YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 183, 23 April 1918, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

MANUFACTURING SUPPLIES

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

ln ' Bradford, February 14. , The trade has acoieu a tigimi victory in its recent agnation by tlic acccpiahle at>u practical statement matte by the -Director of ltaw Materials. Sir Arthur Golumich is to 06 couipiiinuuteil on taking tnc tr.mu into his coinjaeuce, ,iina teiung us tno actual wool position. It bubatautiqtM to the very letter all that wo have written during the past three months, and although at tunes we' havi: itud unpalataoie •things to say regarding me Department's nit'liiods, nouiiug Uas t»en statca that was not actually true, succeeding e\'ents proving that tno attitude we took was tho right one. All we have stuck out lor lias bceu a frank statement u* fact, and we are in a position to say tnat Sir Arthur Goldfinch has made the statement m response to tne entreaties of the ablest men in tho trade, the object being to allay the fears of the trade. This has become an accomplished fact, and we nre glad to know that whnt has been told the industry has proved to be most i-jceptable. The Statistical Position. • The ''Verdun'' of me wool trade during paoi. luoiuiib i.as cciu.cd uiuUnu tne queotion ot wool suvyiius, anu wnat we were s.oiu to sayj what me recent Ltiiaus ot btocK luvcaied nns occn moio limn connruieu by ine statemeut of lne director ol itaw Materials. Alter rcterring to tne members of. the ttaw Wool committee being lumisned witu lull aetails of the census tlgures oi June HI, winch uuu ijcl'O tlioroualily exaiuined uy tne representatives of tne trade, Sir Artnur Golttnnch uealt witu the census taken last December 31, wlncn was then being uioroughJy examined uy the statistical Committee. That is as it snould be. Summmg up the census, he mane the following bigmncant remark: "TaKen as they stood, the census 'figures were certamlj reassuring, anu the quantities oft. wool now afioat were also very satisfactory." Wo were in a position to state last week the' last census showed au increase in raw material supplies compared with last June 30V. under tne heads of wool, tops, .and noils, that being a vital,sourcc of strength to the entire textile industry. The wnuii: trade has heard enough of the ory, of shortage lor the past two months, and no doubt inspired statements have been made in the Press all with a. view of caysing spinners and manufacturers to. putt down the blinds of depression and take on a tit of blues. But for the opposition of a certain section of the Press, who Know better, the entire trade would have been enveloped in pessimism, and those' in the know have all along refused to ac : copt suoh a verdict, .or to assume .such-a false attitude. It is quito true tlier.e is a shortage of combing wools, due to the prodigal use of these in the woollen trade where >sliortcr stapled and poorer wools could have been used, but in the aggreZatc, wool supplies are exceedingly satisfactory, and there i 6 no immediate cause tor any, alarm. In fact, Sir ChaVles Sykes stated at the last.. Board of Control meeting that there-were then 5i months' supplies of wool oh hand, clothiug wools predominatiiiE. If he had been *niore generous and stated that fully seven months' supplies were in tho'country he would have been nearer tho mark. In the meantime a new British clip will be shorn, thus guaranteeing sufficient raw material for thp spindles* and looms of Great Britain right Ito the end of 1918. This we say regardless oft. all, arrivals of colonial wools, and if the officials of the Department have acted as the writer urged them'as far back as-last September and October, adequate provision • would have been made for bringing Home combing merinos and crossbrcds, which are esscntjal for military purposes. . i Likelihood of Shipments Being Cut Down.

At an Important, annual meeting of ono of the trade associations held in Brad- ] ford n. fortnight ago, the chairman made the emphatic statement that there were certain members of the Army Council who utrongly maintained that there was too much wool in the country—a very fine commentary on the recent cry .-of shortage. This, we understand, is to take practical shape,. Mir Arthur Goldfinch tellfiig his audience n. week ago that tho trade .must "take into account the possibility o[ tho programme of wool ship/ ments being severely needed." , We are not at all surprised at this emphatic statement, although he Assured those present that this "would not render the position dangerous in respect of clothing wools, of .which stbeks were very , large, indeed. He felt it necessary to-point out, however, that as regards combing wools, "a condition of scarcity already exists, and any interruption in the flow of shipments would undoubtedly cause a serious 'difficulty." We aittach more importance to. thaL statement than any previously made, for it shows clearly enough what is the \ actual position. For the traMe to find j itself with, a surfeit of short clothing; wools arid a shortage of combing supplies clearly indicates a lack of business aptitude on the part of some responsible i person, and with there being such huge j quantities of combing wools fo'r military purposes, those responsible for this section of State control ought to have considered it their first duty to cable- instructions to Australia' to ship, say, 75 per cent, of combing wools and the balance faulty clothing parcels. Standard Cloth Scheme. 1 The whole matter of standard cloth production has 'lately received considerable attention,-and it is patent that thisphase of control; will continue till the war fin-j ishes. There are those who contend that standard cloths ; are the outcome of prices being forced up unduly in the civilian trade, and that tt-he Department has begun to make a, number of standard articles to got rid of the "off-sorts" of its stock end . also- for providing the million 1 with something good yet. reasonable in price. A good deal of sympathy can be oppressed with Sir Charles Sykes in his endeavours to provide the rank and file J with an acceptable garment, but it 1 seems i t-o us very unlikely that the whole populace can be supplied with standard articles of wear, and that It will interfere very little with tho ordinary civilian trade. A little chaiige has come over the situation in one important particular. It was decided some monthß. ago to mako a dual-purpose cloth, the object being to produce a fabric suitable for wear both j by the rank and. file'of the army and the ordinary civilian. ■" The idea was to mafce this • fabric in, the ' grey, that is, in the undyed state, so that wlien. the war showed signs of finishing this cloth need not he dyed khaki, but could he dyed biack. blue,' or any slvade desired. In view -of the possibility-of a considerable number of looms standings work for which is provided by combs, audi worsted spindles, it has now beeti decided to produce foulmillion yards of blue worsted, and a, very good move it Is.. This means that a standards fabric can be made wftich will provide a lot, of work for worsted spindles and' looms,- because tho woollen trade Is busy enough and really una'nio to deal with more standard woollen fabrics. This worsted serge vail prove an acceptable addition to the list of standard cloths, and supply.-national needs. ' Hugs Army Orders. An official document has been Issued to the Preßs showing the Quantities of army cloths ordered since August 4. 1914, to December 20, 1917, and it makes very interesting reading. There have been ordered no'fewer than 110,836,000 pairs of worsted socks, 63,832,1)00 yards of cloth for jackets, 40,074,000 vards of cloth for trousers, 31,309.000 yards of cloth for greatcoats, 150,248,000 yards of flannel for shirts, 16,712,00(1 pairs of woollen glora. This shows ,on what a large scale provision has liad to be made for keeping the armies of Great Britain and her Allies well supplied with warm clothing materials.