BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR.

Hawera Star, Volume L, 19 February 1931, Page 4

BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR.

The best answer to much of the talk about the ‘ ‘ industriaJ and economic crisis of Great Britain” is the British industries Fair, whicli opened on Monday at London and Birmingham. Its comprehensive display of British indusI rial craftsmanship and resourcefulness in dispiriting times should go far towards dispelling the pessimism that has become a. bad habit not only in the United Kingdom, but throughout the Empire. Too many people seem occasionally to forget that at least fortyfive million persons in Great Britain lire not yet drawing the dole. It is true that there is more unemployment to-day in the British Isles than there,

was before the war; against that fact, however, it ought to be remembered that there also is more employment. Moreover, tens of thousands of firstclass artisans and skilled workers still are producing some of the world’s best manufactures. The Industries Fair affords proof of that assertion. The exhibition now ranks higher than the greatest fairs on the Continent. It is admittedly the largest trade display in the world, and the growth of international interest in it has been even more remarkable than the extension of its range of exhibits. A London message on Monday stated that “buyers in even larger numbers than ever have come from all parts of the world. ’ ’ It may be presumed that they are there to learn as well as to buy, for the exhibition demonstrates that British manufacturers are by no means bondslaves to the ways of their grandfathers. Special attention has been devoted to a display of new products. British industry is changing with the times and is adapting itself rapidly to changed needs. Past experience at the Industries Fair has shown clearly, too, that British industrialists and manufacturers aro learning the art of salesmanship of the best kind. Last year the Fair was a commercial success. There were buyers from sixty countries and every country represented arranged orders for a supply of British goods. Holland, as usual, headed the list, with Canada second, and the United States third. France and Germany followed, while among the sixteen British Dominions and Colonies represented New Zealand held fourth place.