BRAND THOSE BOOTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1857, 17 September 1913, Page 8

BRAND THOSE BOOTS.

IMPORTED ARTICLE & OURS,

MINISTER MEETS DEPUTATION. 'Tho boot trade workers of New Zealand are making a combined movement in the direction of preventing further importation of shoddy footwear, unless it is branded as shoddy. Yesterday a deputation representing tho Federated Boot Trade Unions of New Zealand was introduced to tho Minister for Customs (the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher) by Mr. G. Laurenson (Lyt-teltou). Others present were: —Messrs. G. W. Russell (Avon), A. .M. Myers (Auckland East), J. S. Dickson (Parnell), A. E. Glover (Auckland Central), and J. H. Bradncy (Auckland West). The members of the deputation were:—Messrs. C. P. Barnes (Auckland), J. Hutchison (Wellington), G. It. Whiting (Christchurch). Mr. Barnes stated that between January 3 and July 27 last the 430 members of tho Auckland.Union, who included 90 women, had lost over 21,000 hours. This was due to tho fact—so the unions considered—of tlie importation of cheap work, particularly women's work. Mr. Barnes produced a cut-up boot which he described as being a 9s. article, bought in Auckland, in which tho stiffeners were composed of paper, tho lining of rag, and tho insole of composition. This boot, ho declared, would not be good wearing even in dry weather. On the sole was tho brand "Waitemata," which, Mr. Barnes contended, was intended to deceive the public into thinking it was mado in Auckland. Ho produced another imported boot, woiu for a fortnight, of which he said the insolo was composition and the stiffenor paper. Bettor boots were made locally at the same prices. What tho deputation wanted was that all footwear, imported or locally made, should be branded with the name of the manufacturer, tho name of tho country it was made in, and the material that.it was composed of.' This, he thought, would protect tho public.

Mr. Dickson: My experience is that 90 per cent, of customers will not buy Now Zealand boots.

Mr. Barnes: That prejudice has died. Tho Minister: Would you call a mixture'of leather and rubber shoddy? Mr. Barnes: No.

Tho Minister: What is shoddy and what is not? Do you want every boot excluded unless it is made of leather?

Mr. Whiting: Wo beliove that tho fact of a boot being branded as being mado of cardboard, composition, or paper would shut such boots out.

Tho Minister: Do you say that local bootmakers can compete with importers. Mr. Whiting: Yes. Mr. Myers: With the present rato of duty. Mr. Whiting: Yob, Tho Minister: Why aro such large numbers of boots being imported? Mr; .Whiting: Because, firstly, so many imported boots aro wanted, and secondly because the retailers arc getting more profit on thorn.

The Minister: What you want to ensure is that tho public shall not buy shoddy without knowing that it is buying shoddy?

Mr. Whiting: Yes. The Minister:: It will be hard to make tho distinction. You know what it will mean? Wo will have to open every case, and it will involve greatly augmenting tho Customs staff to see that all boots are properly branded, and so oil.

Mr. Myers: Would not that he a diminishing quantity? When tho tmer- ' chants' abroad realised tho regulations they would naturally carry out the requirements, erpecially if a few (shipments of goods wero sent back. ;

Mr. Bradnoy thought that the public ought to be protected from buying-such stuff as the imported boots produced by the deputation. It was tho poor people who suffered.

The Minister said tliat with all our Imperialism and patriotism it was impossible to stop a white man from buying his cigarettes from a Chinaman for fivcpcnce if the white trader next door charged 6d. Mr. Hutchison, said that if the boot trade was worth fostering with a high duty it was surely also worth w-hile protecting by tho branding proposed. If this importation of shoddy goods was allowed to go on. tho New Zealand manufacturers would have to compote by putting cardboard in their boots. The Minister: Are not some of them doing it. Mr. Hutchison: Yes. They are compelled to. Mr. Whiting said the deputation's object was not to take away people's opportunity of getting cheap boots. Tho branding tliey aslced for should be done on the lining, not on the soles Tho manufacturers had suggested this. In reply to the Minister, Mr. Whitins; said ho knew the manufacturers had recently conferred. TlAy had altered their views, howover. Tho Minister: Wo want to bring the cost of living down, and here you are asking us to mate footwear dearer. Mr. Whiting: On tho contrary,- we say that the public will get their boots cheaper and get a better article. Wo only want three words branded on all hoots', and wo beliove we shall that way bo ablo to educate tho public into asking for New Zealand-made articles. In order to show what he described as the enormous amount of slackness in the boot trade, allegedly due to the importation of shoddy, Mr. Whiting quoted the following figures as representing tho total hours lost by workers in contres named from January 3 to •Tnlv 31st last :—Auckland, 21.944 hours; Now l'Jvmouth, 650 hours; Wellington, "5 359 hours; Christchurch. 45,592 horns: Dunodin, 20G9 hours; Invercargill, 2072 hours; total for Dominion, 97.6R6 hours. After some further discussion of details the Minister undertook to look into the matter but pointed out that it was a difficult one to deal with.