The Dominion THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1944. PRELIMINARIES TO PLANNING

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 209, 1 June 1944, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1944. PRELIMINARIES TO PLANNING

Al the last meeting of the council of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation the necessity for internal surveys.of Dominion industry, so that it would be in a position to prepare its plans now for the transition from war to peace, was stressed. It was stated that some industries had already made preliminary surveys, but the council held that they should cover the whole industrial field, in order that plans might be devised in advance of requirements. The problem of rehabilitation, as was pointed out, is not confined to reabsorbing ex-servicemen and women into the life of the community. There will be the necessity for dealing with in purely war industries, and the reconversion from a wartime to a peacetime basis will require much careful planning.- ' It is of interest to note that the general secretary of the Trades Union Council in Britain, in a recent review, urged the Minister of Production to undertake an immediate survey of all factories, to find out how long it would take them to, re-tool and re-equip their plants and their likely requirements in the form of raw materials and new machinery. Commenting on .this request, the Economist said that this seemed to be “an essential step, and it would be surprising if it were not already being done.” The policy favoured by the Manufacturers Federation is evidently along the same lines and the data is as essential here as elsewhere. British industrialists and others realize plainly that demobilization and rehabilitation are likely to present more difficult problems than they did after 1914-18. -I he reason advanced is that, in reality, there are now two wars in one. It is Allied policy first to destroy the German war machine completely, and when that has been accomplished then to turn their united strength against tfie Japanese. Hie two major campaigns will differ greatly in many respects and if, as is anticipated, thd war against Japan lasts for some time after the Germans have been defeated, then it will complicate the problems ot demobilization and rehabilitation. The Dominion, at the present time, has units actively engaged in both theatres of war, and it is quite impossible to say, at this stage, to what extent, and for how long, at least some of our forces may be required to carry out the duties of armies of occupation. In Great Britain they anticipate that this dual campaign will make it necessary to “stagger” the demobilization programme, and that course may be found desirable here. In the same way, if not to the same extent, that policy may be found applicable to industry in the Dominion. Some firms may be actively engaged on war work for the Pacific operations while others may be in a position to return to normal activities. These were among the reasons why, in these columns recently, we drew attention to the preparatory steps being taken in Great Britain, and to the policy adopted there of keeping the public as tally informed as possible as to the problems to be faced and the Government’s line of approach. There is need for plans on a largei sea e than have yet been officially projected here, for preliminary work that will provide the knowledge without which,. as the council oi tlie federation rightly said, plans are merely conjectures.