“BUY BRITISH”

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 91, 11 January 1929, Page 8

“BUY BRITISH”

EDUCATING AN EMPIRE WORK OF MARKETING BOARD (By Nellie M. Scanlan.) Dominion Special Service. London, November 27. Great Britain is a Free Trade country. The Dominions accord Britain a helpful measure of preferential tariff. Great Britain, however, does not reciprocate. She cannot, because she is a free trader. Mr. Baldwin, when previously in power, had promised the Imperial Conference to endeavour to make a change. But the country did not support Mr. Baldwin’s idea of a change, so out be went, and in came Labour for a brief reign. On his return to power four years 1 ago, Mr. Baldwin did not attempt to tinker with preferential tariffs to assist the ■ Dominions. He devised another scheme, and instituted the Empire Marketing Board, providing £1,000,000 a year from the British Treasury to finance its work of promoting the marketing of Empire produce. Trade Within the Empire. The great task of the Empire Marketing Board is to stimulate trade within i the Empire. Its field of operation is mainly in Great Britain, where, through many effective channels and mediums, it urges the people of Great Britain first, to buy home-grown and home-made products, and second, to buy Empire goods and products from the Dominions over the seas. 1 At every great exhibition, the Empire ’ Marketing Board takes a large block of > space, and distributes it among the Dominions, each country filling > its allotment with the ' choicest '■ fruits and food, and products of their lands. . , The finest poster artists of England 1 have provided a series of arresting picl tures, which, framed, tell the’story of. ' Britain’s wealth tabroad in vivid manner.' : These are great works of art. In smaller size they are' more widely distributed. Any school applying will get a whole set of these pictures, 'showing the life and industry, the products and historical significance of the Empire. Every overseas school will receive them, if they care to apply. Newspapers, magazines, and every 'other advertising device is used to weave the spell of Empire around the purchasing public. Empire shopping weeks, competitive window displays, with valuable trophies, lectures, and the subtle process of individual education are all combined in this effective work. Mr. Amery, Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, is chairman, and there are a number of Government officials from other Departments. All the overseas territories have individual representation. ’and most of these bring to its counsels, a wisdom weighted with expert knowledge. Great Britain has appointed Sir Thomas Allen, an expert in co-operation, and Sir William Crawford, head of the largest advertising concerns in England. Mr. W. A. Wilson (Canada) is attached to the Department of Agriculture at Canada House in London. Mr. F.' L. McDougall (Australia) is an authority on economics. Mr. R. S. Forsyth (New Zealand) is head of the Meat Board. Mr. J. Diinond, .of South Africa. Mr. J. W. Dulanty, of the Irish Free State, and Mr. H. A. F. Lindsay (India), are the Trade Commissioners in London for their respective countries. Scientific Research. Apart from 'the advertising side, and the education of the buying public to demand Empire goods, the be* rd is actively concerned with scientific research. Long ago factories discovered that it was in the elimination of waste that profits lay. At present, there is’ a vast amount of waste in animal and plant life. Only by scientific knowledge can we combat the menace to cattle, sheep, pigs, plants, and pastures. Sometimes the board finds the whole sum for these investigations; at others,. it supplements the funds of industrial groups interested in the specific subject. The board has establishd a “parasite zoo” in England. Here are bred parasites that have proved their capacity to destroy certain insects’. Already, parasites have been shipped off to devastate the pestilant blow-fly in Australia and New Zealand, and kill.off the earwig in Canada. The tremendous loss of pasture, fruit, crops, and animals caused annually through pests, diseases, and blight, greatly reduce the national earning capacity, and the income from these sources. In Jhe new countries particularly, there is a lack of funds and equipment to deal adequately with these local problems. The board can be of the greatest assistance here. ' It is also trying to utilise the marine products dredged up by the fishing trawlers for fertilising the soil. It is testing the effect of inheritance, climate, and food upon the quality of wool. Already therj has been established a breed .of cattle along the coast of West Africa which can live and flourish in the “Fly-belt, free from infection of the "Tse-tse” fly. War on Pests. The board contributes to the work carried out by the Cawthron Institute in Nelson, New Zealand, where they are trying to control the growth of weeds by insects, and a species of insect has now been liberated which is. destined to make war on ragwort. The valuable work of Professor Tillyard, from the Cawthron Institute, who Jias now gone to Australia, is materially helped by the finances of this board. In Kenya, in Southern Rhodesia, in Newfoundland, in Palestine, in Canada, and in the Irish Free' State scientific research is being carried on. The object is to "make two blades of grass grow where one grew before.” And not only grass, but to multiply the output of every kind of crop and heard and flock. Questions of shipping, packing. refrigeration, preservatives, marketing, with all the incidental channels for wastage —all these are under review with the hope of ’ i provement and assistance. To enrich the soil, to eliminate waste by pests and disease, to facilitate transportation, to reduce costs., in fact, in every way possible to assist the marketing of Home and overseas produce—that is their task. What has been the net result of its activities so far? When so much of its work is in the field o‘ slow scientific research and -experiment it is difficult to estimate results at the end of two years. But the Empire Marketing Board must receive some credit for ths fact that the value c" imports from European countries Overseas to the United Kingdom have risen from £386.000.000 in 1924 to £420.000.000 in 1927. an increase of nearly per cent., though the increase in population was onlv 1J per cent. The value of British produce and manufactures exported from the United Kingdom to Empire coun tries rose durin" the same period from £334.000.000 to £380,000.000. an. increase of 13 per cent, while exports to foreign countries fell by 5 per cent. The oven seas absorption of exports from the TTnited Kinffdom increased from 41.7 to 461 it' was Lord Balfour who said: “Let us cultivate easy intercourse, and full co-operation will follow." The board is fostering a round of visits, a personal interchange between the countries, for m this way lies greater un-ty and standing. and unon this basts should be built a greater nrosnerity for all.