214 The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 



Britain's 

 Wool Supply 

 to be Kept at 

 Home 



present to you a short extract from an address delivered in Lon- 

 don by Mr. E. F. Hitchcock, one of the officials of the Depart- 

 ment which has control of raw material for the manufactories 

 of the British Empire, as follows : 



"The British Empire produces 64 per cent of the world's ex- 

 portable merino and crossbred wool, and the rest is produced in 

 South America. Therefore, you see that the position of the 

 British Empire so far as wool is concerned, is a very strong 

 position indeed. I doubt whether there is any raw material, ex- 

 cept perhaps rubber, which is of so great importance as wool, 

 and of which at the same time the British Empire has a virtual 

 monopoly as it has for wool. But the importance of the British 

 Empire wool should not merely be measured in terms of quan- 

 tity, it has also to be measured in terms of quality. The very 

 finest merino wools most in demand for very fine cloths are 

 grown in the British Empire. Australian merino wool is the 

 finest wool on earth. You cannot get it elsewhere, it is not 

 grown elsewhere, in any appreciable quantity at all. Ilie British 

 Empire controls 80 per cent of the world's merino wool produc- 

 tion. I hope later to develop the enormous importance vrhich 

 raw material, wool especially, is going to play in the economic 

 struggle after the war. 



Nothing appears to me so important as the reservation for our 

 own needs of all the raw material that we want after the war. 

 As food is to the individual, so is raw material to industrial coun- 

 tries, and unless we make quite sure that we have sufficient sup- 

 plies, w^e shall find that our industrial development w\\\ be very 

 seriously retarded." 



The situation which presents itself to us, therefore, on ac- 

 count of all which I have brought to your attention, shows that 

 population for a number of years has been encroaching upon our 

 production of food and of raw material of wool for clothing. It 

 shows that the conditions brought about by the great war in 

 Sheep Raising progress has developed a world shortage of wool supplies, and it 

 as a Profitable shows that our own domestic production in the great North- 

 Investment western territory will develop a very decided decrease from that 

 section, which has been such an important factor in our wool 

 production. It shows that after the war the demands in the 

 warring countries to fill the needs of the civilian population is 

 going to be tremendous. Based on all the premises, therefore, 

 submitted regarding the extraordinary market which will be 



