WHY JAPAN BEATS LANCASHIRE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 February 1936, Page 6

WHY JAPAN BEATS LANCASHIRE.

OUT-OF-DATE MACHINERY.

OUTSPOKEN SPEECH IN COMMONS (By Telegraph-Press Assn.-Copyright) LONDON, Feb. 4. That Japan is beating the Lancashire cotton industry was the theme of an outspoken speech by Sir Walter Preston in the House of Commons on tiu second reading of the Cotton Spinning Industry Bdl. Sir Walter said it was an undoubted fact that foreign competitors, Japan particularly, had far more modern and more efficient machinery than Lancashire. The Japanese business was growing while Britain’s was steadily

sinking. If Lancashire -were given the same machinery as Japan was using and worked on mass production linos, with a more modern marketing organisation. the Lancashire operatives, who were more efficient, could beat Japan in the whole of the Empire markets. Several of the Lancashire mills had boon rc-equipped recently and Lancashire would be aide shortly to publisr. to the wide world the fact (hat she could compote. Ho then anticipated an inflow of capital that would reequip the greater part, of the mills of Lancashire and Britain would bo in a position to win back part if not the whole of the markets lost, to Japan. The 18. Hon. ,T. R. Clynes. in moving the rejection of the Bill, said that the trade unions were hostile because of lack of consideration for the position of the displaced operatives. He also objected to scrapping machinery which it might chance would bo utilised in future years.