COST OF CLOTHING.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3494, 24 May 1920, Page 3

COST OF CLOTHING.

N.Z. TRAVELLER ‘S NOTES.

I Mr G-, S. Amos (Wellington) repreisentative of Messrs Ross and Glenldining in England. has given to the Post’g London correspondent an in-'Ltel-esting «outline‘of how he found con~ Iditions in the Midlands. The manufzicturing places he Visitied were L_eiCeSter_. i\'ottinghanl and :Del~‘by, and he finds that prices of all classes of drapery goods continue to advance, and that goods are becoming more difiicult to obtain. Many firms are not in a position to nccept..ol-ders for delivery before March and April, 192.]. and then only at. prices ruling on date of delivery. Hosiery is possibly one of the lines that has aclvanced more than anything,‘ else, and the colonial farmer who only gets 1/6 to 2/ per 11) for his woo] finds it hard to understand why he has to pay such a. high price for his socks. At the present time a fine cashmere yarn costs 17/6 per lb, and with a fair medium (]LlfLlii2y‘of socks, xveighing 21b 402 to the dozen. the cost of: the yarn ninne arocunts to 39/ 43.d_ and this does not allow for a.ny« wastage. and with the high cost of the V yarn it means that if there’ is only‘ 1.02 Wasted, in manufacture, it adds‘ 1/1 per dozen on to the cost of the; socks. }

G0tt()11 has advanced to such a price that the finer gl'a'&="-is are new higher than wool. and to-da_\7’s _prl'ce foi Egyptian yarn is 18/6 per lb, and not even Ih-n7 at ‘rh,:lt price.

The (-311 of labour is another im}>ol't:mt factor in the high prices. and while ‘Mr Amos was being shown over a big hosiery factory at Notztingham,

there were young girls pointed out to him, with their hair down their backs. who wei;.e earning £3 ]5/ per week, on piec-.ewol'k_. and the men in the making-up departments were averaging between £9 and £lO per Week. The most serious problem of the day. llOV\'€‘.‘.'9l'. is decreased production. Wherever you go. and whatever class of nlamlfa.cmrer you speak ‘co, you are told the same story of decreased production, ntti-ibuted to two causes——— reduced hours of work and a slacken-ing-off of work due to the price paid for piece-work is so high that the woi-lcerscan earn a good living Without doing the same amount of worlgu. This decreased production adds considerably to the cost of the goods, as the capital charges of the lbusdness have to spread over a smaller valuie! of goods, increasing the percentage on the smaller product-i.on_ _-\.’r'n.~l' \'is<il'ing the wonderful exhil'>i!i'un of ;:o.')<ls of British nmnuf:lc—f..:-.‘ M ihe Cr_v.<;r»,l 3‘a’.::-r:‘ one V-'-vuld t‘hinl;.” szlys ;'\l'l’ Amos, “that it Wouhl not be 110ce.<sar_v to imporf m2unl’r'a(-.hll'ml ggooils. inlio Englaucl, al)d_y<'t (‘\'ol‘}" G:l_\' am‘ Is’ 0fl"o."(?(l goods mzznlli’:a<-hn'od in .l'ap:m, or A'mel'i(-,:1, :m.:l now Germany. I.:u'g‘e qu:lllfiti<=.~' of groocls made in Germany 31-o now being‘ ofi'm'ed in This coun’rl~_v, and if‘ the values oi'l'erc(l are to be main’r:,iined it appeznxs likely that. ~”rlm_v will receive :1 ready sale.