RETAINING NATIONAL FACTORIES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 301, 22 November 1918, Page 7

RETAINING NATIONAL FACTORIES.

Mr. Gteorge N. Barnes, M.P., speaking at Glasgow in September, asked what were they going to do in post-war period to safeguard and maintain the high standard of living that had come to most of the workingpeople during the war. He was sorry to say most of their Labour people were so much concerned about the war that it seemed as if they could not give their minds to anything else; and were fomenting differences about, the war instead of cementing the differences that, unfortunately, exist’d between Labour people and the democratic people generally. He had an idea of running industries on what might be called a new plan. He would run industries for the purpose of producing the largest amount of goods under the most scientific conditions of Labour and for the purpose of getting the largest possible wages and best conditions, of life in those industries. To his mind these were the two chief factors that should determine us as to the best industries we were going to prefect, if we were going to protect anything. After all, there was nothing positive about Free Trade. On the other hand, he aid not believe that tariffs were the right way. They set up a barrier behind which lackadaisical methods could he adopted by employers and workmen In reply to questions, Mr. Barnes said he was certainly not in favour of repudiation of the debt of the. war. He hoped they were not going to allow national factories to revert to private owners. These factories should be retained as national factcries, and by that moans lessen national debt. ,