LEAGUE OF PEACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 282, 29 November 1927, Page 7

LEAGUE OF PEACE.

IN BRITISH INDUSTRY.

Capital And Labour Getting

Together.

"TO SAVE COUNTRY'S TRADE."

(Bj Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.|

I/SNDON, November 28.

The letter from the leading industrial leaders to the Trades Unions Council seeking a conference with the general council of the unions to discuss industrial relationships, and possible steps to enable British industry to meet foreign competition, was discussed at a meeting of the Genera! Council of the Trades Unions Congress to-day.

The communication was signed by Lord Aberconway, the Marquess of Londonderry, Sir Alfred Mond aud Sir Josiah Stamp and others.

It is understood that opinion was predominantly in favour of accepting the invitation, and that it was decided to reply in this direction.

This new move was foreshadowed about a month ago, when it was stated that after a conference on industrial peace, at which Sir Alfred Mond made a remarkable speech, an effort would be made by a group of progressive industrialists to bring about a representative joint conference.

After suggesting the need for an Industrial League of Peace, Sir Alfred, in his speech, outlined a programme, the outstanding point in which was that the term "masters and men" should be regarded as obsolete, and instead the term should be "co-partners and coworkers."

Referring to the letter, the political secretary of the Transport and General Workers* Union, Mr. Ben Tillett, in * speech at Salford, said the best brains of the capitalists must join with the best brains in the Labour movement to save the trade of the country. Without intelligent co-operation and conscientious efforts by all sides for respecting bargains, the present chaos in industry, the slackness in trade, and the army of unemployed must continue.

In order to organise the changes it was essential that all uneconomic overhead charges and uneconomic exactions of finance must be ruthlessly eliminated. Capital and Labour must discuss costs, prices, profits and wages under the supervision of the State. This would assure the country's reaching its full productive capacity.

The "Daily Telegraph" says the members of the Trades Unions Council differed as regards the industrialists' letter, but it is understood that the majority of the Labour leaders welcome the letter and will accept the invitation to a joint conference to be held early in the New Year. This is especially likely, as Mr. 6. Hicks hinted at such a conference in his speech as President of the Trades Unions Congress, after the Prime Minister, Mr. Baldwin, had initiated the idea in a recent speech.