LETTERS TO THE V EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1623, 14 December 1912, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE V EDITOR.

duty on boots; : manufacturers; point of view. ; reading'your report of the conference of. bbpt ? and shoe retailere of Wellington held, yesterday, one is struck with the wonderful knowledge, .-or'.rather.'.want of it, possosbsd byt'hesa.'gentlemea-of the manufacturing.of boots and shoes ii-the The statements 'made are both misleading .'and inaccurate;. The' chairman is reported to 7have said that the tanners in New. Zealand only produced a email proportion--of ; the total amount ot the leather'required for tho needs of, the population. The' manufacturers are.not asking, and have never asked, for a prohibitive duty, and unless a. prohibitive duty is imposed this statement by the chainnanis absolutely incorrect. In nearly all boots and- shoes manufactured in New Zealand "the principal weight and' also the vahte is in .the bottom stuff; that is eole leather. Men's boots and shoes of all gradee, if averaged, will-run about half each upper and sole leathers as. regards value; '.women's will be about 5 per cent, more in the upper; but when the country in which the upper leather ;is made is considered, it..will'make a. very; big preponderance in favour of the Dominion ianner, is all kip; yearling, col. calf/ ohrome, linings,.!etc., are tanned in New 2ealand.- '-"■' ■•■• . ' . . The chairman also stated that the' general'duty ranged from 35' to 37 per cent., with an additional Hi per cent, on can. goods. This statement is also inac--ouTate". A man's boot costing' 10s. in London' would pay .duty.here .of. 32 per .cent.; a womon'e costing Bs. would pay less than 80 per cent. Tho extra duty. on American is not 11J per cent-, but.half duty extra; which, on the two prices quoted, would be 16 per cent, and 16 per cent. .This need not enter into the.-matter, as the chairman knows quite; well very few, if any, American goods are now imported. Another member of the conference is reported to have said that if the manufacturer in New Zealand could not compete with that, it was timo he gave' up manufacturing. This member is also epeaking from, his ignorance, because, he does not take ,info account .-the difference in rent, lighting, heating, etc., in the Dominion, as compared.with an old country liko Great Britain; :.but the , '-principal items are hours of work end wages paid. In one factory in Scotland that is producing 4000 pairs a week, and whose goods are being imported largely, into New Zealand,> the hours 0f,,-work-are 52-J a-week, starring.at G ajtf. in "'the' Bummer time. The.pay for girls and boys ranges up to Bs., and only a very few at the higher price. A'few receive 365., ■ but the majority of experienced men- are paid about 80s. Compare this latter wage with the New Zealand,, which in Wellington ranges from 555. to £t for a 45-hour week.. Yet another member of the conference is reported to have said that they,want the additional tariff to compel people to buy their goods, which. don't fit and are out of date. -This, statement is also as inaccurate as the former ones. Thb! manufacturers in'New-Zealand have.ithe.same machinery as any factory in Great Britain; they are as much up io date as any factory at Home;'., thoy have the same lasts; and as proof of this, why if we cannot moke them here,'- do the retailers, and especially eomo of the gentlemen who attended this' conference, • when' they are out of an imported line, bring .a sample boot to one of our factories to have it copled- and express satisfaction at everything except the price? The latter must, be dearer fora copied boot, seeing the manufacturer gets an ordeT for any quantity from two to six pairs, whilst if'ordering from Home he would place an order for anything from three dozen •■; pairs to a gross. ' .- ' ■:•":■ ■■•"■ ■■•'"■ The manufacturer is also handicapped by having to pay a duty of from 20 to SO per cent. ; ad val. on all. _ machinery he uses, except sewing-machines;* and as a. modern faotory has anything (according to:size);.'from; .£3OOO, and' constantly .haying.-to be;;replaoed, it certainly adds to the cost of manufacturing. ' • TheVresolutions adopted at.the conference call for little comment, except that

retailers and others have tho idea that a rise in tariff means a rise in Dominionmade boots.- Thif does not follow, because nearly all factories employ at the present time fewer hands than formerly, and machinery used iu the frado is capable, of turning out doublo or treble tho present output. Operators are .notlikely, to re-, main in the Dominion' when wort is scarce, and there .is little doubt workers would return, to; : tho Dominion, if work was nlentiful.—l am, efc., MANUFACTURER. December 10, 1812.