The Huntly Press Tuesday, October 6, 1931 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume XVIII, 6 October 1931, Page 2

The Huntly Press Tuesday, October 6, 1931 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.

IN some quarters it has become a habit to allot much of the blame for our present position to Labour, leaving the Capital side of the productive machine out of count. This was not only unjust to Labour; but not a true statement of the case as anyone acquainted with the economic conditions could plainly see that industiy was being over-capitalised, in many cases by the simple process of watering stock —a process that should be forbidden by law, except under license after some controlling authority has made a strict inquiry into the case. This should be included in any amendment to our present unsatisfactory company law. Some restrictive control over new flotations is also necessary to give investors some guarantee of geting a fair run for their money. The following extract from an article by “Scrutator’ in the last issue of the Financial Times shows that Capital, living in a glass house itself, cannot afford to throw stones at Labour. In many other ways our country could well change its comic opera outlook, both in public and private business. It- is a notorious fact that our most important basic industries are in a bad way, largely as the result of over-capitalisation and managerial incapacity. Buttermaking, refrigeration and transport are among our basic activities. The deplorable mess in which our transport is involved, and its heavy cost to the people, are well known. What is less known is that the financial position of most of our butter companies and refrigerating businsesses is equally unsound. There is far too much overhead, and plant and productive capacity in excess of demand, so that both industries are working on a no-profit margin, and paying for huge unnecessary competitive activities. Rationalisation is imperatively demanded on grounds of national economy. The happy-go-lucky inefficiency of our workers has so often been pointed out; what is not frequently adverted to is the incapacity of our business and industrial management, as disclosed by the figures of public companies. This is a matter in which improve- « ment must come from the side of industry itself. If it does not come so much the worse for us, now that we cannot continue to make ends meet by the annual borrowing of I five to ten millions a year. In the following extract the same writer discussed the important question of public works. His proposal to remove public works from parlia- ' mentary control will be strenuously opposed by politicians who have always found it a splendid electioneering agent; but the welfare of the country should outweigh the vote hunting of the politician. Another important matter of policy is to remove the public works policy of the Dominion from the sphere of party politics, thus depriving our professional politicians of their principal weapon of electoral corruption. This could be done quite easily, though it presents problems of its own, if there were a sincere desire to do it. At present we have, in addition to the unemployed army of over 50,000 people, some ten thousand living on the expenditure of public works loans raised on a diminishing utility, if any utility at all. If this work were withdrawn from the parliamentary sphere, it could be placed on a rational economic basis, and future operations confined to works of probable utility, and there are not many of these. Much of the work carried out by the State in this connection should have been left to private enterprise, subject to ultimate social control; and if private enterprise was not willing to enter the field that in itself would be at least a presumption that the work is of dubious public utility. Only thus, moreover, could we explore the possibility of a long range planning of large constructional works as a stabiliser of employment conditions.