THE METAL MARKET.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1915, Page 7

THE METAL MARKET.

. MERTONS ACCREDITED CONTRACTORS. GERMAN SHAREHOLDERS. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. London, August 1. Merton and Co. are included in the War Office and Admiralty list of accredited contractors, but it is impossible to obtain an official statement regarding their contractual relations, if any. 'Baer, the principal partner in Mertons, London, is a naturalised German, and admits that there are German shareholders in the firm. He declares that he was offered three Australian contracts under the current obligations until six months after peace.

Baer affirms the Federal Government's prohibition against Australians trading with any company having German shareholders shuts Australia out from the markets of the world, because every company everywhere has German shareholders. He alleges there are more Broken Hill and Mount Morgan shareholders in Germany than in Britain, and ridicules the idea of establishing a metal exchange in Australia, on the ground that consumers could not be found except through partly Germanised sources. He insists that it is impracticable to create the industry in England, because skilled labor is not available, while capital won't take the risks, since after ihe war German and Belgian works will be able to produce more cheaply.