INDUSTRIAL LIFE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 116, 20 May 1925, Page 9

INDUSTRIAL LIFE

COLLABORATION AND

CONFERENCE

NEED FOR FURTHER ! ORGANISATION

(FBOM CUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 7th April.

Speaking at a luncheon given in his honour at Bradford by the local branch of the Federation of British Industries, Colonel the Hon. W. F. Willy said that industrial life was now so complex that .there was need for collective action, and the spirit of collaboration and conference between the two sides. It was no use denying, he said, that much of the difficulty to-day—from suspicion on the part of workers—was tha legacy of advantages taken by individual employers in earlier days of the industrial era. In the wool textile trade there had been no major or general industrial dispute since before the war—a great compliment to the broad vision and levelheadedness of the 1 textile trade union leaders. Experience h%d proved that in a trade of horizontal construction such as _ tlie textile-trade, the influence of unions in one section of the trade could nave a steadying effect on inclination to precipitate action by other sections which might, uncontrolled, have produced paralysis of the whole' industry. In tiie. light of subsequent events it had been proved that the interests of the impetuous sections had been, benefited by the restraint of the more balanced ones. Lould not tliis experience of ours in iorkshire," asked Colonel Willy, "be applied on a large national scale? Something clearly is wrong with our national industry when we struggle under the curden of 1^ million unemployed, quite apart from the further immense number of under-employed— when industry as a whole is probably not working more than 60 per cent, of potential capacity. THE RETURN ON CAPITAL. "A financial survey of the nation's trade m the last two years wonid probably indicate that, with the exception of a few specialties, the return on capital as a whole invested in industry has been slender enough—certainly, even if equivalent to the return" obtainable on faxed interest investments, it has been quite insufficient to be any inducement to uhs leaders of industry to pursue a progressive development policy which a one will ensure general full-time employment for workers. Curiously enough, the highest rewards have in recent years gone to commerce merchants and distributors, who. give least employment to capital involved while industries which give the greatest employment have been m the main unremunerative. ' ' "On the employers' side there is the complaint of production costs being too high—on <the workers' side allegations' of obsolete methods of ■ management. Economic forces are probably now asserting themselves. World costs on a gold basis in competing countries are approaching normality. It is probable that the credit structure, anyhow of Europe, is insufficient on present values, to finance production, on. the scale necessary to effect general employment. Increased production can only be justified by increased consumption, and it'seems that can only follow a geueral reduction of costs. This country is at present handicapped by the low operating ratio in most of its leading industries, and as we know so well in the wool textile trade, this factor enormously increases production costs, which to-day even on fulltime operation, owing to the higher standard of living in this country, puts us at a disadvantage with Continental countries. BOOMING HOME PRODUCTS. . "It would seem that our national problem is not a production problem, but a selling problem. We have the capacity co produce, but we need outlets for our I products. The next few years are probably going to witness an intense competition, by the industrial countries of the world to find export markets. In all the leading countries the capacity of existing plant is largely above domestic consumption.- It is in this competition of export markete that we must excel if we are" to snrvive. The employment given by supplying the home market will undoubtedly help production costs to secufe the export business. "Here one wonders if it would not be possible, by great publicity, to start a campaign booming home products. If the workers as a whols^-who are the big consumers—could be made to realise that when purchasing any manufactured article, by asking for something domestically produced they were assisting themselves and their fellow-citizens, they would succeed, m compelling retailers to stock articles which would increase home employment. If this movement, assisted by the Press, attained proper momentum, a tremendous assistance ■ would be giveu to those trades which are constructed to supply articles of daily consumption."