New-York tribune., 1918-12-15
Govt Wool Sale
Important to the
Textile Industry
Release of Commodity Ex-
pected to Restore Market
to Stable Basis; Readjust-
ment Problems Worry
Special Correspondence

Special Correspondence
BOSTON, Dec. lathe editor of
THE American Wool and Cotton Re-
porter" has prepared the following
statement for The Tribune:
Announcements that the govern
nfent has decided to offer at public auc-
tion about 100000 pounds of wool
in Boston on December 1S, 10 and 20
Is highly important to the textile in
dustry. 1t is felt that the prices paid
for this wool will tend to brino the
wool market to fairly stable basis
and the old law of supply and demand
Will come into effect. 1t is understood.
although not publicly announced. that
there will be a minimum price below
which the lots of wool will not he
sold. Ihls procedure, is, as is we'll known
followed at any auction. Woollen man.
utacturers from all over the country.
or their representatives, it is expected,
Will attend these auctions. AS the GOV
ernment owns vast amount of wool
1t Is intended that wool shall be offered
at auctions in January and February
IN such quantities as the market NAV
require
The textile industry is confronted
with serious manufacturing problem,
to which manufacturers must, individ-
ually and collectively, give careful con-
slderatlon. Since existing conditions
cannot be changed, it is perhaps Just
as we'll not to crticisc past develop
ments that were justly objected to by
those who understood what they would
lead to; but the problems of the i'm
mediate future should receive consid-
Grafton, and every effort should be
made to render the readjustment as
easy as possible from every stand
point. The government purchased
large quantities of woollen fabrics, and
when the war ended about IS per cent
OF the machinery in operation was
working on government contracts. AS
the government controls what wool
there is available the manufacturer is
able to obtain no great amount of the
raw material at what might be con-
sidered satisfactory prices. Owing to
the more or less radical change in
buyers sentiment and because of the
great amount of machinery which must
be transferred from war to peace or
ders, the situation has been made de-
cidedly difficult
TO an extent, the production of gov
eernntent fabrics, up to the rate noted
for period before November Is, and
ending December 21, will afford a GER
tain time for readjustment, since the
cloth may be delivered up to February
l. This, however, is only a makeshift,
and very unsatisfactory one at that,
because great change must soon oc-
cur, and it makes comparatively little
| xrh nh,
to the seriousness of it. 1t does give
manufacturers an additional period to
plan future operations, but at the same
time it might be said that the producer
has not been afforded a very good
opportunity to plan in advance, since
the market is more or less artificial.
The problem is to provide orders
for the whole, or at least large part,
of the textile industry at a time when
buyers are not interested in placing
any large orders and at time when
consumers have been educated into
using a somewhat smaller quantity of
goods, either through high prices de-
manded or for any one of number
of other reasons. 1t has been claimed
continually that this country's capacity
for producing woollen goods is decidedly
greater than normal consumption re-
quires. In fact, there are many who
have contended that the production is
twice as large as is actually neces-
sary-that is, that the efficient so per
cent of the producing capacity could
produce enough goods regularly to sup
ply the demands of distributors. This
may not be exactly true, but it is prac-
tically certain that there is. an over
production, although this overproduc-
tion might not be SO large as it nor
mally was. owing to the inability to
secure sufficient labor to keep the ma
chinery in full operation.