THE LABOR ATTITUDE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIII, Issue 195, 20 August 1919, Page 5

THE LABOR ATTITUDE.

••JIJJST BU EXAMINE©

,-SQLWtELY

sSPIRCf OF COMRADESHIP.. '

i rpiecetred Aug. 20, 10.55 a.m.) : ; . LONDON, Aug. 2®, ! Mr Lloyd George added:. ,"La"bavji i aays that'it-realises the- need for in-!' '. ow-iased production, aaid does not. fee-! 1 | ilieve :in direct .action,'but all workeifi j rye 'lium-a l and cannot work with a'

wiTl unless A'lte'conditjtftns are madts{ fa'ijrcr. We must;" said the Prime] •.Minister, '-examine tihat .attitudes 'honestly :md squarely, not in a spirit of -resentment, 'but in fihe spirit- of ittsfciee ancl comradeship .created by the war.1"' If© ivprpe-Tled enipl<>yerfj 'and workers to press t'Jieir claims in that

spirit. 'They must demonstrate, to the world Britain's -traditional power of solving .difficultiies withovut resoi-t to anarchy, 'merely'by appeal to comnionscnse. and fairplay. Pl© ailniitted that iii. pi'evwar days hundreds of thousands nf a'b'lo-bodied men worlced

hard for wages w'bieh were a disgrace to the flag-they fought for, but Labor's gains in -the past two or three years had -bcoa enormous. On, an fl-'vem.ge- vra-gesj had more- X'unn doubled, mid tW hours had diminish-

eil by four weekly. The war h?;d tfi^Kght tho. feoldiers that positions wetw easie.v to capture tlftin to retain;

That was a lesson for Labor, who had captured a more advanced position during th© war than ever before. Mr Lloyd George announced that the joint industrial councils had com« to an. agreement regarding hours and wages,, which would be embodied in a Bill to be introduced on the morrow. Substantially the Bill neant a ferty-eighi hours week, with few exceptions, and a living wage for all industries. He urged that steps should he taken to. humanise industry by seeking the co-operation of tho workers.

Regarding the conditions of work, the Prime Mia-ister denied that he had committed the Government t« accept every recommendation in tho S'ankey repoi't. However, the Government had •iftccepted thfe policy *>f. State purchase of mineral rights in cos.-l, and he .proposed that afraid should bo raised out of royalties to inaprove housing and general tin&eniiies for the miners.

Mr Lloyd George said that the reason advanced for tho adoption of vfudge Sassrkey's recommondation^ in favor of the nationalisation of mines —namely, that it would product ■ hamn (>ny besyv ysn employers ar.d m rorkers —was said to have been falsified by the result Yorkshire strike, which was against the State Moreover, the State ran th.3 railways, yet. the results had.not been harmonious. However, the Government accepted the principle that there was need for the tihifie ttion and reorganisation of the mines in order to reduce the working management charge. This ecukl b<*> done by dividing tlie country into areas, of which the labor pl/onld be amalgamated for a limited period. -Tho' workers should be represented on the body controlling the policy of' each area. The Government was preparing schemes on these lines. The 'Government would take effective, 'measures against dumping. The Board'wf Trade was given power to shield unstable industries and to ■prohibit, 'imports, except under license, of the products of Ihese industries', thu.; preventing the excessive imports of such products. Where import prices were lower than, here an import duty would be charged for the ' license. . Cars would be taken that no undue profit was made at the expenso 'of the community. The 'test whether an. industry was unstable would be whether it was essential for 'the war, whether the Var had revealed an inadequate supply of such goods, whether the Government had to foster it in war time, and v'hether, if Government support was withdrawn, the industry'could maintain itself at the level of production which the war had shown to be essential to "the national life. The Government would also submit a scheme for the utilisation of the waterpower of the country for industrial purposes. Mr Lloyd Gsorge emphasised the importance of fostering Imperial trade, not with a view to increasing British trade, but from the important standpoint of the Empire and civilisation. He had had several communications, from statesmen from the Dominions upon tho importance of fostering Imperil 1 trade- by impjcving communications between the Dc minions, India, a-nd the Mother Country, and chiefly in the quickening of transport. He hoped that peace would be ratified at the beginning jf September. Till then .it was recklessness to reduce the army 'to a peace footing. He mentioned the delay hy reaching peace with 'Austria, "Bulgaria, and Turkey was owing to 'tho face that they were waiting to know whether America was prepared to take a share in ■guaranteeing protection to peoples, who, if unprotected, would be subject 'to terrorism, plunder, and murder.