The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1916. THE INDUSTRIAL OFFENSIVE.

Southland Times, Issue 17794, 26 July 1916, Page 4

The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1916. THE INDUSTRIAL OFFENSIVE.

The war news published from day to day gives us tidings of the AngloFrench offensive in France, but we are not reminded from day to day that behind the military offensive there is necessarily an industrial offensive. The news that we have had of that offensive was contained in a message reporting that in most of the industries essential to success in the war all holidays have been postponed until after the war ends. In other words British operatives have made up their minds to back British soldiers for all they are worth. This decision should have been made long ago. The Germans are difficult to beat not only because of their huge and highly efficient army, but also because of their magnificent industrial organisation. The German army has never been stinted for munitions of war; until recently the British army, small as it was in comparison with that of Germany, has never been adequately supplied with munitions of war. Now conditions have improved: our gunners have practically unlimited supplies of munitions or they would not have been able to fire half a million shells daily for weeks on end. But the output must be still further increased, and the efforts which are being made in Germany to turn out still larger quantities of munitions must be met by similar efforts in Britain. Take, the steel industry, which is, of course, the basis of the whole munitions industry. For several years before the outbreak of war Germany’s output of steel was more than double that of Britain. Between 1908 and 1914 it increased from 11,000,000 tons to 17,000,000 tons, while Britain’s output rose in the same period from 5,389,000 tons to 6,903,000 tons. Since the beginning of the war Germany

has added to her own resources those of Belgium and the great “blade country" of France. By dint of energy and organisation German manufacturers hare increased the production of pig iron, the basis of steel, to over 1,000,000 tons a month. It fell in the first month of the war from 1,561,000 tons to 587,000 tons, but it has steadily increased, and since July last the monthly output exceeded 1,000,000 tons with unfailing regularity. It is easy to see, therefore, why Britain has had to call upon the resources or the United States as well as her own, and it is not difficult to understand why the efforts of our soldiers in France must be backed by equal efforts on the part of the British workers. We have cited the case of steel only, but in respect to other requirements for the purposes of war Germany's position is one of extraordinary strength, and in the last resort, as Mr Lloyd George said long ago, this vis a war between the engineering shops, the factories and the mines of the Allies and those of Germany. The postponement of holidays in so many of the essential industries affords very gratifying evidence that at the same time as British soldiers are strongly attacking the enemy's lines, British workers are settling down to meet and- surpass the efforts of German artisans and mechanics.