Restoring Prosperity

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LII, Issue 37, 8 May 1931, Page 5

Restoring Prosperity

_ ■». _-_^^_ i i „. Unemployment Problem USING DOMINION GOODS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD The Christehurch Unemployment Committee has arranged a conference for next Monday evening to consider th|e question of taking steps to foster Dominion industries and promote the purchase of goods manufactured in this country, as a means of permanently solving the unemployment problem. The letter printed below, sent by Mr P. R. Climie, secretary of the Committee, was considered by the Ellesmere Lands Drainage Board at its meeting this week, the proposal receiving the Board's wholehearted support. Two delegates were appointed to attend the conference.

"One of the reasons is that our shops are stocked to a very large extent with foreign manufactured goods and that these goods are being pushed instead of those made in the Dominion," said Mjr F. Coop. The chairman (Mr R. M. D. Morten) : You contend that the retailers are not doing as much as they should to push the sale of our own manufac- j tures ? i Mr Coop: Yes. "I see that the first question reads, 'Is there anything wrong with New Zealand-made goods," said the chairman. " Mr Coop said he did not think there was anything wrong with New Zealand made goods, but possibly people expected too much from them. His own experience was that Dominionmade tweeds did not look as well nor did they wear as well as English tweeds. The same applied to footwear. "Are they too high in price as compared with goods made in other countries?" was the next question read by the chairman. "That is a big question to answer," commented a member. "I have not worn anything but New Zealand made suitings, and I have found them quite satisfactory," said Mr F. Miller. "I wouldn't wear imported materials," he added. Mr Coop: I am afraid that most of us are liable to purchase goods without considering whether they are Dominion made or not. I wouldn't wear anything but English tweeds. Mr H. J. Macartney instanced the case of ammunition. The importers of one well known brand of cartridges had to pay a duty of £74 2s 3d on every £100 worth of cartridges imported. On top of hat they had to pay 12 per cent bank exchange, then freight, insurance and landing charges, amounting in all- to probably over 100 per cent., yet those cartridges were being sold at much about the same price as ammunition made in New Zealand, which had no such heavy charges to meet. He could not see that such an industry deserved the shelter it was receiving. "I think the trouble is mainly apathy on the part of most people," said Mr Coop." We need to sink our own ideas and think more about the question of what it would mean to the country as a whole if a far greater proportion of Dominion-made goods were purchased." Mr Coop mentioned a case where a man had gone to a shop to purchase an ear-marking outfit and had been shown one of foreign make. He had then gone to another place and had one made at about half the price asked for the foreign article. The instance served to indicate that local manufacturers were not doing as much as they might do to meet the demand, and that retailers themselves were rather indifferent to the importance of stocking and pushing the sale of New Zealand manufactures. Mr H. Pickering mentioned having entered a shop to purchase a certain article. First he had been shown one of German and then one of American make, and after declining to purchase both a locally made article had been produced which he thought quite satisfactory and purchased it. j "Take ploughshares, for instance," said Mr Miller. "Those made in this | country are very inferior."

HUGE SUM SPENT ON IMPORTS. The letter read as follows:— _ "Thousands of men and women are unemployed in New Zealand at present, factories are working slack time, machinery is idle—a great waste of labour and capital. Huge sums are being spent in relief work which, ' however useful it may be, is not getting us any nearer to a permanent solution of our difficulties. At the j same time, we are importing hun- I dreds of thousands of pounds' worth of goods that can be cheaply and efficiently manufactured in our own country. We have the men, money and machinery for this work. "Is it not better to have our own people permanently employed at their i own trades instead of seeking employment at so-called relief work? Is it not better to have our factories working at their utmost capacity, our skilled operatives engaged full time, land opportunities provided for abjsorbing into useful channels the thousands of youths who have passed through our primary and post-pri-mary schools, have learned useful trades and now cannot find employment ? The tragedy of the unemployment of our capable young men and women is one of the most serious aspects of the present situation. Surely the solution of the problem is to develop our local manufacturing industries. Therefore we want answers to these questions: — 13 there anything wrong with New Zealand-made goods? Are they inferior in quality or too high in price as compared with goods made in other countries? Does the fault lie with the manufacturers themselves? Are their methods of production wrong ? Is there preventable waste and inefficiency ? Does the fault lie with our mer- | chants, our retailers, our salesmen? Are they failing to do their best to | push the sale of New Zealand made j goods ? Does the fault lie with the consumers? Have they prejudices against the products of our own local industries? "The Christchurch Unemployment Committee is convening a conference to discuss these and similar questions bearing on the restoration of business prosperity. The conference will meet in the Chamber of Commerce Hall, Christchurch, next Monday, at 7.45 p.m. The subject is of the utmost importance and we need the co-oper-ation of primary producers, manufacturers, merchants, shop-keepers, wage-earners and all sections of the community to assist in a big concerted move to lift this country out of its present economic depression." THE PROPOSAL DISCUSSED. Mr J. Sharp said that the movement should have the Board's wholehearted support. If means could be found of increasing the demand for Dominion-made goods it would certainly be a big step on the way to a solution of the unemployment problem, which was so serious a matter for the whole country. There must be reasons why foreign and imported goods generally were being used to such a great extent in preference to those manufactured in New Zealand.

The chairman: An imported share is worth three of them. Mr Sharp said that the position was the same with castings. The chairman said that as far as he was concerned he always had a leaning towards New Zealand goods first and then goods made in England, but sometimes one reached a point where one could not afford to purchase eith-' er, because the foreign article was so markedly superior. "New Zealand or English made goods for me every time, provided the quality and value are somewhere near those of the foreign article," he added. Mr Coop expressed the opinion that the time had arrived when a campaign, backed by good advertising, should be launched throughout the Dominion, stressing the importance of j purchasing locally made goods. Such a campaign should be thoroughly or- j ganised. He believed that the results would more than warrant the effort and financial outlay. Upon the motion of Messrs Coop and W. Downey, the chairman and secretary (Mr James Mackenzie) were appointed the Board's representatives to the conference to be held next Monday. The chairman expressed the hope that any other members who could i make it convenient to do so should i also attend.