INDUSTRIAL BRITAIN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19906, 28 September 1926, Page 10

INDUSTRIAL BRITAIN.

REMEDYING HER. TROUBLES WORKERS’ LOT IMPROVED. Workmen living in model villages, working in healthy, well-lit, ciieerful surroundings, brightening their hotr» of labour with community singing, going home at night to comfortable cottages surrounded by gardens and bathed in fresh air, was the picture of the modem trend of British industrv triven to a Dominion, reporter *©• cent!? by Mr G. Herbert. A.8.E., world export manager for the firm of Rowntreo’s. Ltd., the English firm of confectionery manufacturers, who is on a world tour. Mr Herbert, however, also gave the other side of the picture. . . Mr Herbert expressed the opinion that, though industrial conditions at Home are at the present time difficult, British grit and character were such an integral part of the British tradition that ultimately they could not help pulling through. Industrial difficulties, he said, as manifested in unemployment and a shrinkage of the purchasing power of European market*t are a direct result of the Great W ar, whicn has had an immeasurable effect not only on the economic conditions of ' Europe, but also on the outlook ot the individual. The tendency of the individual m Europe since the war has been to become less self-reliant, owing to surrounding conditions of peiplexity, and to rely more on cooperative thought and action—a tendency which has rather undermined personal responsibility. But co-operative thought and action as undertaken by bodies such as Governments and fcrade unions cannot be successful without the thought a " d port of the individual. Indeed, one of the foots of European industrial trouble and economic stress is the apathy j trv >■ To* the* mimTof the outsta'nd- " r f fUffidSa should realise that he is an i integral part of the commercial system; that ho is not only a worker, but also a, P l [ a l' s . t: his y capital is himself, and that h's di dends are represented by the use j l6 a of himself The second great need, ne considers, is a development of Empire trade and emigration, a need created by the economic chaos in Ku-rope. i “In regard to the unemployment problem at Home,” said Mr Herbert, “a though the dole must have an evil ■ moral effect on some of its recipients some precaution against the effects of unemployment is J&eswry. and it should not be overlooked that the unemployment allowance is part of a .ontributory msurance scneme. it would, of course, be better if tbe dole were expended on productive work, but this is not so easy as it appears, for the reason that there is not much scope at the press t time for useful industrial development at Home. To ray mind there is no doubt that some of this expenditure on unemployment could be advantageously utilised in assisting in the sound economic development ot the colonies, and the consequent absorption of some of our surplus labour. The application of psychology to industry, said Mr Herbert, was becoming quite an important feature in the policy of the more enlightened manufacturing firms in Great Britain. He pointed out that his own firm had introduced a psychological department, in which research is made into the problem of reaction time, and kindred matters. Mental and Physical j tests are periodically earned out, with the i object of placing the worker m _ those | spheres where he can work best, ana most | happily. Regard is given to pleasantness . of surroundings, to the cultivation of beau- . tiful gardens, and to the general hygiene i of the workroom. It was sometimes found ; that one worker could use her forearm ; with more agility than she could her ; fingers, in which case she would he given ; work in which she would use her fore- i arm almost exclusively. The main thine to be aimed at, he con- | eluded, was to place the worker in such surroundings, and in front of such a task, that he would be as happy as nossihlo and so to occupy his mind with his work that he would not be able to reflect any , worries or responsibilities with which he I might he troubled.