COST OF CLOTHING.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 May 1920, Page 6

COST OF CLOTHING.

NEW ZEALAND TRAVELLER'S NOTES. ■ Mr. G. S. Amos (Wellington),- representative of Messrs Ross and Glendinning in England, has given to tile Post's London correspondent an interesting arid ini'unniitive outline of how he found conditions in the Midlands.

Tli'e manufacturing places lie visited were Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby, and lie finds that prices of all classes of drapery goods continue to advance, and that goods are becoming more difficult to obtain. Many lirms are not in a position to accept orders for delivery before March and April, 1921, and then only at prices ruling on date of delivery. Hosiery is possibly one of the lines that has advanced more than anything else, and the colonial fanner who only gets Is 6d to 2s per lb for his wool finds it hard to understand why he has to pay such a high price for bis socks. At the present time a fine cashmere yarn costs 17s fid per lb, and with a fair medium quality of socks, weighing 21b 4oz to the dozen, the cost of the ya*n alone amounts to 39s 4'/ s d, and this docs not allow for any wastage, and with the high cost of {he yarn it means that if there ie only loz wasted i in manufacture it inlds Is Id per dozen j on to the cost of the socks.

«£otton has advanced to such a price that the finer grades are now higher than wool, and to-day's price for Egyptian vara is 13s fid per lb, and not even firm at that price. The call of labor is another important factor in the high prices, and while Mr, Amos was being shown over a big hosiery factory at Nottingham, there were young girls pointed out to him, with their hair down their backs, who were earning £3 15s per week on piecework, and the men in the making-up departments were averaging between £!) and £lO per week. The most serious problem of the day, however, is decreased production. Wherever you go, and whatever class of manufacturer you speak to, you are told the same story of decreased production, attributed to two causes—reduced hours of work and a slackening off at work due to the fact that thfi price paid for piecework is so high that the workers can earn a good living without doing the same amount of work. This decreased cost of production adds considerably to the cost of the (roods, ai? the capital charges of the business have to spread over a smaller value of goods, increasing the percentage on the smaller production.