The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1917. THE TIMBER MARKET.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 17143, 21 November 1917, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1917. THE TIMBER MARKET.

The testimony of local architects and builders, endorsed by the clear statement made by Mr S. I. Clark, of Auckland, who is ;i recognised authority on the subject, clearly demonstrates two facts of importance to-the public:—(l) The prices of timber have been abnormally increased during the war period; (2) this abnormal increase is very largely, if not wholly, due to exportation. As a, correspondent, whose letter wo published in our yesterday's issue, remarked, this is a matter which very nearly concerns every citizen of the Dominion. There are some builders who declare that timber prices have now reached such cJ level as to malw the cost of building almost prohibitive. Clearly, then, the entire community comes within the scope of the imposition, because an unduly inflated build- I ing cost must inevitably be reflected in an increased rent, in one form or another, for the houses in which we live and the shops, factories, and offices n which we worlc. To quote the same correspondent again, "the increase affects buildings of all classes, whethar homes, business premises, educational buildings, farm buildings, or buildings of any other description. In some way or another we j:re all caught in th.; net—if not immediately, then in tho near future." It has been suggested, we believe, that the Government is indisposed to take action with a view to stopping the exportation of timber because, by so doing, the considerable «urn of money represented by the purchase price of the timber would cense to come into New Zealand. Briefly stated, this moans that the exportation of our timber involves tJie importation of o much outside capital, and that the Government is of opinion that the getting in of a little extra "foreign capital" is of more importance than the preservation of our timber supplies, and the maintenance of a reasonable level of timber prices within the Dominion. Frankly, we regard this a.s«umutiou ; s

ridiculous. We admit, of course, thai the more money that caa be got into the Dominion at this juncture the better .'twill be for all concerned; but the mat-, ter takes on quite a different aspect, when, as in this case, the " all" who are profitably concerned dwindle down to a few, a mere handful of fortunate exporters. The reason for Government; inaction must be sought for in some other direction. It will be found, we think, in the fact that the importance of the matter has not been effectively emphasised by those most dirctly interested. We cannot help feeling that the builders and the timber merchants are themselves somewhat largely to blame. The timber millers, after all, have only done what the average business man would have done under similar circumstances, viz., exploited a favour-' able market. Australia is hungry for timber, which ? owing to the shipp:ng shortage, she is unable to procure from the sources from whence in .pre-war days she was wont to draw her supplies. Australia's iiecd has proven th.^ golden opportunity for the men wEo control the timber supplies of this Dominion, and they have simply seized the opportunity. Still, while this is "good business" from the millers' point i-f view, and while no doubt the Australians are pleased to get timber at almost any price at all, it is distinctly bad business for the New Zealand building trade, and for the public of the Dominion. It was up to the builders and timber merchants to organise effectively in defenceof their respective industries and of the people as a whole. Instead of doing so, they appear, save for an occasional ineffective whimper, to have placidly accepted the imposition of rise after rise in the price of timber as an inevitable burden which they were regretfully compelled to pass on to the patient iind long-suffering public. It does not seem to have occurred to them to propound to the Government a very simple solution of the trouble, viz., that the difference between the pre-war pries of timber, plus a reasonable added percentage to cover the increased cost of milling under war-time conditions, and the current export price, should be appropriated by the State as a reasonable toll towards the national war charges. The millers would then be free to please themselves as to whether they sold the output of their mills to Mr Brown, of Sydney, or Mr Smith, of Wanganui, and the public would have the satisfaction of knowing that if the millers chose to export their timber the State, and not the millers, would benefit. And that, of course, would be as it should be.