GOLD FOR WOOL

Southland Times, Issue 19461, 28 January 1925, Page 7

GOLD FOR WOOL

MODERN ARGONAUTS’ WAY. THE INVERCARGILL SALE. SOUTHLAND CLIP UNDER THE HAMMER. One Jason, so it is writ, sailed over all the seas he knew, visited many strange lands, and met with many strange adventures, in search of a mythical golden fleece. To-day hundreds of Jasons sail over far wider seas, to far more distant lands, in a far bigger world, still in search of a golden fleece—or rather a fleece which is worth much gold. It is worth gold so much beyond the dreams of Jason and his Argonauts, that if they had found the gold in stacks of ingots, they would never have lived long enough to carry it all home in their little ship. These Argonauts of to-day are adventurers of another sort. They come from every land where there are many people and much gold, to lands where there are fewer people, wider pastures and many sheep, to barter of their surplus gold for the precious fleeces. Just as every nation, as soon as it can afford to do it, will eat red meat and white wheaten bread, the food of the white man, so every nation as Soon as it can afford to use it, will wear woollen clothing. The demand for wool grows continuously, and as the years come round, new users of wool enter into the trade chase for the coats of the sheep on the grass lands of the whole world. A MARKET OF ALL NATIONS. Thus it comes about that at the wool sake which will open in the Town Hall, Invercargill this morning, many countries will be represented among the buyers. This wool makes a stronger bond among nations than any diplomats or statesmen can ever weave with their philosophy and covenants. The buyers have formed themselves into a little Commonwealth of their own—they call it an association—and they allot the seats in the auction-room according to the amount of wool purchased by the several buyers the proceding year, the best seats going to the biggest operators. They arc highly skilled, highly paid men, these wool buyers. No man becomes a wool buyer because his father is the head of the firm. The job carries so much responsibility, and on the buyer’s judgment depends so much money that only the very best men in the wool business ever rise to it.

A wool auction means more to the ordinary workaday citizen of Invercargill and very much more to the grazier on the sheep runs than the flotation of a Government loan, the remission of the income tax, or the reduction in the price of tobacco, or, in this season of an over abundance of sunshine and dryness in Southland, of a couple of days good rain. All that the average person known of it is that it happens in the Town Hall and that a lot of coaticss, excited gentlemen bark unintelligible sounds at a peaceful auctioneer. HOW IT IS DONE. But the selling of the wool is a longer business. These buyers for days go round the stores, whore the wool is displayed, carefully valuing every catalogue. Then, on the eve of the auction, they get their limits from their principles over the seas—the highest prices that clean scoured wool of certain classes is judged to be worth in Bradford, Paris, New York, or Yokohama. On those clean-scoured prices, the buyers must judge how much they may pay for wool in the grease, how much in weights the clips will lose in scouring, and above all, of just what quality wools every bale in the catalogue is. Then they are ready to bark at the auctioneer, and if the limits are high they bark a lot. Providence has been kind to the woolgrower this season. The season, thanks to the magnificent spell of weather Southland has been enjoying, is an early one and the clip comes away in splendid condition. It is anticipated that the Bradford buyers will be operating largely to-day although competition from all representatives should be keen. The fact that prices for the finest wools show a decline at the present time should not seriously affect the sale as the greater bulk of Southland’s offering is not of the finest of the grades. Local brokers are confident, however, that very satisfactory average prices will be offering and there is no doubt that bidding will be brisk. At this sale 18,241 bales will be offered and probably sold. A safe average of value would be £25 per bale, say £456,025 for the

Even Jason with his tiny ship, would have had a tidy little load of sorereigns to carry home from this sale of Southland*! clip.