THE PRICE OF WOOL.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16412, 4 January 1919, Page 5

THE PRICE OF WOOL.

TO THE EDITOR OF ''THB MiKSS." Sir, —Tho average price of iSew Zealand wool for tuo tiiioc pre-war clips was less thuu tenpence a pound—at a little over eight pounds or wool a sheep, that averaged aoout six shilliaga and eigntpeuco a sheep. The vaiue of our wool clip irom rather over twenty-l'onr million shevp was about eight million pounds a year. It appears irom uninijieachaole authority tiiat the.lmperial' Govornmcnt has been selling Australian wool to the . Governments of the United States and of the Allies at about sixteenpence- hallpenny a pound, at a timo when 'the market price of wool in the United States was about two shillings and eightpence halfpenny a, pound. No doubt, tile same thing has been done with our New Zealand wool. Probably also, the British manufacturer got some of tic wool at the same price. There is an article in "Munseiy's" for July, 1918, "Efficiency Through Simplicity," by TV. A. XTu Puy, "An interview with Ilear-Ad-miral Samuel McMahon, who as Pay-master-General, is the Chief Purchasing Officer of tho United States Navy." Speaking of bargains, the Admiral Bays: "But the host buy we have made lately was in wool; knowing that we should continue to need uniforms, ( and that wool would probably be hard to get, we looked the map over, and found that there was plenty of fleece in Australia. The British Government owned warehouses full of it, but had found difficulty in transporting it to England. It had been bought from the - sheep-ranchers at about thirtythree cents a pound, while at tho same time it was selling here around sixtyfive cents. As soon as a general governmental prico. policy was established, and it. was made clear to Great Britain that our _producis were to be sold- to our Allies at tho same prices that we were paying, the British Government gladly offered to furnish wool at actual cost to meet our S'a.fs needs."

Now, the Imperial. Australian, and New Zealand' Governments want money to pay for the war qui to as much as the United States wants wool for Its Nayy. Why should the Imperial Government, Australia, or New Zealand supply wool to the '' nity.-l States Government at half vho price paid to the sheep-owners of the United .States? Is the United States f j'.iii.g cotton. or anything else,, at half Tr. ulcc t fiica to- the British Government? In a previous article in "Munscy's ' for January, 1918, on "Wool and ;i e War," the writer, -Mr F. i. Bake.-, Assistant-State Veterinarian i;f IcJitno, said that a conser'"ative e-iimate of the wool required 'n America for tin; first year is more than pounds. That is about one-fifth of our total production. ' Whtvi the war began, • the price of wool w.'is about twenty cents a pound, cr less, while a good ewe could bo lor two or three dollars. But with wool selling around sixty cents a pound, and common sheep for more than twenty dollars a head, the'se aie bonanza tiay-j for the "sheep kings. * Why could not the lJni'.na Government have commandeercd its own wool at pre-war prices for iLa -Navy? Instead of [oat.3 free of income tax, duty on lea, etc., why could not our Government have- <•omn-.au deerod all the wool at the p ; °" war prico of less than tenpcnca a j.ound and sold it in America at "around sixty-five cents a pound," or about "2s BJd a pound. Instead of about £8,000,000, the Government wou'd have received over £24,000 COO, giving a profit of over £16,000,000 to the revenue towards war expense?. ' Mr Witty, 31.P., .told the House that "it was reported that half :i i.iilion bales of our best greasy wool have been shipped for America . and t :inada." At forty sheep io the oa'e that means tho wool from twenty niilion sheep. It ougnt to bo no se< ret where our wool goes to—what is paid for it, and what was the market rato at tlio time.—Yours, etc.. J. MILKS VERB ALL. Swannanoa. January iad, :9}o.