YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 259, 29 July 1919, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

PHENOMENAL PRICES FOR COMBED WOOL (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, Juno 5. It is not too much to say that nil sections of the trade arc looking to the futuio with more or less concern. The question of supplies does not loom very lurjjii i.i the minds of many, the possibility of being able to get wool thi'uugh the different processes of nlanufacture being paramount to-day. Perhaps there wero nevi-r more steamers afloat bringing wool from Australia, Now Zealand, and South Africa to Great Britain, the recent announcement of Sir Arthur Goldfinch that bv Hie end of'the year thorn would bo nearlv three million bales landed in English ports surprising everyone. And yet the prospect of bis supplies_ tins so fur had no effect upon the pusitoin of prices. AVo are face to face to-day with an unparailel level of values, no 0110 can say what tops arc rcnllv worth, and it has been said with considerable truth th-it a man to-day could mate hisown prico if ho could guarnnteo the delivery of (U's tops within a week. It is common gossip on Bradford Exchange that !)s. per lb. has been paid for Gl'.s-70's tops, and 110 surprise is expressed at that. It is not to-day n question of price, but being able to lay- one's hands upon the semi-manufactured ai tide, and productij.i i; apparently of far more importance than the price question. This has never been known in the wool textile trade for tho past fifty years, and what is going to oe done in the future to satisfy export demand is a problem which will have an important effect in the future.

Higher Wages and Smaller' Output. The wool combers of Bradford liavo had another sensible advanco added to their wages, and thoy aro to-day receiving more money per week than, was ever know.i before. It was high time that the voekly wago of tho wool-combing operatives met with considerable reform, for that section of the trade was undoubtedly the worst paid of any. Those who work for ten hours on end in an atmosphere at which tho thermometer stands at 90 degrees, deserve to be well paid. Thank . goodness the days when women were receiving 12s. per week and men workers on tho night turn about 20s. to 245. are a thing of tho past. Today 'hey are receiving in tho neighbourhood of 50s. per week, and that is nono too much. Tho crux of the question lies not so ninth in wages as the output, and one regrets that hero thero is room for considerable complaint. A responsible member of the wool section of tho Government remarked to tho writer last week: that the lessened output of tho merino combs in Bradford was equal to eighteen hours per week. That statement mav appear to bo a little complicated to the average reader. What tho speaker meant was that tho lessoned output of the comlß to-day in tho merino senior, was so serious as to amount to a further working of eighteen hours per week in order to reach tho total output when women as well as won wero working sot hours per week. Of course, this lessened output affects both tho day and the night turn, for commission wool -combers reckoned twenty-four hours per day as being an average working week. Of course thero are two shifts, it does not need the wisdom of a Solomon to seo that before the ' output of six months ago is equalled there will have to bo'a sensible augmentation of new machinery, a problem which cannot be solved before months, if not years, elapse. All this is lending to cripplo the industry, and is bound to seriously affect tho ivool trade right away from the raw material 'to the finished fabric.

' ■ Tops Scarce. The natural outcome of the above is that tops are exceedingly scarce, and likely tu be. Tlic-ra are topmakers in Bradford who will not sell a single lb. of top lor delivery this side of next November, and some havo closed their books entirely. This certainly is an important iactor, and one liiat is going to becomo more serious ao lime goes on unless more individuals can bo found to mind combs, lc is an ascertained fact that tho men who havo been used to working in this department and who have been demobilised cannot lie induced to return to thoir old occupation. Tiny havo had a tasto of outdoor life, they know the pleasure of being in tho open air, and lmve derived considerable physical benefit therefrom, hence they prefer the lot of a common labourer at Is. sd. per hour, rather than.go into a broiling mill and receive a smaller weeidy wage. Then, too, an Act of Parliament allowing women to work on tho night turn has been revoked, and this also crippling tho industry btill further. The reader will therefore see that there is bound to be a lessened output oi tops, and in their great struggle to keep their frames running, spinners are prepared to pay any price, providing they get tops into their spinning rooms. The French Trade. News from if'rance indicates that more spuming machinery is being got to work, and there is every prospect of a larger demand ior wool i\t no diotunt unto. JJUs certainly is very sucisiaciury; long may it continue. Tins also uupiiesthuc more coniuing machinery is coming inco operation, and beloro long Kruiiee must become a -keener competitor in th(> markets oi tne world for colonial wools us well as South American. This is as it should be. 'mere is in signt enougli -wool to satisfy die whole oi the machinery ot our Allies. ana the fact of mere being an Antwerp sale, witli provision niacin lor export licenses to be obtained,_ indicates tnat Hven Antwerp is limiting a bid for outside i/jmpetition. - it is too eany as yet to tnon- wluit is going to be <tone by Great iiritain and -her Allies to Germany iiiiii Austria. But the writer maintains that 'tho Central wnpires can no m6rc bo denied raw materials ciian wo can uo without simsliino and l'resh air. Germany and Austria having once signed tlie> peace terms must lie allowed a lair W<ii»nt Of wool in order Vo earn something with which to meet their indemnities and therefore Germany must ultimately becomo a competitor, and portant one coo. \Vo believe that. what Germany will be allowed to take w lie coarse qualities, the better wools all being reserved for Grent Britain ..nd her Allies, in which America is bound to play an important part. Allotting feats.' This matter has been considered by the British Wool Federation as it re ttteai to tho seats occupied by buyers al t he London sales; It is a lact that some ol the largest buyers have no front scat, ana complain bitterly that they have osu a accordingly. Tliei'o is no doubt that anyone occuping a seat on the three fiont benches stands a far better chance ot commanding tl.'c attention of tuo auctioneer'when bidding than those sitting further back. This matter came tip lor consideration at a meeting of the British Wool Federation last Monday, when strong representations wero decided upon and reforms strongly urged. It is high timo that both selling brokers and buyers' representatives had a conference and discussed this important mutter. There is room for relonn, although curtain firms are bound to Tie olTended when they are asked to leave their" present snug positions, and allow linger firms to occupy their seats. This is not hitting at anybody, but is simply an expression of desire to let the law of cause and effect opcr.ate as-it always should. Then, toe, one wonders wliero the German contingent will sit whon they reassemble in Coleman Street Wool Exchange. There are bound to bo many new faces from tho Fatherland, and they will never be allowed preferouco over British, French, Italian, and American buyers. Surety it is useless on the part of any selling broker with a German clientele to urge their claims for a front-rank position. They should bo called upon to occupy a secondary position, and preference be given to tliosc whose friends or relatives havo fougnt and died to maintain the integrity of the world awl. the frasdom of humanity.