TIMBER INDUSTRY.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1924, Page 1

TIMBER INDUSTRY.

EXISTENCE OK KING DENIED,

WKLI.IXOTOX, July 0

Exception was taken to recent stiitemeuts appea.ring in the press, by Mr Arthur Seed, secretary of the Dominion Federated Sawmillcrs’ Association. NOT A PRIC K-JTXING IjODY.

In tile < : oitrr-e of an interview with a •■’limes” representative yesterday, -Mr Seed said that in the first place he wanted to make it quite clear that the federation was tun a "ring” in the meaning conumjnly assigned to that term. It wits not a price-fixing body, "or had it any *ny ot - influence whatever in respect to the price of timber. Prices were fixed, from time to time by tin l diflereiil hire,., sawmills and by district millers’ associations. The Dominion association looked after tin? larger issues, such as legislation, "ages, etc., which were for the heuelit ”i the whole industry, but was in no sense a selling or price-fixing orgnnisn-

WEST (.OAST AND NORTH ISLAND. In show that l here was no actual combination at the present time, i! was only necessary to point out that prices mi the West Coast were materi-

ally different from those of the North l laml. and compel ition from the coast was being severely fell by the North Island millers. It was no les- untrue to say Hint there was an understanding between I lie federation find tile limber merchants in Wellington as the term •'limber ring” would suggest.

DMAI.INO 1)11!I'lGT WITH Ill'll. DKRS.

”1 wi-li furt her to dilfer emphatically from ilie well-known local builder in respect In the value of the trade being done direct from the country mills to the eily bnibb'l'c.” cool lined -Mr Seed. ”T here i- certainly a very eon.si.bwabie trade being .lone in this

Way al the present time as an examination ol the trucks nt the railway siding on almo.-t any day would show. There are quite a uumlu r oi country mill- which do tin’s trade alone, and which ai'e specially e(|uipped with drying yards and dressing plain to eater for this particular trade.” •N'Oi' IT I K SMALL .MILLS.”

It was certainly not the smaller and weaker mills alone which were engaged ill this trade, nor only the linassociuled mills. Most of those he had in mind were memhers of the federation. As a matter of fact, the liuancially weak mills were almost invariably tied either to one of the timber inerehaaja or to one of the more import ant builders. Where, a- was stated, they were ut niggling for oxiiesiiee. and disposing of i heir product, with diliieulty ibis phase oi Hie matter was not governed in any way by prices or affected by tlie federal ion. but by the fact that the small mills were usually so iflequipped as to be unable to manufacture a good article. TIM I>IdII I’K I ( 'EM.

A- regards the statement mad, a bmu the l i 111 1 ■' •»• price-, il was inn

correct In say llial prices were lising steadily every six inoiilhs. Within the last few years prices laid fallen \erv eoiisiderably. and were not yi*l back to Ihe level at. which they stood in P..JH. For ■■■> tame. for (bit.

limn, which was the bulk line of tin* mill- output, the price was reduced in 1!>22 |mm Is- ii,| mi trucks at the mill lo Ids lid. am! that price slid obtained. There had been no alleralion in prices between Dei ember I’Jtli, 1D22. and June g'-tii. Bl2lh There had been recently a rise in the price of clean and dressed heart, and this was due to the fact that ihere was an inordinate demand for tin? highest grades of timber, and the lower grades were accumulating at the mills. Consequently, it was necessary lliat there was an inordinate demand for those high grade timbers. The increase in price alfeeled only about IT per cent to Hi per cent of the product of the mills.