WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

. THE WOOL POSITION. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, June 15. The position of wool is reported unsatisfactory, but' the same can be said of other textiles. The cotton industry of Lancashire is in a parlous condition and the trade in /silk, rayon, jute and hemp are also far from satisfactory. But these are not the only commodities that are in an unsopnd

economic condition for hides find leather, wheat and sugar and most of

the base metals are lower in price than they have been. The fact appears to be that the world has entered iiporf the

period of falling prices which eminent

economists have declared to be inevitable. Every effort is being made to resist the Ihll and these efforts are

only temporarily successful. What appears to be happening the world over is that a process of readjustment is in progress to meet the changing conditions and everywhere attention is being concentrated oh reducing costs of production. This would proceed more easily and be accomplished more quickly but for the inflexibility or inelasticity of labour; that is to say labour will not contribute in any way to bringing about a reduction of costs. This was disclosed by the timber workers of Australia, who engineered the big strike which

has cost them and the country a great

deal off money, and all because they \ refused to work an additional four hours in the week, which • would bring the working hours to forty-eight per week. . ;

The prolonged and disastrous strike of coal miners in Britain was due to somewhat similar causes, and the slogan was “Not a penny off the pay, not a minute to the day.” That was they refused to consider any reduction of wage or any addition to the working hours. The miners on the Shag Valley Coal Mine in Otago refused to shljr mit to a s.per cent reduction in. frames and preferred to seethe company .’{go into liquidation and themselvfes thrown out df work. f- . . The average reduction ".suggested was 5 per cent, that, is the ..miners would be paid 19s instead df ,£1 per day. It is doubtful: whether ;such crass idiots deserve any consideration or any sympathy whatever either ,qf the State or the public. The old slogan was “Half a loaf is better than no bread,” but the muddle-headed leaders of labour have induced the woykerg to adopt the vicious slogan of “All .or nothing” and a great many workers are getting nothing. ' , To revert to wool the position is obviously unsatisfactory. At all the London wool sales held so far this year wool prices have been depressed. There has been an acute depression since the close of March, owing to the dragging retail character of business in Bradford. The demand has been so limited that it might be more appropriately defined as a vacuum. But, notwithstanding this, there is /a dis-. position in Bradford to take a cheerful view df the situation. • It is stated that the home trade is in some respects finding/ itself in. a, fairly favourable position. Stocks in the manufactured article, and also in raw wool are not inordinately heavy. There are strong hopes that the shrinkage in values has now-exhausted itself and that the general level is safe. It i 3 reported -that the Continental markets have passed through a critical period since the' new year, but the position is no worse, and gradual improvement may be hoped for. The recent advance in the German bank rate to 71 per cent indicated that the financial position is not favourable to industry and commerce in general. The French market is also passing through a severe testing experience., in common with other countries. Recent ..failures led to the realisation of considerable quantities of tops and raw material, which had an adverse effect on values and ■. created temporarily an atmosphere ef depression. The recovery is yet very slow. Moreover, the stocks of tops'in the .Continental centres, including Belgium and Italy are somewhat above the normal. Despite this combers are generally well employed and booked ahead for the summer months. The United States support is still almost negligible. ' Stocks in Boston-are reported to be light; the manufacturers are .somewhat, better 1 employed and the consumption shows a slight increase on last year. The uncertainties respecting the American tariff are causing some uneasiness.

Wool men in Australia have conceived the idea Of indulging in a world advertising campaign, with the object of educating people to realise the value of wool as clothing. New Zealand woolgrowers have been invited to cooperate with Australia in this matter, and it is to be hoped that the invitation will not be turned down. With good and effective advertising there is no doubt that the demand for wool fabrics will expand, for after all there is nothing like wool for warmth, comfort, and health. Woolgrowers, however must not rely wholly upon advertising, but must continue to explore every channel for reducing costs, and there is plenty of scope for cost reduction.