JAPANESE ONSLAUGHT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 723, 26 December 1933, Page 4

JAPANESE ONSLAUGHT

The problem of Japan's trade competition likely to be a sub- i ject of bitter controversy in the j near future. It is not so much a ! question of tariffs, or better ; work, but one of labour conditions and wages. No nation can j possibly compete when such low ; wages are paid as those given to ] Japanese workers. The employees ! of Great Britain and Europe will j naturally not accept such re- I muneration, and while the difference in the attitud.e of the East and the West will be admitted and recognised, a solution to : what is undoubtedly a bitter soc- 1 ial and economic problem will have to be found. The following facts given in a j reeent debate in the House of j Commons speak for themselves : j "I have here a shirt which i comes from Japan," said Mr. j Hammersley, M.P., "in which the raw material has to be spun and woven, a colour sfcfipe put in it, and a lining, the material has to be cut and stitched and a neck ! band and buttons put on; it has ! then to pay a duty, and it can be 1 sold in this country at ls, includ- j ing the duty. "The weight of the cotton alone is flb., and if you assume : that all the workpeople in' this country engaged in this occupation are working without wages, that no money is provided for capital and that the only overhead costs are the payments of rates, it would then cost something like ls 6d to make in this country. We have them dumped in this market at the price of ls. What are we going to do ?" "I have an under-garment here," said Major Proctor, M.P. "It can be delivered into the shops in my constituency of Accrington, duty paid, freight from Japan to London paid, and the rail freight to Accrington paid, and sold at a profit of 7d per pair. I have a pair of socks here that can be sold retail for 2d. We cannot preserve the standard of life of the Lancashire working man if the Government of this country permits the entrance of these goods." Major Proctor went on to suggest that it is necessary "to put a ring fence clean round the Empire so that until Japan pays its operatives more than 2d an hour and works them for less than 10 hoprs a day and seven days a week, and until Japan gives her people a standard of life comparable to our own, Japanese goods should not be allowed to enter the territories of the British Em- , pire at all." -Mr. Levy, M.P., give the Commons the following figures in the course of his speech. He said: "In 1930, Great Britain exported to all parts of the world, including Empire markets, 59,750,000 square yards of rayon pieces. Rayon is a commodity which is taking the place of our cotton goods because of its cheapness. In 1932, we only exported 46,250,000 square yards. "Compare that falling off of 20 per cent. with the alarming Japanese increase. In 1930 Japan exported to countries in the Empire market alone 45,250,000 square yards, and in 1932, 76,250,000. square yards an increase of nearly 70 per cent!, while to the whole world in 1932 she exported '152,638,000 squafe yards. She is relentlessly crushing us jjut j)f jji,urkets which used to be

especially our own customers, and, what is more significant, the markets of our owh kith and kin. "The rapidity of this onslaught can be gauged by these few figures. Japan exported to India in 1930 24,750,000 square yards, in 1931 42,500,000 sqiiare yards, and in 1932 50,750,\)00 square yards; to East Afripa 716,000 square yards in 1930 942, 000 in 1931 and in 1932 ove'v 3,000,000 square yards; and to'South Africa 973,000 in 1930, $nd 6,133,000 in 1931 and a simpar quantity in 1932." " ! I