Economic, Financial Problem To the Editor of the Nonmn-Cuxa Dasty News"
Si—In_ yesterday's paper T read fof the refusal of the Japanese Government to allow its Wool Manufacturers to buy wool freely in Australia:
today's paper I read "Japan's Policy is for Freedom of World Trade." I would suggest that example is better than precept.
As one who has been received with every courtesy by Japanese friends: in both Japan and in Manchuria fond whose desire it ix to cement, friendship the world over, "may" express through your columns my cep concern at the constant ignor~ ing by Japan. and even. more particularly' by our world-financiers and economists. of the fundamental principles. at issue. To make clear my meaning I. would first. clear the round with reference to the con-Stantly re-iterated theme of Raw Materials "Markets. Soon after the Great War if fell to my lot to investigate the difficulties which the British Silk manufacturers were experiencing in producing plain silks showing the perfection of the Japanese. silks. On a Japanese Government official visiling Leeds University. T proposed exchange of information and, in rturn for certain informa tion T supplied with reference British Wools, this official informed! me that the Japanese manufacturers naturally Kept the best silk yarn for! their own This would seem to be supported by Mr. Frank Far-rel, the President of the British Silk Association, who in criticising the lecture I gave before the Royal Society of Arts stated that notwithstanding the institution of the Con-clitioning "Houses at. Kobe and Yokohama Japanese sible yarns were by no means beyond question.
Than it fell to my let In 1923 to] visit Australia and on looking over the imports of Wool Goods 1 noted the quantities of fine wool dress goods of French origin. In Mel-Bourne I interviewed Sir John Higging and the present Prime Minister (De. Page), and later T. spent an afternoon with Mr. Stanley" Bruce (then Prime Minister) investigating] the possibilities of giving Great Britain preference in the purchasing, of the 11. per cent. fine Australian Wools used' in the manufacture these goods. 'The final result was that the Australian Authorities de-Anitely refused to make any differ entiation in the Australian Wool markets in favour of Great Britain, Thus when the Japanese Press charges Great Britain' with erecting frlifielal trade barriers it Is obvious: that with reference to Raw Materials "the boot is on the other foot"!
'When one turns to the problem of manufactured goods and the World Markets for such goods the dimculies of solution appear to be much greater. And the greatest stumbling Block' to a satisfactory, solution ies: In the fact that to-day "finance" instead, of "skill in useful world. service" rules the roost. Japan knows quite well that if she were left Untrammelied she could, for example, dominate the Lancashire manufacturers in their own Home market so far us normal cotton manufactures; fare "concerned: Japan also knows that it is finance and not skill which would enable her to do this. In proof of this' Jatter statement I" would state that I have very carefully' compared Lancashire and Japanese skill and the result of this compari son is best illustrated by the statement of the fact that if Japan were called upon to do what Lancashire doing the $0,000,000 spindles at Lancashire would have to be inereas-{Sed to $2,500,000 spindles and the Lancashire workers numbering 410, 00 would have to be increased to 1,255,304 Japanese workers, These figures are based upon the most careful consideration of all the factors involved. shew that] the finest technical skill the world has ever evolved in Textile manufacturing Is being seriously threatened simply through the economic and financial conditions which prevail in, for example, Great Britain and Japan, And here let_me definitely state that so far as I can judge from reading, inquiry and visits to. some twenty Japanese mills, the Japanese worker is paid in the factories which are principally competing with Lancashire about iwo and a half times the Lancashire wage while Mr. Pickering In a recent. publication states that a Japanese girl entering the factory at 14 years of age at 19 years will leave with a "dot" of Between £200 and. £300 stated in relative "purchasing power." That the purchasing power of the English 18 about five times in Japan what itis in England is due to "an inereosed internal purchasing power over and above that accruing from a depreciated Yen following the Rate of This so far as'T can) judge has not been deliberately de-Signed by any one but is purely accidental and therefore I have chosen to refer to it as "an accident fof finance." Until this "accident of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.