OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2776, 20 May 1916, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

THE TROUBLE OF THE TRADE (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, Alarcli 30. It is not often that booming times produce much contention in the wool trade, but the present abnormal situation, has given rise to considerable discussion over tho question, of payment, for wool, delays in transit, and tho general difficulties which nre being experienced in handling raw material. A large ami influential meeting- of wool men was held last Monday at th/s Victoria Hotel, Bradford, when these matters received very seriouo consideration, and tho spirit of fight was shown. Tlwro are naturally two sides to all questions, ami will try in the drst place to put the case for the London end of tho trade. It is never wiso to bo one-sided, hence the importers and sellers feel that they have no right to be blam«l for matters over which they havo no control. The Importers' Cass. For tho past eighteen months delays in delivery have got worso, at least np to three months, ago things were chronic. The congestion at the docks was almost past description, while at tho np-town warehouses things were certainly a little better. During the past two or three months the Port of London Authority havo steadily and effectively solved the congestion, and to-day things are working much nioro 6moothly than they were. The authorities are now in a position to give delivery of wool' that has been fraught by public auction when called Upon to do so, and therefore they say that whatever delays there may be, it does not take place, at their end, the railway. companies and general carriers alone being responsible for any delay there is in calling for the wool and delivering same at its ultimate destination. That, is tho case of .the importers and the sellers. They contend that so long as they are not responsible for wool remaining on hand, and they can give delivery at the entl of seventeen days from the' day it is bought, they should not be requested to extend the day of payment, or even delivery. ' The Case of the Buyers. This aspect of the question is being disputed by the Colonial Wool Buyers' Association, together with the members of the British . Association of Wool' Buyers, this body ap'pointing a committee, con-sisting-of wool merchants, wool brokers, and wool buyers, which t has interviewed 1 the Transit Committee of the.London end of the trade, 'j'lie president 'of the association, Sir. William Rayner, fully explained the grievances of wool-buyers stating that they had to fulfil their obligations by way of paying for wool bought nt public auction in fourteen days or become defaulters.' The conditions of sale and ■ regulations had been made on a peace footing, and the conditions which obtain in times of peace were not applicable to the present situation. Often on the 13th or 14th day after the wool hacl Wen. bought in London lie said they'had to ask for their invoices, hence how in the world could the warehouse-keepers and the Port of London Authority expectthem to have. the wool removed out of the warehouse at the end of. the 17th clay, and particularly when railway companies refused for nearly a week on end to carry wool at . all. A large topmaker in Bradford, and a very, tig direct importer as well, mentioned the fact that, on thirty bales of wool bought last January 22 and paid for at the end of the 14th day, they . had had an account rendered for <£3 13s. as extra . dock charges, though they requested that wool to.bo sent forward to Bradford 'on the day of payment. Buyers strongly contend that there is not sufficient-time now to . receive invoices, pay same,' und get wool away from the various warehouses in the fourteen days allowed for payment, and the seventeen days of free rent. They contend that tli-o- conditions which obtain in Australia should obtain in London, and if the various railway companies cannot take the wool that' is offered them, they think- that a more reasonable time ought to be allowed .before excessive rents are charged, and if wools aro.. token, staged and stored for the convenience of the Port of London Authority or warehousekeepers, then buyers ought not to be charged; days have elapsed; At a time- like 'the "present, when' tilings are-so abnormal;'- buyers strongly' maintain that-other sections of the trade ough't to bear a reasonable share of the extra charges which are not attributable to them, but caused by the abnormal eon-'' ditions which obtain on tho railways and elsewhere.

Tho whole matter now ivill iiavo to he fought out between representatives of buyers and thoso responsible for handling wool in London.' No doubt a strong ense can bo made out by the two ends of the trade, and it appears as if a little give and take will havo to be iudulgcd in by both sides of the 'trade. It certainly will 1m foolish if tilings come to . a crisis, a series of sales coma along,' and there is a deadlock.' Every member present at last Monday's meeting signed a declaration to abide- by the resolution \passe<l to use every means to enforce buyers' claims,' hence it looks as if trouble lies ahead. Many 'buyers expressed 'the '.iew that it would have been a real good thing for the trade il no series of London tales wero to tako place until after Easter,but the Importers' Conimitteo meeting on, Tuesday decided that the next series ,'of sales should-begin next' Tuesday, the quantity available being about 99,000 bales. They • also decided to concede to free warehousing for seven extra days, which means 24 days from tho da'te of purchase, and payment to be as before, namely, fourteen days after purchase. This now arrangement is certainly something 'towards a settlement, and appears to be reasonable, but whether buyers will accept it remains to be se«n. The members of tho colonial section of. the trade have not yet had timo to consider fully how the land iies, bu't no doubt' full consideration will bo. given to the new., terms. ■' Somo Bradford buyers already say that the new terms willnot be accepted, and they want a full 28 days' free .storage, and somo even want a longer date before the prompt is due. The Wool Situation. Tho situation, to-day is very free of much that is really interesting to readers of this issue. Buyers are looking forward to the opening of the third series of auctions which begin next week, and many are wonderinj what will tako place. The short interval has been somewhat unsatisfactory, prices have moved to a slightly, lower -level, and the outlook for the Bales is by no means so bright as one saw in January. The absence of licenses is iuflicting the same hardship upon an important section of the trade, and the War Trade Department refusing to grant licenses, is creating a very .quiet stato of affairs. Ono cannot but feol a little -bit annoyed at this, and what is the real meaning of the withholding of permits is .a matter of conjecture. Of course, il tho wool in is all going to be wanted for Home needs, well and good, but thero is no doubt that turnover 'would bp vastly improved if ono could obtain licenses to ship. The writer is not very sanguine over the immediate couvso of values. For the time being there is certainly a plentiful supply of wool, both merinos and crossbreds, and one can foresee that the auctions will need seme outside support, which America could »ive if licenses were available. The president of the Textile Alliance who has come over to England, has this week interviewed the War Office and the War Trade Be- | partinent. Several things of interest have been talked over, hut there does not seem to bo much hope of new licenses being forthcoming, unless it be for faulty carbonising wools wnich are more plentiful. Turning to market conditions nrooer, practical}' no chango has taken place" in the market sinco last week, the-wliolo position can be described as marking t\me, with the majority of top-makers presenting a fair show of firmness in tho matter of prices. It is evident that there is no eagerness to accept further business for the timo being, particularly amonfst the largest firms, these being sufficiently well sold forward to ensure their position for a considerable time to come. Xdoubt many are already beginning to look forward to the next series of sales in London, but there cannot at tho present time be any great desire to see a new basis of values immediately established, unless it. be a more reasonable one. for the congestion is already very great and taking the buying section of the trade as a whole, there is no evidenco of sreat eagerness to accept further responsibility by buying further weights of wool! The result is,that at the moment values are rather hanging in the balance, and thero need be little surprise if the forthcoming auctions aro postponed.