THE WOOL COMMANDEER.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 15 September 1917, Page 3

THE WOOL COMMANDEER.

RECORD "COMMERCIAL. TRANSACTION. VALUE OF CLIP, £12 ; 500,000. “The wool requisition declared the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture, in his annual report) may be described as the record commercial transaction in the history of the Dominion, the aggregate value ,of the season’s clip being some twelve and a-half millions sterling. After the inception of the arrangement for purchasing the wool (and subsequently sheepskins and hides), it was necessary to make provision for the organisation and direction of the necessary working details, and for this purpose a termed the Requisitions Committee, consisting of Messrs W. G. Prostick, W. D. Stewart, and Dr C. J. Reakes (director of the live stock division ,of the department), wa s set up. Both Mr Foster and Mr Stewart are gentlemen with large and responsible business interests, but they unreservedly gave their services gratuitously to the Government, and have devoted a great deal of their necessarily valuable time to the work. The magnitude of the interests involved and the very large volume of business to be dealt with have called for close attention throughout and I desire to express my appreciation of the great value of the service rendered, and of the assistance received by me as Minister in charge of all matters which have been dealt with by the committee. Taking everything into consideration, it can be claimed that the arrangements made Tor Taking over wool, sheepskins, and hides have proved satisfactory in working, and though, a s might have been expected difficulties have arisen from time i to time, they have in every case been overcome successfully. In this it is realised that producers, Tuckers, wool buyers, scourers, tanners, and all concerned have almost without exception exhibited an evident desire to co-operate with the GovernixfSnt in assisting to attain the results achieved.

“I may here also record the fact t-hat ; although handsome prices have been secured to the producers under the Government purchases as compared with pre-war values, such pri ces have in every case been substantially lower than those ruling in the open market for goods of the same classes as those requisitioned. No one industry alone has made ‘sacrifices,’ jhpwever. The meat producers, for i instance, have ceded just as much or ipore than the cheese producers, and moreover, have agreed to continue their present arrangement until after the end of the war. It may be “noted that butter is now our only staple of first magnitude that has not come under the Government purchase system. There are some indications that it, too, may be included in impend}transactions affecting the new season’s dairy produce.”