COMFORT IN HOME AND OFFICE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2420, 27 March 1915, Page 18

COMFORT IN HOME AND OFFICE

I BRITAIN'S LEAD IN BUILDERS' | HARDWARE .If there is one line in which it pays to buy goods of quality it is in builders' hardware. Nearly everybody lias experienced ■ tho constant irritation of doors with defective catches that have to be banged and slammed three or four times belore they will stay shut, and too late one often realises the folly of saving a few shillings at the outset to endure a continual nuisance. Mr. AVm. M. Page, in the course of conversation with a Dominion representative, had somothing to say of his experience in this connectioy. "I have no hesitation," said Mr. Page, "in stating that in the twenty years or so during which I have been connected with the profession bf architecture I have never specified nor used any hardware which was not of British manufacture. ' By hardware I mean door locks and furniture, window fittings and mountings, bolts, latches, stair- and curtain-rods, and brackets, and all the various iron, steel, and brass ware required in building. . I have always avoided foreign-made goods, not only from patriotic motives, but from a firm conviction that the British-made article is superior and more satisfactory in every way. lii the Old. Country it was easy to avoid foreign-made goods, but on coming 'to New Zealand I found American-made locks and door furniture very extensively stocked and used. My introduction to them took the form or a bad cut back of the liand tvhich I received in closing a 3oor, owing to faulty design in the lock and furni--1 tjire. Since then I hove "had- manv skinned .knuckle's, despite the caro I have exercised in opening and shutting doors which had American fittings. This defect in design is characteristic "of very many American locks of average value, and one. can only suppose that a superfima attractiveness, has been the reason of their extensive use. The fact that they did not long- remain in good order <nid that lock or unlock a door required infinite patience did not seem to militate against their use. Folly Of Inferior Goods. "I cannot but admit that there must be much good work dono in America for special purposes, but as far as my experience goes tho_ hardware exported Britain and this country is inferior lo British-mado goods, and there is no good reason for its use. There is nothing so irritating as to have poorlymade locks and badly-designed door furniture in a liouso or other building, and it is to bo hoped that in the future there will bo less foreign hardware imported into the country. Indeed, I have reason to believe that already there has been.a very large reduction in tho imports of American hardware. Since the outbreak of wdv, tho stocks of foreign goods have not been renewed, and a visit to-day to the : large hardware houses in Wellington would probably reveal the fact that.'there were comparatively few goods on the shelves which were not- of British manufacture. 'Germany and Austria Export a large quantity of this class of goods. The annual value was recently put at over a million and a quarter. : Germany's best customer was llussia, ' and only about £76,000 worth went to Britain. Very little German building hardware finds its way into •this country, but it is interesting to note that the'two. patterns, of gate latches, which aro almost universally used in this district—if not in New Zealand—are both German made. Thoy are both very paltry in design and make, and it should not, be difficult to find a better British-made article.' Cerman Electrical Supplies. "Electrical goods and fittings form a large item amongst the German exports to Britain, tho annual 'value of these, being set down at no less than £900,000. A considerable quantity comes to New. Zealand, but the* absence of. these, as of other classes of goods ( from our markets'in the future need not be.a matter for regret. Neither in design nor workmanship are they to be preferred to Home-made goods. The same applies to incandescent lamps, tho manufacture of which affords employment to thousands ,of workers in Britain, and I fancy it will require something more than the promise of reduced lighting bills to induce us to use any other than British-mado lamps. "My acquaintance with German electric light fittings has been very limited, but those I have seen did not strike mo as being particularly commendable. Indeed, they have always appeared to me as if thfe designer' had striven too much to produce something very- original, and there was too much design;'and too little .metal, the result bejng merely fantastic. ' Tliey are certainly never used in .good /Work at Home,' and only to a limited extent in this country. A very largo quantity of glass shades for electric fitting's comes from Germany, and whilst these aro cheaper than those of British make;-they are inferior in quality and finish. Instead of. saying 'cheaper' I ought to say 'of less value for. the money' than British glassware; "With regard to baths, wash-hand basins, and other sanitary fittings British manufacturers stan® pre-emin-ent. America makes some fine goods of this class, but they are imported into Great Britain only to a very limited extent, and to t'liis country not at all, as far as I know. In this direction Britain lias never been challenged; she took the lead in sanitary science. and 1 has always maintained it, and is now likely to make her position stronger by capturing' certain neutral markets hitherto supplied by Germany and Austria. Germany's exports of these goods to all countries amount to about fifty-seven thousand pounds, while Britain's exceeds this total by about half a million sterling. . • "American bituminous goods, such as damp-proof sheeting, flooringj and roofing materials, felt and sheathing, have been very largely used in this country. Dealers, however, have awakened to the fact that there are makers in Britain who are only too anxious to- supply our markets with goods of better quality and at similar prices, and Wellington houses aro already or- | dering largely front Home in preference to foreign countries. British Superiority Tested.' "In roofing and wall and floor tiles, in paints and wallpapers, British-made goods have stood the test of time, and demonstrated their superiority to all others. In certain cases where largo supplies of raw materials have hitherto been drawn from foreign countries, there may be delay and .inconvcnienco till new sources of supply arc arranged for, but the. present opportunity of greatly extending the markets for Brit-ish-made goods will certainly be very freely taken advantage of. It is estimated that the annual .value of tho exports of builders' supplies by Germr.ny and Austria reaches the huge total of nineteen millions sterling. British manufacturers may Jie depended upon to secure a large, share of this trade. • "There is certainly nothing that is necessary to building which cannot- bo found within the British Empire, and tho countries of friendly nations, and ,we may trust the British makers to .sustain their world-wido reputation. British goods bear the hall-mark of reliability, and are unequalled anywhere. Tho proof of that is the eagerness with which tlie.v are sought tho world over when quality is desired. For ordinary everyday work and uso I believe the British manufacturers give bettor quality and value than any others, and there arc at Homo many guilds and craftsmen actuated by the .highest motives and working with sound traditions behind, them, and whose- work is unrivalled' unywhera ill i tho whole world."