PARASITES ON INDUSTRY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 January 1929, Page 8

PARASITES ON INDUSTRY.

PEOPLE WHO MUST “GET OUT.” THE STRUGGLE AHEAD. Mr Baldwin, who addressed a big Conservative meeting in Glasgow recently, devoted a remarkable passage in his (speech to the “parasites who are battening on industry,” and declared that when British industry was struggling hard there was no room for incompetents, and they must get out. “When hundreds of thousands of men are being thrown out of work by the nationalisation of industry,” Mr Baldwin added. “tlie country wi'iili never watch with tolerance those who .altocate to themselves the position of a freehold and who will not. for the sake of rationalisation, remove themselves unless they ho bribed toi do so.

Mr Baldwin said: INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES.

Allusion has been mad 1 © to the general strike a,nd the trouble that persisted during that memorable year of 1926. . „ . , A I would only say this: We tried 1 "to keep the country on an even keel through, those stormy waters. We believe that as a result of that year the whole nation has learned ft lesson which will be of lasting good. I am thankful to think that when the storm passed there was no bitterness left behind!, and the country dosed up its ranks to make good what it Ifad Hoist. We ar© in the. midst to-diay of an industrial revolution as important as that which occurred a century ago, but of a. very different nature. The end of it no man can foretell. That reveflntion means incalculable hardship to j the men engaged in industry. I would: aisle you ail.l to bear that in mind if you aro ever tempted to judge harshly of impaiienon their prtrt •or of wiki words. The 'heavy end of the stick at those times falls always, on those least able to bear it. They deceive our sym-T-athv. A word that has come into use lately—.rationalisation. —is employed to describe one aspect of that revolution through which we are passing. Thk- is not an occasion on which T should speak at lenuth on that subject, but tet me say this: British incluistirv to'-dav is justifying itself in tlh'e face of nJll the countries of the world. It fa trying to emerge, as it will emerge, the most competent and efficient industrial nation in the world. PARASITES ON INDUSTRY.

But the path is hard. If I offer a word of advice to-night to . isotu© of those who are responsible m those days of transitions. I wonld say this: “Now is the time to call in the. youth of the nation, in whmrtev-er olla-ss it maw he found, to help you to regain and to maintain that industrial supremacy on which we have lived.” This is no time for those who nr© incompetent, whatever their age is. Iwoh Id s'ay this of mv own experience. that since the days when private industry gave place to the ioint stock company there have battened on the joint stock companies large numbers: of Then connected with management and directors who are parasitical to industry and nothing but parasitical. I would add tin's—that the country will never watch with tolerance at a, time When hundreds of thousands[ are being thrown out of work through no fault of their own by the rationalisation of industry, those_wlio hold positions as managers or directors, who a'lJoeate to themselves 1 the position of a freehold, who will not for the sake of rationalisation remove themselves unless they be bribed to do iso. The inefficient will have to make room for the efficient, and by that rule alone can British industry go through times such as the present, in which she is struggling for her existence We are endeavouring as a Government to deal with the tragedies) that mark the course of rationalisation. YVo are striving to deal with it under, various methods. We have already introduced a Bill' to prolong th© period during which export credit facilities shall be”offered to business. We are doing what, we can, with some success, regarding the transference of labour. . All we have done in industrial transference is to se© that those men whose industry cannot offer them any prospect of work for two or three years, possibly never, now have '•their chance of getting employment when a job .1® ready for which they would he satisfactory wherever that job may be. To help that purpose we have established training centres. We have done very good work in training young lady and young nfen to qualify for jobs, and we are extending that form of assistance in different parts of the United Kingdom. SAFEGUARDING. And I would isiay a word here in regard to Safeguarding, and) to remind you of this. The Labour Party themiselves realise ‘that al‘l is nob well wltli industry. They dare not support officially Safeguarding. They are talking of Prohibition; they are talking of international conventions to screw up hours and wages abroad. Now Prohibition is Safeguarding run mad. Safeguarding as wc deal with it is a process that involves strict scrutiny on lines well understood in the country and subject to the wa.toilful control of Parliament at every stage. Prohibition is at ithe whim of a Minister and impossible to our people. As regards: conventions. our Government will work hard to help British labour by iserewing up as far as they can conditions on the Continent. There is no one moire anxious than X rlo see the Washington Convention with, an eight-hour day .got rn a,, form that we can assent- to with th© certainty that other nations w ill at—end to it in th© same sense as we db. I have not given up .hope that that time will come. Xam not going to be responsible for signing any agreement that is .going to give any advantage to the foreigner. X a.m all in favour, as: I said in the House of Commons, of conventions- and agreement® to try and improve working conditions abroad', buifc I know that such a process under the most favourable conditions will! be slow and we cannot wait, and until we get equality of terms by conventions we must deal with the present inequalities as we propose to deal with them by Safeguarding.