“WILL BE WORSE”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 3, 10 March 1947, Page 6

“WILL BE WORSE”

“BEFORE IT IS BETTER” WIRE DISTRIBUTION An extract from a letter from Wire Distributors Limited, the organisation set up by the Government to handle all supplies of wire in New Zealand that has been circularised to the various branches of the Federated Farmers reads as follows: “It is useless your members blaming the Government for not giving licences, and it is useless blaming the merchants for not being able to supply wire. Your members should be told to blame the coal shortage and the steel shortage, and the holdup in overseas companies ' for the non-supply of wire. The position will be worse before it is better, and farmers can make up their minds that. 1947 is going to be worse than any of the war years. “America has recently been endeavouring to purchase 30,000 tons of wire from Australia without result.” Position in Britain The branch’s attention has also been drawn to the following cable message from London:— “One of Britain’s many shortages which are giving concern at the moment is that of wire. It is feared that the shortage of steel and fuel rationing may cause wire to become one of the biggest bottlenecks in industry. It is pointed out that 28 types of wire are required by the upholstery trade. It is estimated that general demands will exceed supplies for at least ten years.”