INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19170, 29 November 1927, Page 9

INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN.

THREATENED UPHEAVAL. IDEA OF CONFERENCE FAVOURED. (BT CABLI—PRSSS ASSOCIATION—COPTBJOHT.) (AUSTRALIAN AND N.I. CABLI ASSOCIATION.) (Received November 2Sth, 11.50 p.m.) LONDON, November 2S. Referring to the letter written b; leading industrialists, Mr Ben Tillett, speaking at Salford, said tho best brains of the capitalists must join with the best brains in the Labour movement to savo the country's trade. Without intelligent co-operation and conscientious efforts on all sides for the respecting of bargains, the prosent chaos in industry, the slackness of trade, and the army of unemployed must continue. Organic changes were essential. All uneconomic overhead charges and uneconomic exactions of finance must be ruthlessly eliminated. Capital and labour must discuss cost prices, profits, and wages under the supervision of the State, and thus assure that the country should work at its full productive capacity. Tho "Daily Telegraph" says the Trades Union Congress Council deferred consideration of the industrialists' letter till December 20th, but it is understood that a majority of Labour leaders welcome the' letter and will accept the invitation to a joint conference early in the New Year, especially as Mr Hicks hinted at such a conference in his speech as president of tho Trades Union Congress after Mr Baldwin had initiated tho idea in a recent speech. "The Times" says the wool industry in tho West Riding is again on the edge of a crisis. No immediate dislocation of business is expected, but the dangers of an armed truce aro obvious. A majority in both parties is anxious to avoid a struggle, but the chance exists of an isolated firm precipitating tho trouble and preventing a recovery from tho depression which began in 1925. Wages in Yorkshire are now almost twice as high as before tho war. There has been no adjustment since the return to the gold standard, and the consequent fall in the cost of living. It would seem that the present wages in the West Riding aro somewhat higher than the industry can bear. There is a widespread feeling among thoughtful operatives that the organisation of the industry leaves something to be desired, and in the present deadlock the employers can well afford to make a gesturo of conciliation. [Arising out of tho threatened strike in the wool industry, Lord Aberconway, Lord Londonderry, Sir Alfred Mond, Sir Josiah Stamp, and other industrialists sent a letter to the Trades Union Congress seeking a conference with the General Council to discuss industrial relationships and possible steps to enable the British industry to meet foreign competition.]