at greater speed than 15 miles an hour. Eor failing to send a child to school on three occasions Mrs P Stevens was fined a total of 6s. In the following cases judgment was given for plaintiff ly default:— Lioyds’ Ltd v Mis B Higgins, £l7 4s 3d, costs 80s 6d; Hodder and Tolley v A Guise, £4 4s, costs 13s; EK H Brice v J J Mudford, £22 15s 6d, costa £3 345.

The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association lias been making strenuous efforts to secure adequate supplies of orinting paper for all New Zealand journals, but has only been partially successful. letter received yesterday informed ns that the available supplies for this year are 35 per cent abort of the requirements. Not only is newspaper print short, hut all other classes of printing paper. That required for lawyer’s work is absolutely unprocurable. We also found it impossible -to obtain the quality desired for 10,000 copies of a pamphlet for the Public Trust Office containing an article recently published by us entitled “An Art of Safety,” and another paper in stock had to be substituted. The shortage of newsprint has' also compelled us temporarily to postpone our intended issue of an early morning edition, but we hope to make other arrangements with this object.

Oar Halcombe correspondent writes: —An inquest was held on Thursday morning in the Halcombe Hotel on the body of an old man named Michael Walsh, who had. been found dead the previous day in a side street in our village. Mr E. Goodbehere, coroner, ’’Cahill and t'olice Constable Anderson conducted the inquiry. After hearing Dr. Willis’ report and minor evidence, a verdict was arrived at that deceased met his death by exposure, the indications being that he had had some sort of a fit. The dead man, who was about 73 years old, bad been living in Halcombe for a few days previous to his death, and though not known locally, was stated to have been knocking about the Palmerston and Pending districts for some years. Nothing is known of his history other than that stated above. He had a considerable sum of money on him and pension papers. He will be buried in the cemetery.

Mrs Alex McMinn, of Davenport, relict of Mr Alex McMinn, the well known pioneer journalist, recently, says the N.Z Herald, celebrated her 7 sth birthday. One of the oldest surviving pioneers of New Zealand. Mrs McMinn arrived in the Bay of Islands in 1846, her father, the late Mr P P O’Reilly, having come out with the 65th Regiment. She spent her early years in Turakina, but on ’her marriage with the late Mr Alex MoMinn, settled in Wanganui, where her husband was first beadmaster of the Wanganui Grammar school, was afterwards associated with the i fee Mr John Ballance on the Wanganui Hertdd, later was editor of the Rangitikei Advocate, and finally, in 1880 founded the Manawatu Standard in Palmerston North. Mrs McMiun’s experiences cover an interesting page in the history of New Zealand, as her father was captain of the volunteers in Turakina at the time of the Maori disturbances, and she can remember rniany terrifying nights when Maori attacks were expected. With a view to safeguarding the •interests of the Dominion producers with regard to the shipment of next season’s output, Mr W D Powdrell moved at Wednesday’s N.D. A. meeting: “That the N.D,A. be instructed to Insist on equal shipment of the%ew season’s cheese and butter with the Imperial Government’s old meat, cheese and butter yet to be shipped from this country, and that the N.D. A. be instructed to insist on equal space in shipment of new season’s produce with the Imperial Government’s stocks of meat, batter and cheese now on hand in the New Zealandjstores. ’—Speaking'to his motion, Mr Powdrell pointed out that the contract entered into with the Imperial Government did not require them to ship the new season’s produce, and there was a chance that without due pressure being brought to bear they might have that produce left on their hands. It was only right that they should see that the new season’s output of butter and cheese was lifted. The motion was carried unanimously'