OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 702, 30 December 1909, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

~:■/':.;:■■/„ '— '-— V—- —-// ':' '.'.'AMERICA CERTAIN'TO BUY MOBE ' .'. COLONIAL WOOL.. 'j /(From Our Correspondent.) , c - Bradford, November 12. \ /Thb vegetable"fibre question,■ of ; which. l wo havo heard so: much'during the last f two years, >is not yet dead, . This'.mat- t tcr has again been to the front during the 0 past two weeks, it being discussed - last week f at a meeting of the mill managers of the r West Riding. No new -light was thrown v on' the 'subject, although it .was gcuor-. ° . ally felt that the best' thing to. do was to uphold tho findings of the Vegetable t Fibre Committee'in London,' and stand i by their decision. They ' heartily ap- y proved of the benefits to. be derived from using ' paper-lined tares, and if I remem- i ber rightly they favoured the, idea- of buy- J era going half, with the grower in pro-: viding a superior, pack. ■ That is exactly * the crux of the whole question. Repeat- " cdly has it been'stated'on this, side that t if-buyers of wool would only share some i responsibility incurred in . providing bet- ) ter.jute 1 bales, then tho difficulty could , be solved in a/season, but the leading , spirits of the Vegetable Fibre Committee ' maintain that it ia the producer's busi- ; ncss to send his wareß to; market in the ' best, manner, possible, just the same as thoy do tops, yarns, and pieces. Hemp 1 in. wool is a curse, and always will be, ( and it would save, endless trouble and ( bother, if if could be minimised or abol- j ished. Nobody knows the curse it is only those/who are working.in mills, all-the year round, and to sen pieces come.over the perching board with dozens of small J pieces of jute fibre, all to. bo-burled out, ' cannot but ruffle'the temper of themanu- i facturers, besides increasing the cost of j production. They have, no business to be ■, there, and if.long strings of jute did not get entangled with, the wool, then it would . savo all, the trouble here spoken about. J Tho same difficulty, at least, to some ex-, ( tent, occurs in America. among its do- -i mestic woolgrowers /as /occurs in Eng- i land. >What is known as the sisal twine j evil' is the bone, of contention , between American buyers of wool and.their own ' sheepfarmors. United States woolgrowers will persist in tying their fleeces in spring with loose, fluffy. sisal binder'twine. The ' Manufacturers'. Association/ have, this last twelve months given a very strong note of warning that-they will refuse to buy : farmers' clips so tied up, but/when trade is good and. wool wanted, such throats | count'for little. After scouring the country for tho domestio fleeces, there is i again a note of warning sounded; much- ' loss being entailed on account of' vege- : table fibre finding its way into tho fin ishea fabric. . . ;;A WELCOME ADVANCE. . .'"" /.'" 1 The ab/jve paragraph cannot but bo very i welcome-'to'every; pastoral reader through-. i out Australasia, the lOape, and South ! America. It.is only another way of.say--1 ing that we "must have, the foreign-grown ! article, and this is exactly what I- have i- maintained for the past,two years. When ■ the Dingley tariff was effected in 1897, and' i an import duty levied of 5Jd. per lb. on 1 greasy wool, American sheepbreedors wore ' hoodwinked with the plausible statement j that such a protective duty would keep 1 out the Australian, South American, and j. 'English-grown article,, but I said over and , 1 over again that he was a .very short-. 1 sighted person who believed such twaddle ' and nonsense/-Of"co'urse, •'behind the high | tariff 'barrier United States sheep breed- * ers:were going /to grow all the wool re'.' ; quired by) their own : manufacturers, but no: such 'thing has ever obtained; and 1 never, will. In 1903 tho number of sheep ■' depastured in the United States was the '■■ highest ever returned, but , the official '■ figures ,had best- be consulted by the •reader himself. The following is tho num- ■ ber; of/sheep in/the-United States Binco 1 1902,..the figures' being official:—- ; "Year.. .'' .Number. V " ~:'•:•• 1902■.:..../..„..,....„..,.' 62.059,091 "■'. ."': ,> '1903'. :................. 63,964,876 ~ /' I •■■■< 1904. .; .....,....'.„■.;..' ;51',630,144 I' „• 1905. ;...*....:.;..:. i'45,170,42J ,'1905.. ;.. .',.:.':50,631,619. .',' ■'•: 1907 ...J./.;.:...'.....:.'...' 53,240,282' . 1 ■ ..'. ' . 1908 ...;....'.„..'..".'... 54,631,000 ..;/: 1909. ......:.;„;..„:...:.„; 66,084,000 /• .." MORE .COLONIAL. WOOL WANTED. -'-•' ; The' above' quotation is. very significant- , in view of the approaching season' for . 'new clip" wools from Australasia. South 5 Africa, and South-Amorica. .To be told , . that "it will .bo only a short-time before . every manufacturer in the'country must • become.'so well ./acquainted . with', the handling of foreign wools" is highly encdurafeing, • and it''is comiug to what I 'said it would so far back as 1898. ' The "free wool" Wilson tariff which existed ' between 1895' and 1897 gave American-Manu-facturers: such . a glorious taste • of' the ,'- -.ability of Australian merinos ; and .;-. New . .Zealand, South. American and • English ' crossbreds to; produce perfect cloths that consumption /must steadily' advance,: as ' United/States"manufacturers :becomo more' , perieot.in the art and science.'of fabric production... Every year since - then has ( Seen an expanding consumption of foreign- ' ■grown wools, and the presence in London , and Australia of American buyers', in larger force proves the correctness of my . prognostication. 'ITvo fact is,':- ".American manufacturers can- no more do - witbout * Australasian .wools than bricks can bo made without-clay.".Last -year'saw record . purchases made in this country and Aus- '■ tralia, and I fancy, this year with'boom- ' ing tcxtilo conditions more wool than ever will bo purchased outsido the United States.. Business everywhere, seems to be good across the Atlantic, and to improve the manufacturing properties of their.own' domestio fleeces; both Australian merinos and 'New Zealand' rrossbreds;, as well as l Eiver Plate wools, /will bo bought in in.. ~■ crettßing'quantities., The merinos grown ■ i in South Africa would .also come in. for. a: fair share of their patronage if they wero longer in staple and lighter in/condition, - but so long as thoy shrink in the major--1 ity' of cases. over' 60 f , per' cent., they, will r novor bo bought for-America;' : A few ! clips-from-the Western Province and Kaf- , fraria'ard purchased,\hut, generally speak- \ ing, they !are not sufficiently light in con-. 3 dition.. ...-. ■.;. v __ .-,-•. . ■-■■ . . [ X : ,A ; TURN FOR THE. BETTER.' ' j The situation this • week'shows ah im--1 portant change compared with a week ago," ■ and, instead of importers trying- to de- ■ press,prices, they have, turned .round, and 5 are now presenting a /decidedly 'firmer i front, and, asking fractional advances, . Really speaking, this is the result' of outf side forces, and more/particularly because ./ of the free sale of tops for next'year's deB livery, combined with' slightly hardening Jaarketsi in ' Australia. .The end■'.haß arived of the recent "bear" move, and It eem's as if we were now in. for a period 5 of, settled . prices. ■ Npbody 'in /Bradford 1 wants to see a higher range of values, 3 preferring to go on with reasonable rates, . and eb encourago a continuance of- good' , trade. There has been done a good deal ; of' quiet,buying, arid' some big weights of r raw material have been contracted for, - which necessitates tho.eanio being covered t in Australia arid elsewhere., Thero is no 1 doubt that the turn has come somewhat 3 quicker'than "the majoi'ity.'expected, and . 'users havo thought it policy to cover for ■ the earlier months of next year,- seeing ; that wool is selling :so freely ,at tho 5 sources of supply. No doubt importers a have helped things on somewhat-by tbeir . 3 persistent "bull", arguments, and consump-. 3 tion 1 " still being large, and' the prospect a of limited supplies in London at the ap'p'rpaohing series, ;'has helped to stimulate * activity on tho part Of spinners. There ' has been .most/buying done in merinos,' * some big weights having been contracted 3 for at 25d. and 26d. for. super 60's and ,64's : E' tops respectively. There continues to bo ; dono •a; auiot, steady trade for , spot de- [ livery in merinos, and it has to be a very 'good top' to command more than 2Sd*'.for , 3 supers... Since tho.irco purchases for.next I year, .topmakcrs are now/wanting 3d. to id. more, but we ;cannot tear tellof these ' 1 advances being actually made.: The way f wool, is selling in Australia is a sure inI dication 1 of the healthiness of trade in . manufacturing centres, and no' doubt there is a big consumption proceeding. ,There 1 is a shade more doing in crossbreds, and * prices display. a slightly hardening ten--3 dency. It should be remembered that 40's ! have lost ground.since the last London' sales, though several ■ topmakers" will not f sell"' to-day at what) they would a fort-. ,-, night ago. There is more/trade doing in '. 46's, 50's, and 56's tops,, stocks all, being *. very light. Mohair is steady and firm, E with not a big new business doing. Spin--5 nera are as busy as ever they, can be, and t . taking - things as a whole conditions.'. arc [ Bound and healthy./