Profits sub-committee, of which Mr, Diretor of Wool Textile Produc:
sP. Hitchcock, late Deputy tion, is chairman, has presented to the Central Committee under the Profiteering Acts a unanimous report on an investigation conducted into prices, costs, and profits on of manufacture. Yorkshire tweed Yorkshire tweed cloths at all stages cloths constitute the bulk of working class clothing, and are manufactured in Huddersfield, Dewsbury, and district by the ' woollen Process, as-distinct from the more expensive and elaborate worsted Process carried out in Bradford and district.
In the conclusions arrived at there is no suggestion of profiteering on the part of manufacturers of Yorkshire tweed cloths. 'The cost of average quality cloths was a year ago rather more than three. times the pre-war cost: it has since advanced to over four times, and is continuing to increase.' While wages, costs, and expenses have about trebled, other agents of production, such as dye-wares, machinery, card clothing, and raw material, have increased from four to six times, in some cases even ates against new enterprise and the establishment of new concerns in the industry, and provides an artificial protection from new competition to old firms having high pre-war standards, Coupled with this, the high cost of new plant, machinery, and buildings renders new competition extremely difficult, and thereby throws a premium upon existing machinery. It has been stated to us in evidence that at the Present moment large schemes for the building of new plant have had to be dropped owing to the inadequate financial return." Capital required for financing business operations is at least four to five times the pre-war amount, and in consequence bank drafts have never been heavier in the trade. the amount of capital in the industry, after the claims of taxation have been met, being insufficient for the purpose.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.