YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2298, 4 November 1914, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

BUSINESS IMPROVING -, i■■■.-' ; CFrom Our Special OonespoAderit.)"' A Bradford," September'lß. Things are moving at a.quicker pace, and everything seems to indicate that there is more business about. Of course, .the snri of prosperity has not yet arisen lon the West Hiding, > while the ...Continent, is'still under eclipse. We have to face many. thirig3 which are . far from satisfactory, aM they will remain so long after the war terminates.' Still, after a month of intense anxiety, the.fate of the leading countries of Europe hangling, in the balance, wo are to-day .betterowe ■to see tho course of events in Franco;'and with.the improved position of the Allies,x-it looks as if we are going. 'to see,more trade,, now that , the German Army has its face once more to : wards', Berlin. The better standing of the armies of Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Russia is alt tending to stimulate more confidence in commercial circles, and the textile trade is. already breathing more .freely because of the placing of distinctly more orders during the past week. We.shall ishortly deal with business ,-whichi' has come .to hand from' France, but for ;the time being let. Us' aay that manufacturers report more,doing on. Home trade account. Of course, the coming winter season's business is going to be very limited, and we 6hall-be ■, greatly surprised if- half the tnfdeAis. done which, is. usually seen , in ■autumn aiid:„winter. fabrics. . West Bidling j nrmsvoughtAat this time-to. be on 'full 1 tiltf.with the .spring' fabrics of 1915, -;but:-iri inany'jcases orders'hav'6 been reduced'toi half'..the usual size, and many are feelingAthle'.'pinoh'-bGcause they aro lunprepared to-execute Government khaki borders. A; After aA continuous' home 'trade h to r be%ref erred to -temporary or/deM;. vi'ith-ol'a.wpbssibilityij.-o'f ,;theso being knocked' off at, any. moment'.when■• the ! wardobksAlike v stopping. ,:0f course the raising of. : -;500,Q0() troops.'and;lord.,lCit'ehener eallirig.-for ■ 500,000. more,' means, tha^ ; these must.'.be-provided-with : ma-c.; iterial.suitablo' for, clothing purposes, ; ,'and.' here an explanation or the prer sent increased activity.-. for pieces. -, ; ;'■"■

A, New Development.

Nothing has given so muoh' satisfaction, in Bradford > as"; ; the War Office asking for the co-operatiori of' the lord Mayor of Bradford, who :is a:-worsted spinner, in ..the - purchase' of. 15,000. to; 20,000 pieces of bliie "serge, all for clothing Lord Kitchener's new army. Tho,war, has* demonstrated how indebted we are 'to, Germany for her analine dyes. .It'appears : that practically 75 per cent.-.of, the dye waresare of German manufacture, and of coui'je with the war all imports have stopped; A 'sudden demand'springing up for kfiaki has meant that all stocks liave been commandeered, and the few firms dyeingkhaki shades have made it plain that they cannot last out. very long, and in addition manufacturers of khaki are unable to'supply the cloth fast enough to meet the War Office's: requirements. Consequently it, has been decided- to substitute'a well-made blue worsted serge.of 200z.-weight to the -yard in place of. khaki, and-this has naturally met with considerable favour at the hands of worsted spinners and manufacturers throughout the whole of the West Riding;. All this means, that;a very-good ' fillip has; been. given to the home trade in the-ordinary worsted trade, and the business is for fabrics which quite a kost'of manufacturers canihandle. Bradford,has advocated for-a month that the Government should "consider the advisability of clothing a certain part of the army in all.worsted this is the first step in that direction. What will. it mean to ■ the whole of the West" Riding?.. It simply, means; that there has already been- liberated a. good deal of capital, and many'firms who, were'carrying stocks of thi9 very classAof blue serge have been entirely-relieved" and saved from'serious loss. ~We are glad at this latest turn of events. There will now be a steady demand.for 50's to 60's quality wools, these 20oz. serges as already said being largely, made -. out of 56*8 .quality....Possibly, it may .only-indirectly benefit 'Australia, 'but 15,000' to .20,000 pieces cannot be lifted,: and -new orders placed without benefiting the; wool trade, and providiinr the'goods are well made the Government is Aglving itself-, considerable :.latitude in taking in pieces which' are 'satisfactory' on the. heads named..'The very fact of this volume of trade being done ahd : a big amount of locked-up capital set moving, is bound to benefit materially,the wholenfj'the branches of the textile industry from wooHo the finished-fabric.

'y. . More Trade Doing. "•'",!'•'-.'■' .. As" 'already.indicated there! is certainlv:! moreidoing this week' in practically ,-all, qualities,' especially, from / 58's wards'. Merinos are still on the decline;' and we know this week.of 61's tops beirigbought at; 2s. ,3d. to 2s. Sid.,, and also 70's from 2s.'; M..: to 2s. I}L • Thore,: is also a 'little weakness in fi.no,CTOssbreds, and-even 'medium crossbreds are selling at 16Jd.' to 163 d. for 46's tops, all these qualities indicating a slight giving way, but when ■yre- come' to U's, 4&s, and 3S's prices, are'very firm indeed. Of course, this is'all dile.toSa continuance of the khaki yarn but even "apart 'from this,, we. araSsatjsfied that the' general trade of the'-jrhole country shows some • improvement, and that in a month's time, trade' will .become more general, especially in Home account.. Where Bradford,and district 'are .'feeling itthe most.is in' the stoppage of (the export yarn traded and also the shrinkage in the American trade which is largely being held'up on account of excessive'exohange rates. Still,, we .have tolisthaitkfuiforsmall mercies, 'and are satisfied that;there is tbrday more general trado doing. With a, large: demand)'for both crossbred wools"of'all; qualities.. .If,'is n.-faift that'considerable activity still-; obtains;-':, am oiig brokers.'. aridCmore sales have'.been' with dnrmgVthe.-.nast week'thaii!the', week, previous! '".ill this' is*!directl.y -traceable to : an. increase in., khaki^,'.business,-'., and. everything'-points t6 : considerable business doing-' in-/the near-future. ■'-':-,; ■ : '.x-.t (,y ' '* ' •-■..."»•■ .- '-''■;•.-.' V ; fhß, Woollon Trader-

Turning C.to's the' woollen trade' of the, West Eiding.j'we have to-.'-record' that' there is some.development in.'all branches of. . the -~-trade,. ■ more • mills .being placed on: full:time,, while there siderable overtime being worked, among khaki manufacturers.". We 1 also note that many! wholesale!. clothing firms in Leeds have received Government orders, for the making-up-of khaki, suits, all. Of which indicates"" a : steady, and developing business. ../Many firms-have :been compelled to put oh extra hands-and to;-work, full time,;and we are also glad to.know that there- is increasing evidence of !ordinary Home,-trade requirements,- expanding. : Then, apart from those engaged on War Office contracts, there is a! trifle more■ business doing, thanks to more confidence and-a general disposition to meet financial obligations. Some firms are still taking the full, advantag of the moratorium,; but ■on this- head signs_ are not wanting that more firms are disposed to meet their financial obligations, which move will be a very.-welcome one. Of course, the trade in winter fabrics has been ..largely suspended, at least manufacturers are not expecting re?: peats, but, many firms which had their orders suspended and in some cases cancelled during" the earlier stages, of the war, have now received orders to deliver, and' to go on making the now fabrics for next spring. We therefore say that there is on all'hands evidence of. 6ome , improvement in the general trade of the West Biding, and apart from those essentially engaged on export account, trade is by no,means bad. The, majority of firms in Bailey, Dewsbury, and district are all running overtime, manufacturers of khaki and blankets havinz as much on as they, can get through. The French Government has .also- placed orders in Dewsbury and H.uddersfielrt for grey army cloths, and more inquiries are on the market. We therefore say that there is distinctly, more hopefulness about.,the entire trade, and. during the week a-fair amount of. buying of raw material has been indulged in, and in some capes sensible advances ate reported for the classes which are to-tlay nrgentlr wanted to completo orders for the British -and French Governments.