BRITISH COTTON DISPUTE

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1931, Page 6

BRITISH COTTON DISPUTE

There hays been a few rays of light thrown upon the depression in the dairy produce markets during the p£st week, _ and the news that the dispute in the British cotton manufacturing districts has been settled is one of the most cheering of them. It was unfortunate that the dispute synchronised with a special effort to push the sale of . Dominion produce in the northern counties of England. It is in those thickly populated districts that the Danish butter has so firm a hold, and it- must be admitted that the Danes have left nothing undone to obtain and retain the splendid business they have developed. Without some semblance of regular employment in the chief industry of Lancashire, thaft of cottop manufacture, the hope of extending the sale of Dominion food, products was not promising. Now that it has ended, and, ended in a certain spirit ,of generosity on the part of the employers, there should 'oc. reasonable hope for better spending power and therefore a demand for Dominion goods. Tfie dispute itself arose over the necessity for reducing costs of manufacture to cope with foreign competition. The employers suggested that each operative should work a larger number of machines, .and to this the laiter took exception, with the result that the mill owners refused to continue working, at a loss and closed their factories. Now they have reopened them on' the condition that technical reorganisation of a kind shall be brought about, and they have appealed for ilie co-operation of the operatives to ’make this effective. There can be no doubt of the fieed to reduce costs, and it is to be hoped this will be recognised by both parties to the recent controversy. For the moment at all events an ugly industrial crisis has been overcome and what threatened to be a serious obstacle to Dominion trading removed.