YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 149, 19 March 1919, Page 10

YORKSHIRE LETTER

CLOSE VOTE ON WOOL PURCHASE QUESTION

(From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, December 24, 1918. Tho second meeting of tho Wool Council held this week turned out to bo n vei'v striking event, for some important matters came up for consideration!' The chief subject discussed was whether tho YV-u- Office should take steps to purchase the next British clip. This has been talked about for weeks. It vitally affects tiie entire industry, for tho home-grown clip is too large to bo ignored. ]t has fillod many a vital need during the past four years of war; in fact, if there had been no home-grown' clip to draw upon, tho textile industry of Great Britain wo-ild have been in a very tight corner indeed. The writer has previously ventu/sd the opinion that our domestic wools have been rediscovered. There are doz»-is of spinners and -manufacturers who in the past years havo looked upon British wools with feelings of dislike. Blinded by prejudice they have refused to tako this. class of raw materia!) but h.v.-i.'ig been compelled to uso them, their prejudice has been broken down. In future spinners will be more disposed to look with favour ,upon home-grown wools then the,' were in prc-wor days. Domestic wools have not the samo soft hand'ling properties as New Zealand crossbreds but when all is said and done tho f.v;t must not. bo overlooked that thoy are the foundation of the great crossbred trade of Australasia and South America. Of course, the dash of merino blood in colonial crossbreds, together with a softer and milder climate, is responsible for the somewhat softer handle and rather better spinning property of the lattas, Weiflht of British-Grown Wools. The Director of Wool Supplies has madn a very enlightening statement to the Central Advisory Committee, and it appears that the total weight of fleece wool purchased by the Department in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales from tho commencement of the scheme until December 8, 1918,- was 278,433,0001b. Tho present stocks of wool unallotted were 23,757,M01b., and to these must be added 763,C001b. estimated still to 1m tak'm no in England, Scotland, and Wales, and also any further quantity to 1)9 nuichased in Ireland. Out of tho total quantity allotted, 239,867,0001b. (or 94 per cent.) had actually been invoiced and delivered. Of Hie -total allotment 82 per cent, had been for topmaking, direct Government' contracts, . controlled standard civilian goods, mid essontial machinery cloths. Tho remaining 18 per cent, included' a proportion of inferior wools not.suitable for essential require-, m-jnts. this small proportion having been is'sued for civilian consumption without price restrictions. " Sir Arthur Goldfinch referred to the purchase of the 1919 British clip, and pointed out thnt the quantity of wool required foi military purposes in future would be comparatively small. The circumstances of to-day wore therefore very diermit from those that had existed inprevious years. If the Department pnrcimsnd tlie 1919 clip it would.be for result', not for their own use. Tho only possible justification for the purchase by tho Department would be if it was clonr that it was in the national interest, and wjs practically the unanimous recommendation of the" agricultural and other in-* te'rests concerned. The 1919 Clip. ■ As already stated the question of purchasing tho 1919 clip was considered, Tho chairman, Sir Arthur Goldfinch, made n very lucid statement, pointing out that, the necessity for the purchase of the next British clip for military and other Government purposes would havo almost passed, and that it would be impossible for tho Government to purchase tho next British clip except at the request of the great bulk of British sheepfarmers, and at tho price which, they considered acceptable. .That view finds most favour with tho entire industry. State control only came into, existence as" a war. measure, and hostilities having ceased, and as it will be next June before the-next British cljp.will become available, conditions by thon will be vuiv different from what they aro today. Representatives of the farmers urged Government purchase at 80 pei cent, above .1913-M prices, but any man looking . fairly at the question _ cannot but admit that such a demand is purely self-interested. Mr. Norman 1 Rae led tho nn so far as the trade is concerned in urging strongly that there was no longer any necessity to btiy.it on British. Government account. . In fact, it is an acknowledged principle.by all economist* that it is not the function of Parliament to become' traders, and with, tho war having finished there can bo no justification for a third clip being purchased bj the Imperial Government. Mr. H. Norman Ifa-f further added:—"Whatever the fair competitive prices under tho circumstances o'f the May-September season happened to be, would be the fair price which the sellers ought to accept and bnyers ought to pay, and it ought to be .left to the course of the open market to fix what those prices should be. This coiirfe was thought to be the best in tlm nat.wal interests, and the council ought not to consider tho sectional interests cither of manufacturers or wool-growers, or country merchants."

There seems to be Utile to add to Hie above quotation. It is tlie writer's con< viV.io'i that British farmers will have little to lose, if anything, by placing the (ilia on a free market. The views of the Labour members of tho Council can b& pa.*s;d over as being very largely irrelevant to the case, ami any reasonablymindul 'man can see- that "the Imperial floverument, being committed to the purchase of the Australian and New Zealand clips till Tune 30, 1920. will havens much ( on their hands as they can get rid of without .incurring. financial loss. .'l'lio best thing of all would be. for the Tmporial Government to see if their obligations towards colonial pastoralists canu.it be concluded next June 30, for the sooner we get back to pre-war conditions and a free market the better fot .oven colonial pastoralists themselves. The writer'strongly maintains that woolshould bo.sold on a free market, as Mr Bae says, "without any sectional interests either of manufacturers or woolgrowers, or merchants" being considered The voting regarding- the purchase by the British Government of the 1919 home-grown clip was so neaj (fourteen in favour of purchase and se'venteci- against) that Sir. Arthur Goldfinch said that in view of this close division "lie would request the majority and minority respectively to prepare a. "report staging the full reasons for the opinion thev maintained. These reports would be I." Id before the competent authorities together, and- equal weight would bo giv.Mi to both." South American Wool, It has been well-known for months that our supplies of crossbreds were exceedingly low; in fact, the arrivals from New Zealand have been most disappointing for nix months, and there is little prospect of any improvement for some lime to come. Here again, with the war finishing there is no longer any necessity for tho present existing Army Council order to operate against South American wools. This should be moditied so ns to encourage free importation and the regulations ns to requisition and restriction of sale and consumption canSir Arthur Uoldfinch expressed his views candidly, which cannot but meet with the mianimuus approval of the entire industry. Ho said that it was eminently desirable that a reasonable quantity of South American wool should bo imported during the next few months, provided it could be done at a reasonable, price, and the Buonos Aires market was at present quite favourable. It might make all tho difference from the employment point of view to luivo nu extra supply of 5000 tons per month between January and April, and he hoped the Council would unanimously agree to give facilities to private importers to obtain supplies of South American wool.

On the grounds of patriotism and expediency, which involve Hid interests of both tlie trade mid the workers, wo think facilities should bo grunted for the unrestricted importation of South American" wool on private account. Even 20,000 tons of B.A. crossbreds would roliovo the present aeuto situation, ami it is to bo hoped that the Army Council will view favourably such a course of action.