YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 76, 22 December 1917, Page 13

YORKSHIRE LETTER

WOOL MERCHANTS DEMANDING MORE RECOGNITION

(From Our Special Correspondent.) m . Bradford, October 18. • T^ ore ar ° still a few items of moment to h/l j lB t ls ! uo > notwithstanding 1, iA t 0 . tate control is still nf n™?t 110 Tj -I ® entire textile industry of Gicat Britain. Wool growers in the colonies and , the largo army o£ wool people in the United States, who are still enjoying the prmlcsos of a free market realised the crippling hand of State control. All the samo it is there and in this country, right away from thi importing merchant to the manufacturer businesses where not torpedoed have been more or less crippled. Wc have only to take the large army of wool merchants as an example of'what State control really means, tlicre being hundreds of firms wlm hare done practically nothing -since'the Army, Order of last April <9, bringing nil transactions to a standstill, and comma,decring all stocks of free wool and torn That is indeed the most cruel order which has yet been issued by the Army Council and ever since there has been a good deal of discontent felt In wool circles gener' u a large number of firms should have been put out of business -it one stroke, no one has yet been able to give a Sound reason, nnd it is a fact that those affected arc still in a very dissatfs fled frame of mind. There can be no" u tification for putting out of business anyone that is lawfully engaged in buying nnd felling, and among the Fabian schem. ers of the Government, men supposed to be blessed with economical ideals which are as foundationless 'as sand, there is to-day a disposition to climb down

A Sohome to be Propounded. , The British Association of Wool Buvers is a real Jive body, and embraces all see.' lions of the wool trade. They held a meeting Inst Tuesday, the principal 'subject discussed being .tho wool merchants' position Two members of the trade have been eltet ed to represent the industry on the Xow Materials Confidential Committee and tllcy have been given a maud.ite to no to that committee and demand reasonable reorms. One of the appointed representatives frankly stated that ho taw no twpect of Londonl sales being opened (lie position of i stocks warranting no'such tiling. Even that good .service could lw rendered merchants if a scheme could be evolved to place before tlio Department showing not only the reasonableness of the wool merchants' position, but also how their services can yet be employed with advantage to the entire trade The scheme centres very largely upon a prin® ciple recognised by the Department vSich lias been granted to noil merchants Tim reader can well see that stocks now hitnely belong to tho Government, but thev !!»!!!!, worlt tl ! e scheme without tho ' co-operation of each section of tho B , e it -, said ib 11,0 credit of the naste. and noil merchants, strong onnosition oil thoir part led to certain reforms. d?strihii£» if I f tba De P nrtDll! nt will > t0 manufacturers cnwnm k ? -"" lltar y cloths what thev wMi* A- 1B - we " \ known that will u « waT sixty per cent * i i? ""orated there, will be a reasonhl? j- ? iu nc i° of ' merin ° n°'!s which will whprh bu ted through merchants Ind where these are the means of selling noils thei Department will allow thorn a comSlon . ?Ud. per lb. That is the prinanXd tn A t^ l< ? e t,l l llks ou & ht to SKJ. ri.- ?u ho hole and wliilo nnwWA f ° U|? r t 10 apply boot to wools I P rchased for military as well as civ:„an BTsn ,u tls cert^ in that 't will not - 1 ? 0 cnse °f the former. How,f WO , OI merchants can be allowed to Bra?lfm? P . ?i a th «. Distribution Office in Bradford, sell same in the ordinary channels'.,lf Department will allow }d. per 10., it ■will help to keep merchants' busiSS? eß i.t run W instead-of beine as toflay Tvitn nothing whatever^ to do.

The Supposed Cape Deal. i £j !aW ? er ? D J, sent to Kcuter from East London last Saturday Imb given rise to a good deal, of gossip in circles whero w ° ol ( s are freely dealt in. The cablegram Btated that the Congress of Cape Agricultural Associations had passed a S accep m m s the Imperial Governrnont s offer. Traders here do not know nnat to make of that announcement, and no private cables have been received so jar as we know which give any light upon . ec •' , l°°ks on the surface as il tho Agricultural Associations of Capo Colony have accepted tho Government's ofier, but nothing is said about the Farmers Association in Katal, Orange IVeo Stato, and the Transvaal. As a matter o. fact, throughout Cape Colony scores of farmers meetings have been held at which resolutions were passed refusing to accept the offer of the Government, notwithstanding that freight difficulties confront farmers. The position, therefore, of the South African clip is still very undecided. The Union Government confirmed the offer of the Imperial Government, farmers have , been requested to give a reply in thirty days, and wo d&rcssiv when news arrives by mail it will be found that a largo number accepted tho oiler. Of course, so long as tho Imperial Government controls shipping, they naturally are completely the masters of tho situation. Farmers do not like to accept. 55 Dcr cent, above 1914 prices when they are making well- over ICO per cent., and thOße, who can afford to holds their clips will make good money till tho war finishes America is reported still to bo a) buyer, so is Japan, and no doubt thev will be purchasing the best and lightest-condition-ed wools. The whole question is, therefore, one of uncertainty, but everything indicates that a large number of farmers will bo prepared to accent the Government's offer.

■ More Covernmant Orders. It now transpires that a lot more military orders are to be given out gn behalf of our Allies. Everything; indicates the placing of considerable business for our own Government. It was known sonn weeks ago that the Portuguese Government was placing considerable quantities of blue serge, a 270z. cloth made from all woollen yarns. This fabric only contains 45 per cent, of crossbred wool, the other part of the blend being composed of noils and garnnUed thread waste. Such a. fabric as this -will absorb big weights of stuff because too .varus are spun thick, in addition, 'here is to be a Belgian tunio cloth made, but here a. worsted warp ia used, tho woollen wefl. being-made of 51) per cent, of low New Zealand ccutoiiings, and 50 per cent, of old tunic khaki sorgo niungo. The whole business is a hugn affair, and while Prance and Italy are providing tor their own troov, there ara still a considerable number of looms engaged on Russian khaki. All the same there soem* lo be more work offering on behalf of our Allies-than the ordinary man has any conccption of, and with there being such a lnrge number to provide for, including under-clothing, the spinning of hosiery yarns, shell cloths, and the like, it is really remarkable that supplies are kept tip as well as they are.

Prospeols of Full Timn for Mills. There arc some who seems to think that 'the day ia not- very'far distant when all mills instead of working 50 hours per week as at present, will be allowed lo work a lull week, which is 55j horn. This ia entirely due 'to there being so much military work offering, particularly to woollen firms. Worsted spinners seem finite ablo to deal with (ill the deipands which arc being made upon them, the crux of tno whole nuestion being the output of woollen mil'?. The Department has -no medium crossbred wool to ofiler to the civilian .trade. all arrivals still being wanted for army purposes. At the same time a larger, use is being mado of noils, wastes, and tho different by-productn of the trade, and therefore everything indicates that woollen ..mills are going to be allowed to go full time.