INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 20 July 1920, Page 5

INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS

A BUSINESS MAN'S IMPRESSIONS OF BRITAIN. Some interesting observations regarding industrial conditions in Great - Britain were made by Mr J. S. Ross, of the firm of Ross and Glendinim;, who arrived by the Ruahine on Wednesday, after residing in the Oi i Country for fifteen years. In an interview in Auckland he' said there was un unprecedented and unsatisfied demand for British manufactures. The fact is, he. said, that the workers are not producing enough, and it would appear that they are. carrying out a policy of "goslow." This was detrimentally affecting British commercial relations with other countries. Notwithstanding that ■'^BBS-had increased considerably? Jas compSr&d with pre-war standards, it had not resulted in an increase Mr production, and such a thing-'-as giving | value for value aoparently had been ; lost sight of. Lack of production .i really waj^ keeping up prices, and ihci--1 dentally J the policy in 'operation . has , been the means of inflicting? ■ certain hardships upon the community. During the war the: public spent money lavishly, said Mr ROss but,- with the new order of things confronting them j? they have had to curtail their iexpendu turo considerably. Luxuries, ?which during the war were in constant demand, are to-day in little? demand. Before it was a; common thing to see whole families living in J the most wretched tenements, but with numbers of men going away oh active service . the housing problem in Britain was relieved. Many of those at Home were able to secure homes which enabled them to live in greater comfort than hitherto. Added to this was .the ah-: • norrhal increase in their earning power. This apparent prosperity enabled ?them? to indulge in luxuries previously never j thought of,, but the change consequent j upon the restoration of peace and the; revised economic conditions had shown the masses that they cannot contfoue ; to "soend their money on the scale of pthe war period; and being loth to part ; with their living comforts, they Save ' perforce eliminated many things formerly inoluded in their weekly expenditure. Among things dispensed-with are periodical restaurant parties. During the war it -was well nigh impossible to get a seat in? a restaurant, but now, even in the most busy centres, these were procurable without any difficultyDiscussing prices for raw material for? the soft goods industries, Mr Ross said that, wool when he left B_ritain> bad started to come down gradually. This was largely due* to the heavy stocks held by the Imperial Government "being I'berated. As a matter of fact, he said; this wool in Britain to-day is bound to* affect prices for the next season's Dominion wool clip. Mr Ross expressed great satisfaction at the amount: of manufacturing going on in this country. He said that New Zealand could supply her owri reouirements in many respects, She had the raw materials necessary for the manufacture of goods which were at present being imported. Referring to "the, future prices for foodstuffs. Mr Ross said that there was certain to be a "shortage for years to come, and this shortage was bound to cause prices to soar high. J J