THE Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1920. THE DYE QUESTION.

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XVII, Issue 5883, 10 April 1920, Page 2

THE Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1920. THE DYE QUESTION.

Hero shall the Press the People's Right maintain, Dnuwed by influence and uribribwl by gam Here Patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw, Pledged to Religion Libertv and Law.

A supply of German dyes for Njew Zealand industries was the subject of a recent official announcement. It was stated that the-British Government had offered New Zealand a portion "of the dyes secured from Germany, and that tho Dominion Government had accepted tiie ofter oai behalf of the local manufacturiers. TJie German (dyes, which ; cannlot yet be obtained from any other I source,, are to be used by the woollen i factories of New Zealand. The present ! position, according to authoritative ! statements, is that the Allied Governments have an option of 50 per cent, oi tho stocks of dyes held in Germany on August 15, 1919. This provision, together with 'a further option on 25 per ' cent, of the output of the German factories lor a period of five years from j the eonuing il.ito force of the Peace | Treaty (January 10, 1920) whs inserted | jla the Peace Treaty. IV arrangement j was intended by*the British Government to tide over the difficult period of reconstruction until the lie-me dye industry I was fully established, and »Un to prc- ! vent the Germans from utilising Uwir j position as monopolists in certain colours to damage the- British industry by ; preventing the supply of particular I colours except in conjunction w;>l;h j otliers ) of which ample supplies are available from British sources. The dcvelopI ment of the British dye industry since j the outbreak of war is o-f peculiar in- ', terest. It serves, ine.'.demtally. to illustrate the methods by which the Germans pushed theiir 'trade before they made their fatal bid for military supremacy. After the outbreak of Avar, Britain discovered that the Genius had established control of many key indiW.ries. TV Germans had held not merely a im>»opoly a? manufactures, but also a mou'opoly of knowledge of processes'of manufacture, and vast British industries were held up because the enemy pos- • messed the "keys,'' Britain was using nbout, 20,000 tons of dyes annually when I the war began, abd 90 per cent, came i from Germany. The supply was cut oft', ' and the trouble did not cad there, for the highly organised chemical industry .of Germany Avas diverted promplly to t,h<\ purposes of war, and was producing poison gases and high explosives wh:le the British nw mfact\iiv!j's Ave're st:li ! eeardhing for /he fcjnowle'dgc of pro- ' cessos that had been discovered and used by 'the Germans. The xeorganisaition of ttlio British chonnicfl-l industry, lor the production of dyes and other manufactures previously imported from Germany, was said at the time to be uuo ov' the triumphs of Britain during the war. I But it was impossible for British chemists and manufacturers to do in five years all that il had taken the Germans forty years to accomplish, and (Micro are still certain important synthetic dyes that the Germans alone are able -to phuj: upon the market. '.! he Brtish Govo.rnmi.-Mt is treating tine dye industry as a key imhtsuA. Importations of dyes are allowed only tni.der license, and licenses r,re Mot issued In •easies where the demaiiid can be mot by BtriltisJi. manufacturers. The "numlnland the scope of the licenses will be reduced as the British industry becomes jrjore fully established, until, it is hoped, there Avill be no meed to import any dyes pt all. But hi the meantime

use is being made oi: tihe provisions of the Peace Treaty to sctr.ro for the British Empire supplies of the dyes, of which the Germans have still a monopoly...