Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1927. AN OLIVE BRANCH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 17 December 1927, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1927. AN OLIVE BRANCH.

In Britain, as in other countries, trade has had its ups and downs since the war. A delusive boom was followed by a sharp collapse, which lasted for several years. In 1924 the tide seemed to have turned, and the improvement then experienced was maintained during 1925. In 1926, however, the ebb was disastrous, the curve in the export trade falling 8 per cent. During the'first half of .1927, tire latest period for which statistics arc available, there was a recovery to slightly above the 1925 level. But the figures for the whole year are likely to be less satisfactory, because the orders which had accumulated as a result of the 1926 strikes will have been executed, and the transient stimulus thus given will have been exhausted. Imports, on the other hand, have increased out of all proportion to exports, a symptom which economists regard with concern, and, unless the Board of Trade’s calculations are at fault, an adverse balance for the current year appears to be almost inevitable. Meanwhile, the coal industry is in a state of chronic stagnation. We are told that a complete reorganisation* alone can revive ir, and even if the hopes held out in this direction are fulfilled it will be at the cost of unemployment. According to well-inform-ed estimates, even as it is 200,000 more miners are engaged in the industry than it can support. With the elimination, of unprofitable pits and the adoption of laboursaving devices, the number would be greater. The textile industry is making heavy weather, and several other industries are far from prosperous. We would not for a moment magnify Britain’s troubles, or. suggest that they will not be triumphantly surmounted. But it is idle to pretend that all is well with her body economic. _ The patient who refuses to admit the existence of an ailment may render its cure impossible. Recognition of this has prompted a somewhat original proposal by Sir Alfred Mond. lie suggests that captains of industry and trades union leaders should meet in council to consider how a better spirit can be engendered. The novelty of the scheme lies in its comprehensiveness. Round table conferences have often been held in individual enterprises, even in individual industries, and many of them have had excellent results. But this one would cover the whole field of industry. British capital and British labour would together seek a lubricant for industrial friction. Britain is learning that bickering leads to nothing except loss, that capital and labour are interdependent, and that each must deal fairly by the other if industry is to thrive. Should this conference he!]) to clear the air ever so little —and anything is possible to men of good will—it may herald a new era in British industry.