SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ••■^'^^ji'V ■)' '/#:»Wli*.ArftWft^>*''ti!H^*!KAftll*lll*'It^OV^'*JltiV'?v>il O' * *}*7i-^tl/''' LESW.MACARA,Bart. ; THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES y SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM BY Sir CHARLES W. MACARA, Bart. Manchester Sherratt & Hughes 34 Cross Street 1918 ^*- A* r^- . ■ UJ £/.■ CO Mils PREFACE. The following articles have appeared in the press, and at the request of those specially interested in the subjects discussed and in the suggestions therein offered, I arranged for their publication in their present form. A number of these articles have appeared in the " Manchester Guardian," the " Cotton Fac- tory Times " — the organ of the textile workers — the " Textile Recorder" — a paper representing the views of the employers — and other papers. On their appearance in these papers requests were constantly being received for extra copies, showing that there is a widespread interest in the subjects dealt with, and that the views expressed are con- sidered by competent judges worthy of the serious attention of all who have the future welfare of humanity at heart. To the Editors of these publications I acknowledge my indebtedness. I hope, in their present form, the range of their usefulness and interest will be considerably widened. August, 19 1 8. 412G9; CONTENTS. PAGS A Survey of Present Conditions 1 The Conscription of Wealth 17 War in the Sphere of Industry 27 Diplomacy or War — Which ? 34 Industrial Reconstruction ------- 45 Labour's Poat-War Problems 56 Lord Balfour's Committee ------- 66 The Work of the Cotton Control Board - - - - 75 The Cotton Industry and the Control Board - - - 85 The Organisation of Trade -.-.-- 93 The Raw Cotton Problem - 101 Man-Power and Industry - - - - - - -119 British Agriculture -------- 136 Appendix I. Retention of the Cotton Control Board - - 143 (Letter from the Rt. Hon. J. H. Whitley, M.P.) II. Cotton Spinning Spindles . . - - . 145 III. Indian Cotton - 146 IV. Employers' Parliamentary Association - - - 149 (1) Officials 149 (2) Industrial Unjest 153 (3) Industry and Finance 161 (4) Alien Indebtedness ------ 166 * (5) Scientific Industrial Research - - - - 171 CONTENTS PAGE Appendix IV continued. (6) Patents 173 (7) Transport Facilities 174 (8) Ministry of Commerce 176 (9) National Insurance Act ----- 176 (10) Federation of British Industries and the Employers' Parliamentary Association - - 186 (11) The Industrial Outlook 191 (12) Members of the Industrial Council - - 194 (13) Draft Bill on the Subject of Alien Indebtedness 197 Index 205 A SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. " More States have been ruined by faction than have fallen before the sword of the con- queror." This was the observation of one of England's wisest moralists, and the times in which we are now living- give it great signifi- cance. We are at war — we are in the vortex of a life-and-death struggle which claims, or indeed ought to claim, our undivided atten- tion. The clash of arms is terribly insistent — the huge engines of war are spreading destruction everywhere and a sum of some- thing like seven millions of money is being spent daily, by this country, to secure freedom from Prussian autocracy and militarism. We are waging war to end war. Many thousands of our young men " have poured out the red sweet wine of youth" in order that the world shall, if possible, be rid of the Germanic war party and that the earth shall not again be B [I SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. visited by such an earthquake of mihtarism. Recent years have taught us what an egregious blunder war is. We want to have done with a poUcy of extermina- tion, of desolation, and of anarchical revolu- tion, and with a return to peace to see that all implements of war are buried beside the bones of the mammoth and the mastodon as relics of a primeval age. Having entered into this huge international quarrel in our own and our neighbours' behalf — and I maintain that the British nation would have suffered the greatest humiliation and disgrace if it had taken any other course, since the Germans were determined on war — it is extremely disconcerting to employers to find that factions are at work to undermine the system of government and social order which obtains in this country and to bring influences to bear which, if they are atten- tively listened to by the mass of the workers of the country, and acted upon, will bring not peace but a sword into our domestic relations at a time when the country is bleeding from 2] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. the world struggle into which it entered for the benefit of all classes (from the highest to the lowest) who make up the personnel of the British Empire. The war overshadows everything. Our vision can hardly penetrate the gloom in which it has enveloped us. Occasionally, however, the leaders of industry and ulti- mately the nation are perplexed with trouble in an unexpected quarter, the result of which, if persisted in, would greatly lessen our chances of victory in the war of nations by seriously reducing the iron rations for our guns and sowing the seed of revolution — a disaster which, in its extent, would be incal- culable. There have been, and there are in the fourth year of war, menacing murmurings which must not be allowed to become articulate if we are to pursue unflinch- ingly and with all the strenuousness at our command our fight for liberty on the overseas fronts. I am not one of those who wholly disregard the injunctions to " trust the people." I know that the think- [3 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. ing section of the people of this country are not likely to be led away by empty and meaningless phrases, but my long and varied experience of industrial disputes has taught me that it is the unreasoning section of the community who are easily carried away by some bombastic statement which promises to create a new heaven upon earth, and the more violent the methods suggested to be employed the higher is their admiration for the man bold enough to make it, and the greater is their enthusiasm for the new gospel preached. This is the danger we have to meet at this time, for it seems that the more poisonous the drug the more necessary it is to administer it when the attention of the nation is riveted on the attainment of an important objective. To have to meet foes within as well as with- out is not a very pleasing prospect. As a nation we were unprepared for the larger and more desperate foe. We turned deaf ears to repeated warnings; we wilfully ignored the " writing on the wall." We now know the cost of our studied indifference. 4] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. 1 hope we are not going to sit like graven images and allow a mere handful of adven- turous nonentities to bring war into the indus- trial sphere by provoking dissensions between capital and labour, and ultimately to intro- duce chaos into our national affairs. The British type of Bolshevik is abroad, and he is moulding others to utter and repeat with the dull and uninteresting persistence of the gramophone such statements as are likely to meet with the approval of that section of society which makes a boast of its revolution- ary principles. Organised British Labour has its Lenins and its Trotzkys, but happily for the workers and for the country generally, their sphere of influence is limited. But to that wing of the Labour and Socialist party which is so fond of declaring that the panacea for all our ills is a revolution, I would suggest a close exami- nation of Russian affairs under the Bolshevik regime. The dark deeds that have been per- petrated in that unhappy land, in the name of freedom, are almost incredible. In future, [5 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. Bolshevism and anarchy will be synonymous terms. The Bolsheviks have become a danger to others, and to themselves. They were supposed to remove oppression; they have become oppressors. They were to en- rich the poor ; they have condemned the poor to poverty and misery. They were to bring peace; they have made war. Instead of hope they have brought despair. They stood for " self-determination" of peoples"; they have caused their self-destruction — all this in the name of Freedom. The loudly-trumpeted saviours of the Russian proletariat have estab- lished the highest and most cruel form pf despotism. How closely the Platonic argu- ment is here exemplified. " The extravagant love of liberty, which marks democracy, pre- pares the way, by a natural reaction, for tyranny. The future tyrant is, at first, the select champion of the commonalty in the contest with the oligarchical faction. Gradu- ally he becomes more and more powerful, and, if he is banished, soon returns with an accession of influence ; next, he obtains a 6] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. bodyguard under specious pretences, and finally turns out a consummate tyrant." But I can imagine the admirer of the Bol- shevik regime (if, indeed, there can be any such person in existence to-day) asserting that I am feeding a prejudice by exaggerating the position in Russia. Let us, therefore, turn to the views of the Russian Social Democrats. From a very remarkable appeal sent out recently to Justice (the organ of the British Social Democrats), in behalf of the Central Committee of the United Labour Party of Russian Social Democrats, I have extracted the following : " At this dreadful and menacing hour we appeal to the sections of the Internationale. As at the worst moments in the Tsarist regime, we are deprived of the power of com- municating freely with the Western Socialist parties. The frontier is closed. In no country are the workers informed of what is going on in Russia, or else they are informed in a false and misleading manner. In the interests of the International Labour move- [7 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. mcnt, we must make a breach in the barrier of silence which the Bolsheviks have erected. We must cast light upon the unprecedented terror which rages in Russia in the name of Socialism, and which soils its spotless banner." The statement goes on to say that Socialists who have not embraced Bolshevism are im- prisoned; that non-Bolshevik candidates for the Constituent Assembly are " flogged un- mercifully," and that the Dictatorship is maintained only by " shameless terrorisa- tion," and proceeds : — " The Bolsheviks rely on force of arms to proclaim the beginning of the Social Revolu- tion. They preach and practice confiscation, not only as regards the land, but also as re- gards factories and workshops. In the back- ward rural parts of the country, ruined by the war, they are trying experiments which they call Socialistic, but which are rather anarchist- syndicalist, and which threaten finally to destroy our national economic life and pave the way for the defeat of the proletariat." 8] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. Then follows this terrible indictment : — " To-day, indeed, it is the sword which de- cides all questions. The Russian proletariat is threatened with a June disaster, and with the fate of the Paris Commune." Russia was one of the countries which took part in the International Congresses which were held from 1904 to 19 13 for the promo- tion of the welfare of the cotton industry of the world. The International Cotton Federa- tion and the International Institute of Agri- culture (which was established a year later than the former) have shown in a striking manner what the practical men of the world are capable of accomplishing in the develop- ment of the world's resources. The inter- change of ideas that took place at the i^jreat International Cotton Congresses, and the dis- semination of information, both personally and through the Reports, circulated in the best known languages throughout the world, constituted a form of propaganda work which would indirectly have resulted in enormous benefit to both emplovers and employed. [9 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. I have often wondered what has become of the leading Russian cotton manufacturers I met from year to year, some of whom ex- pressed an earnest desire to follow the indus- trial methods of England, so as to enable them to confer with the representatives of the workers for their mutual benefit. But by the workers following the advice of adventurers, all such hopes have, for the present at all events, been shattered, and Russia's future is shrouded in uncertainty both for employers and workers. In these vast upheavals the workers are ultimately the chief sufferers. It is to be hoped that wiser counsels may yet prevail, and the sound ad- vice of the practical men of the world listened to once more. The proposal to conscript wealth is one of the items of the Bolshevik programme, and the man who has nothing to give or anything worth taking, who makes this his cry, knows quite well that if it is repeated often enough he will find converts who, in turn (provided, of course, that their pockets, too, are empty), lo] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. will serve as gramophone records to spread the Bolshevik gospel. Let us for a moment examine the proposal to conscript wealth. It is a demand made by the " have nots" forcibly to take possession of the property which be- longs to another. Apply this policy to private gain and the perpetrator of it, if caught, would be held to be a vagabond and treated accord- ingly. If, on the other hand, it is done by and for the nation, it will, by virtue of this, be made a legal act. But this legality does not make it just. The advocates of the con- scription of wealth tell us that in this war life is conscripted, and that, therefore, those who cannot give their services in the field cannot do less than give of their wealth. There is nothing illogical about this statement as it stands. The man who is giving his life is giving his all, for life is more precious than money. But the unreasonableness of the proposal is that in what is truly a national war — a fight for our very existence — one class should be called upon to pay as well as to fight. The conscription of life is not made [II SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. harshly to apply any more to one class than to another; it comprehends all, no matter to what station of life it has pleased God to call them. Then why should one class have its pockets emptied in order that another class should be relieved of financial responsibility? It is well to remember, too, that it is not the man in the trenches who is advocating the conscription of wealth, but the man at home who is drawing a big wage and is living in comfort. But the injustice of the whole proceeding is more clearly seen when we consider another aspect of the question. The man who is shouting the loudest for the conscription of wealth has had neither his life nor any part of his war " profiteering" conscripted. We should not lose sight of the fact that the worker is one of the " profiteers" as the result of the war. This, however, does not prevent him resting his eyes on the possessions of another. The Tenth Commandment might never have been written so far as he is con- cerned. Tt has been computed that the wages 12] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. bill of the country has advanced by something aj)proaching a thousand millions a year. In other words, a large proportion of the war debt represents money paid to the workers of the United Kingdom. And yet we have men posing as the representatives of the workers and asking that the employers who, according to these agitators, are the only " profiteers" by the war, should be made to bear the burden of this huge wage list in addition to paying excess profits. It is a reckless and mischiev- ous proposal, and its unreasonableness is the more apparent the closer we examine it. The excess profits tax is a more equitable arrangement. Employers generally are not disposed to quarrel with this method of rais- ing money to pay for the war. But here again the basis taken for arriving at the payments to be made makes a bigger demand on some industries than upon others. We can have no better example of this than that afforded by the two staple industries of Lancashire and York.shire. The woollen industry of the neighbouring county has not had such recur- [13 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. ring periods of depression as the cotton trade. The cotton industry immediately preceding the war was in a very depressed state. But the period of depression was taken as a normal time, and if, perchance, the trade should, in spite of present difficulties, improve its posi- tion, the claim for excess profits could be proved to have been based on an unfair — ■ a false — calculation. Since the outbreak of war, American cotton has been as low as ^lo a bale, now it is ;!^6o, and as the average cotton mill requires hun- dreds of bales in process, a very large extra capital is necessarily involved. Not only has the raw material advanced in price, but every- thing connected with the manufacture of cot- ton has correspondingly increased. The war, however, has got to be paid for, and the industrial and commercial concerns of the country have to find the money. The Government, therefore, must not restrict the development of either by making excessive demands at this time. Such demands would most certainly have the effect of stifling enter- 14] SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. prise. When the war is over, our industrial concerns will need time to recuperate. Many will have to be re-established ; some will have to undergo reconstruction. There are diffi- culties and dangers ahead, and sound and efficient organisation will alone enable us to meet the severe competition which will come with the end of hostilities. We have to see that we have a contented army of workers, and in many ways their conditions must be improved. We must have unity in all our commercial undertakings. A better, a healthier atmosphere must be introduced. All this will need capital, and if we have the capital the production of the country can be increased, and through this increased production we shall all be able to do our share in providing the necessary money to pay for the war. All this can be achieved if we put our backs into the work, but there must be no divisions between capital and labour; no talk of apply- ing principles of a revolutionary character to our industrial sphere Employers and workers must be joined together firm in the [15 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. resolve to do all that is humanly possible to make life generally in this country happier and brighter, so that we may reap to the full the victory of our arms, which we all hope will come sooner than we can reasonably expect at the moment. Mr. J. R. Clynes, the well- known and highly-respected Labour leader, made a statement recently with which I en- tirely agree. He said that the workers could not hope in their lifetime to see capital sup- planted by collectivism, as some people con- tended. What he hoped to see was capital diluted with as much humanism as possible. This kind of dilution is long overdue. Let us see to it that our house is in order, so that we may be able to show that our prosperity as employers depends upon the prosperity and happiness of the workers, and then we shall have made a big advance in the direc- tion we all so eagerly desire. 1 6] THE CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, through his coquetting- with the predatory type of Socialist on the question of the conscription of wealth has, no doubt quite unintentionally, done a great disservice to his country. He has aroused among the great body of patriots a feeling of suspicion and distrust which, I fear, it will take a long time entirely to eradi- cate. It has also done something to rekindle the embers of class hatred, which it was hoped the war would do something to modify, if not altogether extinguish. The Chancellor is understood to have been " significantly sympathetic " in his reply to a deputation representing various labour organisations who had urged " that the money wanted for the war beyond the proceeds of the taxes should be got by a compulsory capital levy instead of by interest-bearing c [17 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. loans.'' The Chancellor of the Exchequer is represented as saying that he would do nothing now that would interfere with the all too scanty flow of loans, " but far from think- ing the idea of a capital levy impracticable or economically unsound, he very definitely repeated that if the capital did not come in, voluntarily, he would not hesitate to ask the House of Commons to take it, even during the war; that after the war he had no doubt that the new burden of debt would be made a charge on realised wealth." Further, it is illleged that the Chancellor liolds the view that a capital levy would be a better way of meeting our liabilities than an annual tax. If the above quotation is a correct interpre- tation of the Chancellor's statement, it would appear that he suddenly and inconsiderately embraced the vicious gospel of the British type of Bolshevik, that the private capitalist should not exist, and that the war should be made the excuse for his suppression and ultimate extinction. It is true that the Chancellor has since repudiated any idea of i8] THE CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. taxing- capital. But this cannot end the con- troversy or remove the suspicion which has spread all over the country that privately owned capital is to be pounced upon in order to reduce the burden of the National Debt. It is inconceivable that any one of our lead- ing statesmen should have been encouraged to favour, in ever so slight a degree, the Socialistic dogma, which is that " wars are fostered by national prejudices which are systematically cultivated in the interest of tlie ruling class in order to divert the proletarian masses from the duty they owe to their class and to international solidarity. Wars are therefore the very marrow of capitalism, and will cease only with the suppression of the capitalist system." If there ever was a war which indisputably disproves this heresy, it is the war which iS now spreading desolation over the face of the earth. I assert emphatically (and I am confi- dent what I say now will not be controverted by any honest man) that the war of to-day is not a capitalists' war. It is a war whfch has [19 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. been thrust upon us by a military caste and largely waged by an army of Socialists. We did not invite it; we tried to prevent it. But with the sword at our throat we should have suffered the greatest humiliation and degrada- tion if we had stood by and watched other nations ravaged, and waited in splendid isolation for the enemy to concentrate all his efforts on our own land. Nov/ the point I wish to make is that as it is not a capitalists' war, but a war which the nation as a whole entered upon in self-defence and in defence of smaller nations, no one class should be called upon to suffer their wealth to be conscripted — that each class should pay its quota. AH classes are called upon to fight, and one of the proudest pages of British history is the enthusiasm with which all classes — the poet, the sculptor, the artist, the musician, the merchant, the Duke's son, the Earl's son, the skilled worker and the unskilled worker — rushed to the colours in the early days of the war. All were imbued with the desire to avenge a grievous wrong, 20] THE CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. and whilst I agree that all who have been enjoying comparative comfort behind our lines of brave heroes should contribute to the war in proportion to the income they receive, it would be the height of injustice to say that a special class should have its wealth con- scripted. As one who for the past quarter of a century, has laboured in season and out of season for a better understanding between capital and labour, I deplore what seems to me to be at least a serious error of judgment on the part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in using words and phrases, chosen perhaps in a haphazard way, which are capable of bearing a false construction and may be used to further the interests of a faction, and which are calculated to create a bad feeling between employers and their workpeople. Whilst I sympathise with Ministers in the great task set them (and I may perhaps be permitted to say that my past record, both before and since the war, will acquit me of any desire [21 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. merely to indulge in destructive criticism), I am bound to say, as a diligent student of national affairs, that there has been far too much inj udicious, reckless talk, which, betrayed either a want of knowledge or a lack of well- balanced thouo^ht. We do not seem to have in this great crisis, the master mind which we have had in former generations ; the compiler of clear-cut phrases which mean only one thing. This statement as to a levy on capital is only one of many instances in which a juggler with words and phrases has turned and used them in a way in which they were never intended to be used. Our experience in this connection proves conclusively that we have not reached the state when Noble statesmen do not itch To interfere with matters which they do not understand. " Clear thinking " is a great national asset at all times. It is specially valuable just now. I do not close my eyes to the fact that the nation is faced with financial difficulties of 22] THE CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. the gravest kind. But would a levy on capital which is so light-heartedly proposed, help us out of these difficulties, or would it add further difficulties to the situation? Let us assume that the proposal is one which is deserving of consideration. How are we going to make a levy on capital which will give the country what it wants .^ It must be remembered that the greater portion of the capital of the country is not what is called fluid — that is, it is locked up in buildings, plant, machinery, stock-in-trade of all kinds, and perhaps the greater part of it would not be realisable if the levy was imposed. The speculative value of securities, too, would be lost, and other holdings which represented money would, if the Socialist policy were adopted, speedily become a drug on the market. In such a contingency it would not be possible to obtain assistance from the Bankers, as has been suggested by some advocates of the levy, because the demand would be a universal one, and the Bankers [23 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. would have to find the money with which to pay the levy on their own capital. The whole policy would spell industrial ruin; unemploy- ment on an enormous scale would be inevit- able. The State does not want capital, but income — ready cash which can be turned into articles of daily use — not portions of land, houses, furniture, machinery, pictures, jewellery, and other such forms of capital. These things will not pay or feed our sailors and soldiers, nor will they release the State from the finan- cial burdens which this war has thrust upon it. A levy on capital would discourage thrift, and encourage spendthrifts; would penalise the patriot who has lent all his spare money to the country, and leave untouched Socialists and others who deliberately withhold such assistance. One of the most encouraging features in this country, following upon the war, has been the great stimulus it has given to almost universal saving. All the banking returns prove this, and it will be disastrous if anything is done to remove this healthy sign. 24] THE CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. Lastly, in spite of all the uneasiness that has been manifest in the country since the Chancellor of the Exchequer's alleged statement on the conscription of wealth, I cannot believe that the British Government contemplates repudiating its pledges in regard to war bonds- Ever since the levy proposal was made it has been known that in this direction the eyes of those who envy the possessions of others have been resting. But that way lies national dishonour. Many theoretical opinions are expressed as to the manner of dealing with this im- portant subject. Personally I have always preferred to be guided by the practical ex- periences of the past. If both Capital and Labour are thoroughly organised in our staple industries, and if, in meeting the vicissitudes which constantly arise, these industries arc managed as industries, and not as individual concerns, we can look to the future with abso- lute confidence, certain that the difhcultios which are ahead can be overcome without either stifling private enterprise, or unduly [25 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. enhancing the cost of commodities to the consumer. I believe the colossal war debt can be grappled with in this way, and without any resort to the revolutionary measures which are being advocated in certain quarters. Remembering the great recuperative power of France after the Franco-German War of 1870, I give it as my firm conviction, as the result of a large experience, that if Capital and Labour will co-operate in developing the undeveloped resources of the world to the fullest extent, the appalling expenditure of money in this unparalleled struggle may be made up in a shorter space of time than is generally believed. 26] WAR IN THE SPHERE OF INDUSTRY. We are to-day discussing the question of wholly abolishing war by forming a League of Nations — a high court of arbitration — to adjust international dis- putes without appealing to the arbitra- ment of the sword. This is a goal and consummation most devoutly to be wished. But may we not also with advantage apply the proposal to industrial warfare? We want, too, a League of Industries — the operation of the Industrial Council which represents the employers and the workers — for unless some- thing is done to maintain our industrial and commercial supremacy, and to render impos- sible the paralysing of industry by frequent and irritating disputes between Capital and Labour, we shall invite our own destruction by continuing to wage internecine war, which is so disastrous to our own welfare and so [27 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. advantageous to foreign competitors, who, when the guns are silent and a military peace has been declared, will welcome any industrial disturbance to resume their policy of peaceful penetration. I have always held that the establishment of the rights of labour is the first fruit of freedom, and the maintenance of these rights is the first necessity of a commonwealth. But there have been periods in our country's history when Labour was considered to have no rights. I must admit that there are em- ployers to-day who, both by word and deed, discourage any fraternising between the em- ploying and working classes. Their aim seems to be to divide the two interests by a long stretch of " no-man's-land." This class of employer would do well to remember the words of Adam Smith : " Labour was the first price, the original purchase money which was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by Labour, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased." Down to the year 1824 it was not lawful for men 28] WAR IN THE SPHERE OF INDUSTRY. to collect together to decide what wages they would work for, although the masters at that time were free to meet and agree to give their men what sum they cared to fix. There was neither freedom nor justice in this procedure. Happily this legal inequality has long since been removed, and the benefits which have accrued to industry generally cannot be over- estimated. But we have not yet reached the ideal industrial state. In my long connection with the cotton trade I have always kept constantly before me the rights of labour. My advocacy of strong combinations of employers and workpeople has never wavered, for I am confident that it is only by efficient organisa- tion that the interests, of both may be served and the welfare of the industry maintained. The conditions of work to-day are far superior to what they were before the advent of trade unions. Through their representatives the workers have been able to bring all their grievances directly before the employers, and [29 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. the relations between Capital and Labour have vastly improved. But there is room for still further improve- ment along well-defined lines which the war has brought into prominence. We, the employers and the workpeople, will not in the immediate future, be able to afford to spend time over bickerings about grievances which ought not to be allowed to exist. The drastic change which the war has wrought over the face of the earth is destined to exert a most profound influence over all industry, and we must be prepared to rise to the occasion and use our organisations to better purpose. If the workers are suffering a grievance it must be diagnosed at once, and if an evil influence is found to exist it must be speedily removed as a surgeon would remove a cancerous growth. We must have done with mere palliatives — quack medicines which may give momentary relief, but tend to accentuate the trouble. The industrial awakening will call for the elimination of all that contributes to discontent, and therefore to inefficiency. It 3"] WAR IN THE SPHERE OF INDUSTRY. is a truism to say that a contented body of workpeople is one of the surest guarantees of industrial efficiency. But are we not some- times inclined to forget this ? At the same time I fear that our industrial organisations in the past have regarded them- selves too much in the light of combatant forces, and an atmosphere of suspicion has been created which has led to strife when a little more tolerance and forbearance — open mindedness if you like — would have over- come any strained relations that existed. In the cotton industry — our second largest Industry— we have set a good example to the other industries in the country, in that we are so thoroughly organised as practically to be free from industrial troubles- We have not entirely exorcised the strike and lockout evils, and it is in this direction that I would like to see a new era opened, for if we are to hold our own in the industrial fight of the immediate future employers as well as employed must work to that end. For the future I would ask employers and [31 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. workers not to forget that " United we stand ; divided we fall." There must be mutual charity and forbearance. Each ought honestly to place himself for a moment in the situation of the other when each might see causes in operation which he could not other- wise have seen — trials and difficulties of which he had not dreamed. Let the employer look steadily at the position of the worker, and let the worker consider the position of the employer. Let the employer reflect on the patience, self-denial and fortitude with which the workman endures severe trials and priva- tions, and let the workman reflect on the fairness and moderation, often under circum- stances of serious difficulty, and the generosity of the employer. Capital, which is labour and money, at war with itself, has been compared to a madman who, in a sudden frenzy, dashed each of his fists against the other while both were bleeding and disabled. The troubles of the past have been largely due to ignorance, sometimes to selfishness, and the absence of a truly sympathetic out- 32] WAR IN THE SPHERE OF INDUSTRY. look. In the drastic reconstruction which the war foreshadows, customs and traditions of commercial life which are among the most enduring things in a nation's character will be revolutionised, and we shall have to look to the large army of workers in their own interest and in the interest of the country to assist the leaders of industry to meet and cope with this great industrial change. The great need now is for an organisation to promote and maintain industrial peace in all the industries of the country, for all are linked together, and trouble in one will almost certainly affect another which at first glance seems to be far removed. In this important undertaking the trade unions will be expected to take an important share, for without them nothing can be done which will have any permanent value. - '--;ciSG DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? In the last chapter I vindicated the rights of Labour. I want now to say something about the rights of Capital, and to show how urgent is the demand to-day for effecting a reconciliation between the conflicting claims of Capital and Labour. Before entering upon that subject I would like briefly to refer to a statement made in reply to my argument that this war had disproved the Socialist view that all wars are sought after and deliberately encouraged by the Capitalist class, and will " cease only with the suppression of the Capitalist system." We are told that wars are the result of maintaining navies and armies. But it would be untrue to say that our armed forces are wholly maintained by and for any one class in the State, or that these forces are waiting to exterminate a 34] DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? people and devastate a country at the call of any one class. Again, my arguments clearly show that I was not concerned in any way with the German inducements to wage a war of extermination and destruction, but to show that the entry into the war of this country was not the outcome of the machinations of the Capitalist class. Great Britain had the choice between war and an intolerable alter- native. For her it was not, and is not, in its essence a war of interests ; it is a war of ideals. Not a war of aggression, but a war in defence of principles, the maintenance of which is vital to civilisation. The German nation — militarists, capitalists, professors, priests, students, and the large class w^hich is usually embodied under the general term of "workers" — had cultivated a warlike, restless, ambitious spirit of conquest, and the nation in arms was turned into a pack of wolves instead of watch- dogs. I am asked if my suggestion is that " it is purely a military caste in Germany who forced [35 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. the war?" About the time Germany forced the war upon us Mr. H. M. Hyndman wrote an article in which he spoke of the military caste "which, holding Germany in its grip, had resolved to make war upon Europe." That, according to Mr. Hyndman, was the position in spite of the fact that the Social Democrats, with nearly five million votes in the election immediately preceding, formed the largest party in the Reichstag. Sir Max Waechter, in an article (" Fort- nightly Review," May 19 13) written to prove that the nations of Europe were being crushed by the burden of militarism, that militarism is perpetuated and increased by their divisions, and that armaments can be restricted only when the European nations become united, said : "In Germany antagonism against England is very widespread, principally among the masses, and it is so intense that during the recent Morocco crisis the German populace would have enthusiastically wel- comed a war with England without thought of the consequences. This may appear 36] DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? exaggerated, but the writer happened to be in Germany at the time, and noticed the prevail- ing excitement with great concern. Happily the German Government did not allow itself to be carried away by popular passion, but the danger lies in this that at some other occasion the Government might be unable to withstand the war clamour and be forced into war in order to save its existence. The prejudice among the German masses against England has been artificially created. . . Happily a large proportion of the cultured and business classes are friendly to the British nation." I was in Berlin myself at the culmination of the Morocco crisis, and I know how near we were to war at that time. But it is not my immediate purpose to defend war between nations, but to put in a plea for a peaceful issue out of all our indus- trial afflictions. In the past it cannot be said that all our ways have been ways of pleasant- ness, and all our paths have led to peace. Wc have been too prone to array our forces on the field of war. Would it not be a good [37 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. thing for the nation — for employers and workers alike — if instead of perpetuating industrial strife and thereby weakening our commercial supremacy, we were to turn to the field of diplomacy? There are quite distinctive rights which belong to capital. There has been too great a tendency among the workers to countenance the ruthless violation of treaties of peace ; to regard the settlement of a grievance as binding only upon the employer and leaving the worker free to ignore the pledges made on his behalf by his duly accredited trade union representative. Strikes and lockouts are alike a state of war. They are essentially barbarous and inhuman ex- pedients, and the misery and suffering which follow in their train indiscriminately involve the innocent as well as the guilty section of the community who are held to be responsible for the disaster. The " sympathetic " strike is the latest form of tyranny, and the evils caused by this weapon of Labour, whilst ignoring all the 38] DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? principles upon which a sound system of collective bargaining can be set up, create a profound feeling of suspicion and distrust between employers and their workpeople, bring widespread distress to the class of people in the community who can least afford to suffer the deprivations which this industrial manoeuvre of war entails, and weaken our stability as a nation. My contention is that without direct State intervention the employers of the country on the one side and the workers on the other, and to the great advantage of both, could adjust their grievances without resorting to anti- quated and merciless methods of force, the evils of which are so apparent. We should demand that the wheels of the machinery of the Industrial Council might be made to revolve when there is a danger of a serious breach between the principal parties of industry. The workers in the cotton industry will know that I have long advocated the establishment of a tribunal for dealing with deadlocks in labour disputes, and that in [39 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. 191 1 the Government, acting on my proposal, decided that the best means to strengthen and improve the existing official machinery for settling and shortening industrial disputes by which the general public are adversely affected was by the fonnation of an Industrial Council equally representative of Capital and Labour. I do not close my eyes to the fact that arbitration in the past has been disappointing. The workpeople have dis- trusted it. They had a suspicion that it too often proceeded on the principle of " Heads I win; tails you lose." On the other hand, the employers distrusted it because of the growing repudiation by the workers of many of the settlements. In the cotton industry we have taken a lead in improving the relations between capital and labour. The industry is highly organised; the leaders of the trade unions are men possessing the highest qualifications for the work they have to do. This the employers have always recognised and appreciated. The workers' interests have not suffered in 40] DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? their hands, and will not suffer in the future provided they receive the cordial support of the rank and file of the vast army of opera- tives. In the conference room they have proVed their ability in the past, and the introduction of the Industrial Council will not in any way lessen their influence or that of their unions. All I ask is that instead of paralysing industry by having recourse to strikes and lockouts which belong to the age of barbarism we should bring all the wisdom possible to bear on our grievances, w^hether real or imagined, and thereby secure peace with honour. A remarkably good illustration of the way in which the employers' and operatives' representatives can work together for the general v^eliare of the industry is provided for us in the admirable way in which the Cotton Control Board has accomplished the most difficult task of steering the industry clear of the rocks which at one time threatened to wreck it. The employers alone could not have steered the ship of industry into safety. [41 SOCIAL AND INDUSTKIAL REFORM. Nor could the operatives' representatives unassisted have supplied the ballast necessary to secure a safe passage. Employers' and operatives' leaders combined have fought successfully against a turbulent sea of con- troversy, and relieved a terrible period of anxiety by their statesmanlike conduct and grasp of essentials. When we consider what has been accomplished by the Cotton Control Board it is idle to suggest that it is necessary to appeal to the strike and the lock-out to adjust any differences that may occur in the future. But wherein lies the secret of the success of the work of the Cotton Control Board? It is surely to be found in the fact that arrangements were made by the Board of Trade compulsorily to bring the whole of the cotton industry — the federated and the non- federated firms — the unionist and the non- unionist workers — into line. The importance of this was made manifest in the report of the inquiry on industrial agreements. The newly-formed Industrial Council in 19 12 42] DIPLOMACY OR WAR— WHICH? urged that any agreement that was reached in behalf of the employers and workers in any one industry, provided it received the sanction of three-quarters of the persons employed in that industry, should be held to be binding on the remaining quarter. If this advice had been acted upon when war broke out, many millions of money would have been saved to the cotton industry, which is admitted to have been the most hardly hit of all our industries. If many years' observation and reflection entitle me to make a recommendation, it is that we should henceforth resolve voluntarily to abandon the wasteful and expensive methods of the past in the future conduct of our industrial affairs. We have to accept one of two alternatives — conciliation or alienation — a drawing together of the forces of industry or to risk the danger of a wider breach between them. The latter would hamper trade at one of the most critical times in our history. Besides playing into the hands of those nations which are to-day trying permanently to cripple us, such a policy would [43 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. make our organisations practically useless, and the increased competition which we will have to meet when our armies return from the field of action would find us unprepared to meet it, inasmuch as we would be engaged in a guerilla warfare among ourselves. Con- ciliation, on the other hand, would open up a new and happier era, and when once estab- lished would not be departed from, since it would place our industries on a higher, firmer, a more secure and lasting basis, because the evil which had for so long been troubling us and conspiring to our ruin had been eliminated. 44J INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. I have referred to the grreat work of the Cotton Control Board in saving the cotton industry from a disaster, the magnitude of which, but for wise forethought, experienced handhng and sympathetic treat- ment of the employers' and operatives' repre- sentatives composing that Board, would have been incalculable. Sir Albert Stanley, Presi- dent of the Board of Trade, was one of the men outside the cotton industry who admitted the seriousness of the position by his supremely wise declaration that none but those who had made the cotton industry a life-long study could be expected satisfac- torily to deal with it. The period through which we have passed since the outbreak of war has been unprece- dented in its character; the anxiety both of employers and operatives has never before in [45 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. the history of the trade been so prevalent and deep-rooted. When the Board was formed many of us who appreciated the problem it had undertaken to attempt to solve might have been disposed to show want of confi- dence in its ability at so late an hour to bring the much desired relief. The difficulties seemed insuperable. But as the weeks advanced the steady and experienced un- ravelling of the problem gradually removed our suspicions of failure ; the incredulous were encouraged to be hopeful, and confidence generally was ultimately restored. There are dangers ahead, but we are prepared to face them with equanimity now that we know that our interests are in the safe keeping of men who have steadfastly, fearlessly and undeviat- ingly steered a safe passage among the rocks which have menaced us for the past four years. Lancashire's staple industry, unlike the woollen industry of the neighbouring county, has been one of the victims of the war. The spinning and manufacturing of cotton goods 46] INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. have been seriously depressed by the conflict of arms; the manufacture of woollens, on the other hand, has been correspondingly stimu- lated in consequence of the demand for woollen productions for the Services. It is difficult to see how cotton manufacture can ever hope to maintain its normal trade during war. The raw material has to be brought overseas and in a time of peace, four-fifths of its manufactured goods are exported. These two factors are suflicient to show how difficult it is to keep even a moderate percentage of the machinery running. It is not surprising, therefore, that only a comparatively small section of the trade has had to pay any pro- portion of excess profits. I hold the view that the exploitation of the war to build up riches is in the highest degree unpatriotic, not to say degrading, and any •measure which is imposed to check such an evil influence, to discourage motives which must be foreign to the taste of all really patriotic citizens, should be welcomed. A war which some time ago was costing us [47 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. approximately six millions sterling, daily, has got to be paid for, and when the Government, in September, 19 15, imposed a duty of 50 per cent, on all excess profits based on pre-war returns, it was generally agreed to be a fair and equitable impost, although there were industries which had to pay the 50 per cent, notwithstanding that the excess of profits could be shown to be not directly attributable to the war. As the days of the war lengthened, and the daily figure at which it was waged increased to such alarming propor- tions, the Government raised the tax, in 19 16, to 60 per cent., and afterwards to 80 per cent, of the excess profits, and it is at the higher level that it now stands. No doubt in many instances, and especially in the case of those firms engaged exclusively on munitions, the retention of only 20 per cent, of the profits of the pre-war standard is reofarded as reasonable. But whether this is so or not I am quite satisfied that no firm would care to be suspected of exploiting the war for personal enrichment or the mainten- 48] INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. ance of high dividends. It is a well-known axiom that all profit which directly arises from the war should revert to the State, and if the application of that theory was practicable, little fault might be found with it. But all taxation, in its incidence, makes unreasonable demands on certain members of society, and the same remark applies to some of our industrial enterprises since they are called upon to bear a financial strain which, if investigated by any impartial tribunal, would be found to be unwarranted. It is by the unbroken prosperity of our national industries that the financial burden of the war will eventually be met. It will, therefore, be a suicidal policy to bleed our industries to death by making unreasonable demands. While it may be quite right to call upon the providers of war material to return to the State the larger proportion of their profits, it may, on the other hand, be quite wrong to make the same demands on another industry which is not on war work, and which may have increased its profits not because of, but in E [49 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. spite of the war, through a closer and more effective supervision and by business initiative in opening up new channels of trade.' The ability of the country to meet its financial obligations will depend on the com- merce of the country, which must be prepared to meet the strenuous conditions which will follow the " cease fire " on the various fronts. The immediate danger of the high duty is to arrest enterprise in our peaceful commercial pursuits. All industries should contribute their quota to financing the war, but it is hardly equitable that an industry which for quite a considerable period before the war was depressed, and which has since passed through great trials and tribulations, should now be taxed to the maximum amount. A study of the working of the staple industries of the country will show that boom years are invariably followed by periods of depression, and the average return on capital over a term of years is quite a moderate percentage in all of them. In the cotton industry, for example, this has been frequently demonstrated, and it 50] INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. is obvious that if excess profits had been charged in the jjoom years the average per- centage left would have been so small as to discourage enterprise, and this would have been detrimental to the best interests of labour. In this connection I would like to give a warning against the erroneous impres- sion created by the publication in the press of the -results over short periods of the working of a selected number of cotton spinning com- panies without any explanation as to what has brought about these results. They may have been obtained in various ways; as, for instance, reckless speculation, or by such action as is now exercised by the Cotton Con- trol Board. It must, however, never be over- looked that whatever the results may be, after allowing a modest percentage on the capital employed 80 per cent, is claimed by the Government as excess profits. If we are to meet our national indebtedness we must not let our trade, commerce, and manufactures decline. We must stimulate our production to the greatest extent, and we [5 1 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. can only do that by taking care that our industries are left with the means to produce more wealth. When the war is over we shall need capital for development. The cotton industry, as I have already stated, is not in a position to pay large excess profits, as it has been passing through a bad period in conse- quence of the \var. The time may come, however, when a considerable share of the profits from textiles will be called for. It would be a good thing if those engaged in the cotton industry — spinners, manufacturers, and merchants — were to get the sanction of the Government for raising a fund for industrial reconstruction to be deducted from excess profits. Such a fund will be greatly needed. I do not propose that this fund should be utilised to develop any particular business, but that it should be used to stimulate the industry generally. We must do something to secure a more adequate supply of cotton and generally to assist the industry to meet the big demands that will be made upon it in the future. 52] INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. I hope and believe that the working people of the country will fully realise that it is in their interest that capital should be available to develop the industries in which they find employment, and that any taxation which discourages enterprise will not tend to their welfare. The ideal position which I have often advocated is that the organisations of Capital and Labour should embrace all engaged in the staple industries; that there should be close co-operation between these organisations in dealing with the broad problems affecting these industries as a whole, and that there should be a fair division of profits between those who supply capital and those who supply labour, because each is indispensable to the other We hear a great deal about profit-sharing just now, and I would suggest that the leaders of the employers and the employed in the cotton industry utilise the scheme for the regulation of wages according to the state of trade, which has been in existence for ten years. [53 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. But to return to the subject of industrial re- construction. I would emphasize this : If our industries are to recuperate after the war there must be industrial concord. Capital and Labour must reason together, and build up more harmonious relationships. We must have done with all the intrigues of one class against another class. We shall only find industrial salvation in our unity ; to perpetuate our divisions means disaster. The nation in the future will demand the maximum of production and a minimum of friction, and it is the duty of the employer to meet the employed at the cross roads, and so to settle their differences that the interests of the two classes shall henceforth be as one, and both parties shall march along the same road instead of taking divergent roads, which have in the past separated them into opposing camps. It is not possible, I fear, to formulate one welfare scheme to comprise all industries. There are, it is true, general principles which will apply to all, but there are special interests associated with most large industries, 54] INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION. so that something m the nature of " self- determination " must be applied if we are to reach the peaceful agreements we all desire, and bring together all classes of employers and workpeople anxious for the welfare of their own industry, and banded together in defence of their common aspirations, and, above all, filled with the spirit which shall successfully re-establish British industries in a position of superiority which is so necessary to the well-being of all classes in the country. C55 LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. I have already sought to show how interdependent are the interests of Capital and Labour, and how urgent is the demand for a reconciliation between these two industrial classes if we are to re- establish our industry and commerce when this perilous and destructive war comes to an end. I have said that it is time that the employers and the workers of this country had reached the threshold of industrial peace and goodwill. I have worked for many years for a better understanding between all sections of the industrial army, and the schemes which I have launched for this purpose must be accepted as the measure of my sincerity for the cause. I only wish that any success that has attended my labours had been more pronounced. During former 56] LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. periods of trade depressions (happily the Cotton Control Board has shown how these can be successfully met) I have never failed to commiserate with the workers in their hour of trial, and to show an earnest desire to alleviate, where possible, their anxiety. As a leader of industry I have considered this to be my duty. After having secured the approval of many of the captains of industry and the prominent labour leaders, the Government appointed the Industrial Council in 191 1, the first official body where the chief representatives of capital and labour sat round the same table. This newly-formed Council had the whole industrial system of England under its eye, all the industrial practice and custom of England at its finger tips. At the moment the war broke out the industrial mobilisation of England was necessary and even vital- — as necessary and as vital as the mobilisation of an expeditionary force. The Industrial Council was there, a perfect engine of organisation, every part in working order, [57 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. capable, within a few hours, of getting up the steam pressure for war. It was not used. Why? In this hour of national crisis one is constrained to emphasize what has already been said in regard to this very urgent indus- trial topic. We are, as it were, at the parting of the ways, and the choice of our road will have far-reaching results for good or for evil. If we are wise we shall take a wider survey than we are accustomed to of our national industrial position, for success or failure in the future will very largely depend upon what we make of our relationships to-day. The dangers ahead are not vague and imaginary; they are real, but I am confident that if we can reach a better understanding, and attune our lives more in harmony with the M^ants and aspirations of each section of the community — to deal out justice even-handedly — we shall go forward prospering and to prosper. In the past we have had, as it were, a succession of skirmishes. The worker has done his best to out-manoeuvre the employer and the 58] LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. employer in his turn has massed his forces to meet any attack that has been made upon his position, and has not hesitated to dcHver a counter-attack when the opportunity offered. During periods of discontent, whether limited or general in their application, we have resorted to war with a suddenness which seemed to leave out of consideration all the consequences of our action. Anomalous as it may seem, the workers have almost invariably consented eagerly to a fight against their employers— sometimes against the wise counsels of their accredited representatives — and have denounced any measure of arbitra- tion, and yet a war between nations they hold to be iniquitous because, so they allege, it is fought in favour of capital and to the great disadvantage of the worker, who alone is represented by his spokesman to be the class to make all the sacrifice. In a former chapter dealing with the proposed levy on capital I sought to prove that the representatives of capital have not taken all the honours while the [59 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. workers have taken all the scars. I do not think that will be disputed, so that I need not pursue the subject further, beyond emphasis- ing the point that I am not for one moment concerned with the inducements which led Germany to bring hell upon earth; to intro- duce a reign of terror, and to commit inde- scribable horrors. We are told by some that the M^ar was begun, is continued, and will be ended by German capitalists. Without any desire to defend the German capitalist, I cannot believe that the capitalistic class is alone responsible for the war. I am more inclined to believe that it is the outcome of the doctrine instilled in the German nation that " war was a normal state of civilisation ; that the lust of conquest and the arrogance of race were the most precious of the virtues," and that this, and this alone, has been the cause of their brutal and licentious fury. No such indict- ment can be preferred against the capitalists of this country, and for that reason the whole nation is at war. There is no considerable 60] LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. section of the community that disproves our entry into what is for us a war of defence of small nationalities and for our own defence. For this reason I assert — and the assertion I claim to be not in any degree unreasonable — that no one class should be called upon to suffer the conscription of its capital, but that all classes should contribute according to their means in order to overcome the enemy of the human race. But whether or not the German capitalist is responsible for this terrible war, he will be responsible for the industrial war which is to follow. Of that there can be no shadow of doubt, and if we are unprepared to meet him because of our domestic wars, we shall not maintain our position in the world's markets. We shall enter upon a period of national decay — a national calamity for which our own squabbles, if persisted in, will not atone. We were unprepared as a nation for the military war. Are we going to bury our heads in the sand like the ostrich and allow the German industrial war to throttle us? If this is to be [6i SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. our attitude then we shall not have learned our lesson. The workers, in that event, will be the first to suffer. Industrial prosperity means something more than prosperity for the capitalist class. If the workers of any country are not prosperous, then the industries of the nation are in a decadent state, or there is something radically wrong with the indus- trial partnership. Although I have no desire, unnecessarily, to perpetuate enmity between this nation and any other nation, because in that way we breed war; still we have to face facts. Self- preservation must be our first consideration. It is as certain as that night follows the day that an industrial war is coming. Nothing can prevent it, and where there is industrial discord the policy of forceful penetration will be directed with something of the strenuous- ness which has marked the waging of war with arms. Industrial unrest in a time of national crisis is the parent of dangerous commotions and angry revolutions. We have already been 62] LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. threatened by manifestations of the insurrec- tionary spirit, and those who are anxious for our country's destiny must show the danger signal and point to the threatening disaster which may not be clearly seen by those who are making clamorous advances which are equally mischievous and groundless. I appeal to the workers of the country not to embrace the meaningless catchwords of a class who seem to have formed a nucleus for disaffection — who profess rebellion as a principle. The mutual interest of the employers and the workers' demands, and the future well- being of the nation demands, that we should embrace every opportunity to uproot all causes of disaffection; to organise, not for war, but for peace, in our own industrial concerns, so that, free from the trammels of domestic strife, we may be ready to enter the new field of competition. We must not forget that : I. Our prosperity depends mainly upon trade, and for carrying on trade an U^3 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. adequate capital is essential. It is important, therefore, that the Govern- ment do not place needless restrictions on trade. 2. That it is necessary for the future that employers and employed adjust their grievances without resorting to the brutal methods of strikes or lockouts. « 3. That the machinery of the Industrial Council, or some other organisation equally representative of capital and labour, should be brought into operation when any dispute occurs so that those best qualified to adjudicate on a griev- ance or grievances in any one industry may give a decision which the parties will be inclined to respect. 4. That, as recommended by the Industrial Council in 19 12, an agreement entered into between employers and workers representing three-quarters of the persons employed in an industry should be held to be binding on the remaining quarter. 64J LABOUR'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS. 5. That the leaders of the employers and the employed in the cotton industry utilise the scheme which has been in existence for ten years for the regulation of wages according to the state of trade. I wish to express the hope that any views which I may have advanced will not be considerd as indicating an uncharitable or unfriendly feeling towards the workers. I yield to none in my earnest desire for their welfare, and for the amelioration of their condition where it is found that the standard is not what it should be. Our watchword for the future should be " Unity." If we can attain this we need have no fear for our success in tackling after-the-war problems. [65 LORD BALFOUR'S COMMITTEE. The report of Lord Balfour's Committee should be carefuly studied by all those who take an interest in the future of our trade, and as the cotton industry is specially mentioned in connection with the proposal to introduce some form of Protection — the majority of the Committee decided against a general tariff — the conclusions reached have a more than passing interest for those who are connected with that industry. I claim that it is of extreme im- portance that the views of those who are closely identified with any one of the large and important national industries— the representatives of both the employers and the employed — should express any views they may hold upon a question which so vitally affects their continued welfare, and which is of such extreme importance to the nation. 66] LORD BALFOUR'S COMMITTEE. It is as a spinner and manufacturer of cotton goods that I approach that part of the report which discusses our fiscal policy. We in the Lancashire cotton industry have always held that an active policy of tariff " reform " would inflict irretrievable disaster on the main industry of the county, and although I admit that a policy may have served an industry well in any one set of circumstances, and yet be inappropriate to another, it remains as true now as it did before the violent shock of arms and the many industrial convulsions, that the continuation of the Free Trade policy is regarded to be the only foundation on which cotton manufacturers may continue to ad- vance along the road which leads to pros- perity. Lancashire has never been divided on this question. With no uncertain voice the cotton trade has denounced the tariff *' reform " scheme as a tissue of false asser- tions, impudent promises and contradictory nostrums. The resurrection of the Protectionist policy after a rather hurried burial is due, of course, [67 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. to the war, and we expect to hear much more about it in the discussions which take place in respect of our future trade. During the last three and a half years our sphere of vision has been enlarged, and there is good ground for the assertion that we must not only think Imperially but act Imperially, but it seems to me to indicate the supreme distillation of weakness always to adumbrate the policy of tariff " reform " in response to the demand that we must systematically and scientifically control our national industries if we are effec- tively to maintain our industrial supremacy. It is political expediency alone which strives to guide us into this Protectionist channel as though our trade cannot possibly survive unless we embrace that doctrine. But when the advocate of Protection has been deploring the ruination of our trade, our trade returns have shown the fallacy of his reasoning by indicating a record prosperity. Free Traders will, of course, agree that British industry must not be imperilled by slothfulness. Wc must energetically pursue 68] LORD BALFOUR'S COMMITTEE. a business-like policy now that we are con- fronted with exceptional difficulties and contingencies. It would be a disastrous mistake to undervalue the magnitude of the crisis; to rest satisfied with the old order of things will not reinstate our industrial activities which have been so ruthlessly shaken by the war. At the same time the adherents of Free Trade will not accept tariff " reform " as a measure of industrial recon- struction. In the cotton trade any such measure would mean disintegration and impoverishment, and the more the question is studied from the point of view of the cotton trade the more damaging are its proposals. The hard facts of experience have satisfied us that any interference with our existing policy can only lead in one direction — towards ruin. Enterprise, organisation and skill are the three essentials which go to the prosperous continuance of Lancashire's great staple industry. Any attempt to build up our supremacy on a policy of Protection will be found to be a delusion and a snare. [69 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. The primary motive for the exhumation of Protection at this time is in the quite natural desire of our countrymen to restrict the com- mercial activities of our enemies by placing tariff barriers against their goods entering this country. Germany and Austria and other enemy nations are to be ostracised. Our people are to be asked not to buy any articles stained with the blood of our heroes ; to cut off enemy countries after the declaration of peace, politically, industrially and socially. It is not surprising that there should be a strong expression of feeling against further trading with either Germany or Austria. I am not at all anxious to open up trading com- munications with these countries or to have any further intercourse with the representa- tives of a people who deliberately unsheathed the sword and bathed the world in blood for their own aggrandisement. Any suggestion that our future relations with Germany should be on the basis of those which obtained in pre-war days is revolting, and if we could discover a method whereby, without danger 70] LORD BALFOUR'S COMMITTEE. to our national welfare, we could isolate Germany as a race of barbarians, I personally would welcome it. Germany has descended to the lowest depths of degradation by her calculated policy of slaughter. Her subtle and manifold influence for evil will not be removed for generations to come. In her Machiavellian pursuit for lust she has engen- dered suspicion and distrust which will long stain her national honour. But there is another side which must be investigated before we enter upon a temporary or permanent policy of ostracism. We, as a nation, desire a permanent peace, militarily and industrially. Are we to obtain it by becoming a sower of national hatreds? Secondly, can we ignore the existence of the German nation, either politically, industrially, or socially ? Our main purpose on the battle- field is to destroy German militarism; not to destroy the German people If we success- fully attain the former, and thus secure a welcome and satisfactory peace, are we then unrelentingly to pursue another war in the [71 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. industrial sphere by an attempt to treat the German nation as though it did not exist? This would assuredly mean the exploding of another bombshell, and in the explosion some of the particles might injure our own interests as well as those of the enemy. I submit that it is not possible completely to ignore the German nation in an industrial sense, however much we would like to do so. A blockade of tariffs against German goods would no doubt greatly restrict Germany's future exploitation of this country, but we would do well to bear in mind that her exploitation of this country in the past has been largely due to our own stupidity and unbusiness-like methods. We need to put our house in order; to supply the require- ments of our customers and not to try to force upon them goods which are not suited to their trade. If we fail in this in the future as we have done in the past, Germany will embrace the opportunity to meet our deficiencies and repeat her past success of capturing our markets through our own neglect. The dye 72] I LORD BALFOUR'S COMMITTEE. industry is the most flagrant example of this. But to return to the cotton industry, a measure of Protection may cure one evil by creating a larger. The cotton industry could not live under a readjustment of our fiscal relations of the nature so persistently advo- cated by those who have proved themselves so hopelessly incapable of comprehending what their advocacy would mean. Whilst Protection may bolster up some industries, it would place others on the edge of an abyss, and the cotton industry is one that would be so placed. The mental picture of tariff " reform " advocates has its light and shade, but to those blinded by enthusiasm the shaded parts are obscured. The picture to them is all one uniform blaze of colour. But the man with the practised business eye who is able to appreciate the " make-up " of the picture, discerns in the darkly-shaded portion its inherent weakness. The whole scheme is not a work of art, but rather that of a disordered imagination. The cotton industry has been builded on [73 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. Free Trade, and If it is to return to its former prosperity, that policy must not be disturbed by any experiments introduced by the apostles of the tariff " reform " creed. 74] THE WORK OF THE COTTON CONTROL BOARD. The war is changing our perspective of things. All around us we discern a process of clarification going on. Our ideas, whether they have to do with our business interests, or are associated with matters more directly affecting our common life in all its relations, have been thrown into the crucible to be refined by the consuming of the grosser parts, so that under the new order of things, which is being gradually evolved, we may show a better understanding as regards those things which are requisite and necessary in the communion of all classes in the State. I am deeply concerned at the moment with the claims of Capital and Labour. For a long time before the war the relations between these two classes in British industry could not be said to be too sympathetic or friendly. The employer, generally speaking, was regarded as the man whose one aim in life [75 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. was the exploitation of the worker in order to enrich himself in the shortest time possible. That was, and indeed is, a common ground of complaint among the mass of workers in the country, and I do not intend to call in question the justification of the allegation. The workers have been opprobriously termed " hands;" they have combined, in the eyes of too many employers, to form nothing more than one huge machine which only needed a few harsh regulations and a strict code of discipline tii keep it active. The employer's interest in the several parts of the machine, speaking generally, has not been manifested in any but one direction, and that the produc- tion of wealth. Grievances of one sort and another encouraged the workers to conspire against their employers, and the em- ployers, in self-defence, have brought all the weight of their authority to bear against their recalcitrant workers. This has been a bad policy, industrially, to pursue, for while this internecine and wholly unsatisfactory 76] COTTON CONTROL. struggle was allowed seriously to disturb our national productions, the foreigner was quietly, but none the less effectually, securing a footing in our old-established markets. We appreciated the danger, but seemed to be too thoroughly engrossed in manufactur- ing or encouraging domestic quarrels to give it the attention it deserved. Neither party to the dispute seemed to be quite intelligible or consistent in its action; both parties desired a return to pleasanter relations, yet neither had the courage to profess it for fear that it might seem to suggest a wavering in the struggle and be accepted by their opponents as a sign of weakness. For this reason the weapons of obscurity or ambiguity were used, which tended greatly to lengthen the Pyrrhic contest. We all admit that the relationship between Capital and Labour in the years that have gone has been unduly strained. In the artificially-created and clouded atmosphere we could not see far ahead ; nor did we show any inclination to do so. I hope from now [77 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. henceforth we shall have got clear of the evening mist, and that all the employers and all the employed in the country will be prepared to welcome the dawn of a brighter day when all the grievances of the past will be adjusted, and our industries will be entirely freed from all the entanglements which hitherto have checked our commercial advancement. Perhaps it would be of service if I were to call attention to one authority which has done so much substantially to improve the relations between employers and employed. In the setting up of the Control Board, ostensibly to conserve the supply and to regulate the con- sumption of raw cotton in the Lancashire cotton industry, the Board of Trade has done a greater service than it contemplated. Here we have the principle at work which for years I have so strongly advocated, and v/hich was embodied by Government sanction in the Industrial Council— the principle of a tribunal representing all classes in an industry and charged with the responsibility of 78] COTTON CONTROL. watching the interests of all, employers and employed, in that industry. The secret of the noteworthy success of the Cotton Control Board in the primary duty for which it was called into existence — the safeguarding of the great cotton industry in this country in this time of national stress and strain — is in placing the whole responsibility on the shoulders of those who have eminent qualifi- cations for the work, and in whom the representatives of all branches in the industry have every confidence. Spinners and manu- facturers are indebted to Sir Albert Stanley, the President of the Board of Trade, for recognising at the outset that only those who have given a life's study to cotton spinning and weaving, and are, therefore, well acquainted with all the technicalities and ramifications of these industries, could possibly give valuable service. Surrounded with difficulties and in the force of circumstances called upon to regulate without that precise information which, if available, would greatly lighten the task both [79 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. of control and regulation, the Cotton Control Board has earned the thanks not only of those who are directly and indirectly connected with the cotton industry, but also of the nation. In the conduct of its primary work, the Board has done magnificently. But it is another phase that I wish to emphasise, inasmuch as it opens up a new vista for the cotton industry as a whole, and may possibly assist other industries to arrive at a better understanding among employers and em- ployed. Hitherto, when a sectional dispute has occurred in a cotton mill directly affecting, perhaps, not more than a comparatively few operatives, the machinery for dealing with that dispute tended rather to widen its sphere of influence, than to lessen it and finally to remove the disaffection. The reason for this must be obvious since a far better and more efficient instrument for settling disputes has been found. We have, in the past, spoken with pride of our strong organisations of employers and employed, and I have always 80] COTTON CONTROL. advocated that the stronger those organisa- tions were the better it would be for all engaged in the industry. This is still true, but so long as we regard these organisations as fighting machines only, we may find them a source of weakness instead of a source of strength. Reviewing some of our disputes over the question of wages in the light of recent events, I am bound to admit that our organised strength, both on the part of the employers and of the employed, has been our weakness. Disputes which ought to have been settled in a day have been allowed to drag on for weeks, simply because neither side was concerned so much with the reason- ableness of the claims, nor had the desire to enquire into them with a calm and sympathetic mind. This was our method of dealing with many disputes in the cotton trade, and the loss to both sides has been very serious. I do not propose to interfere in any way with our cotton trade organisations. They will continue, I hope, to servo a good purpose G ■ [8i SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. in watching the interest of our industry in all departments. But the Cotton Control Board has tauo^ht us a valuable lesson for the future.- To my thinking, it will be a great mistake if we allow that Board to dissolve when the war is over. We do not desire Government control one day longer than is absolutely necessary, but the composition of that body is such as might bring more peace and greater prosperity to the cotton trade in the years to come — an advisory body which shall be able to speak for the whole industry, which shall possess the full confidence of all the interested parties, and to which any dispute between the organisations directly concerned with one class of operatives or one branch- of the industry may appeal as to an independent tribunal for an award on any question which may threaten trouble.^ We must never lose sight of the important fact that a quarrel in one section of the trade will almost immediately affect every department of the trade. This danger demands a unity of control. 1. See Appendix I. Si2] COTTON CONTROL. We have recently had another appHcation from the operatives for an increase in wages. This is the second application within a year of unprecedented anxiety and difficulty. Under the old system of tackling this question, and if left to the old machinery for negotiation and decision, I fear that weeks would have been swallowed up in trying to reach a settlement. A business-like proceed- ing and consummate tact settled the question in as many hours as it formerly took months to do, and so far as I know, both sides agree as to the reasonableness of the settlement. I have followed closely the work of the Cotton Control Board, and I claim that it has brought the employers and operatives together as no other organisation has done. We were perhaps a little suspicious of it at first, but the longer our acquaintance the firmer is our coniidence in the ability of its members to carry us successfully over our present difficul- ties, and when freed of its responsibility to Government, I maintain that the industry generally would gain immensely if it were to [83 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. retain such an institution as the Industrial Council of the Cotton Trade, with power to enforce upon the whole industry any decision reached by three-quarters of the representatives of Capital and Labour in that industry — a mode of procedure recommended by the Industrial Council in 191 2. 84] THE COTTON INDUSTRY AND THE CONTROL BOARD. We are on the threshold of vast industrial and commercial changes, and, by way of appreciating that fact, I have suggested that the Cotton Control Board should not be dissolved when the grave prob- lems which called it into existence, have been solved, or automatically removed by a return to peace. I made this suggestion in no partisan spirit; it emanated from a desire to ensure to the cotton industry what I conceive to be of paramount import- ance — the retention, permanently, of an entirely independent and fully-qualified consultative board, to which all parties in the cotton trade may appeal (i) for guidance in times of doubt and difficulty, (2) for a review and a settlement of grievances, and (3) to represent the industry as a whole, both on national and international questions, and that [85 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. In all matters the voice of the workers as well as the voice of the employers shall be articulate. There is a tendency in all wars to inoculate the e-ngaging nations with the bacteria of general paralysis, generally to dislocate the delicate mechanism of the world's industrial activities, to throw out of gear all the efforts towards productivity, and thereby to threaten the national prosperity. It is not my aim, however, to turn my readers' thoughts to our present discontent, but to direct the industrial army along a higher and better road when the clash of arms has died away, and the work of reconstruction has begun. To employ our faculties in high designs— therein hes the hope of the future; and actively to pursue just those measures of reform which the combined thought of the leaders of the cotton trade maintain to be necessary will alone bring about that peaceful revolution; that co-operation of employers and workers which will ensure our supremacy in cotton 86] COTTON CONTROL. textiles, and enable us to win our way through the severe competition which is promised in the future. To advocate reform in the cotton or any other industry is an easy matter. We in this country are always talking of reforming someone or something. But I hope that we mean business now, and that those who have really serious and reasonable proposals to make will assist in the shaping of constructive and reforming plans. First and foremost, I maintain that we must lift the workers to a higher platform. We must do something to make them more contented with their work, for this would, in turn, give them a larger and brighter outlook upon life in all its aspects. In all our measures for reforms we must not forget, first of all, to bring contentment into the spinning mill and weaving shed. With complete harmony there we shall not experi- ence any great difficulties when approaching other questions of reform and reconstruction. I have long thought that we might deal with the wages question internationally — to raise [87 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. the standard rate of wages for cotton workers in all the cotton spinning and manufacturing countries of the world. Many important cotton trade problems were being dealt with from the international point of view for years before the beginning of the present war. In all industrial undertakings there are two out- standing requirements — a reasonable return on capital, so that enterprise may not be discouraged — this is as important to the worker as the employer — and the payment of a fair standard wage to the worker. To-day the English spinners and weavers are the autocrats of the industry when considered internationally, but I would like to bring about a levelling up among the workers in other countries. I do not think this is impossible of achievement, but it can only be done if we can get the other countries to agree to such a policy. At the end of the war it should, then, be one of our first duties to get into touch with the cotton leaders of other countries, and appeal for a higher standard rate of wages to be paid to all workers in the industry. The 88] COTTON CONTROL. co-operation of Continental, American and other countries in this matter might render it possible for us to maintain or even raise the present position of the workers here after war conditions are ended, without unduly en- hancing the cost of clothing to the consumer. Turning to the general question of trade after the war, it is of the greatest importance that we should have an organisation possess- ing the required technical qualifications to help us to attain an even higher standard of efficiency, and to consider in all its bearings the application of science to industry. This has been seriously neglected in the past, and we are suffering the consequence of that neglect. We must not be reluctant to adopt new methods. The Departmental Report on commerce and industry deals pointedly with this matter. It says that " the long start which the United Kingdom had enjoyed in the world's trade, and the great achievements of her manufacturers and merchants had engendered a feeling of confi- dence in the maintenance of our position, and [89 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. in the methods hitherto pursued, with the result that there was, until recently, but little recognition of the necessity for constant vigilance and constant effort to meet the changing conditions and requirements of the world's trade." This statement applies to the whole of our industries, and the cotton industry will do well to bear that fact in mind. The English cotton industry is essentially an export industry, and is mainly dependent on foreign trade. The Textile Trades Committee reported that all the evidence received tended to prove that the strength of the British cotton trade, both in yarns and cloth, in the competitive markets of the world, was practically un- impaired, although considerable changes were taking place in the character of the trade. In the great markets of the East, and South America, which absorbed more than 70 per cent, of the export trade, British o-oods before the war were, on the whole, maintain- ing their position. Reference is also made to the Japanese 90] COTTON CONTROL. trade, but very few realise how small their industry is, and how great are the difficulties in carrying it on. Japan has, approximately, under 2^ million spindles against, say, the 60 million British spindles.^ The Departmental Committee record their opinion that there is already a deficiency in the supplies of raw material as compared with the possible consumption ; that this deficiency is likely to increase in the immediate future ; and that it is eminently unsatisfactory that one of the principal industries of the United Kingdom should be so largely dependent as it is upon one source of supply — the United States. It is recommended that every possible effort should be made to secure a more extended growth of cotton within the Empire, particularly in India, Egypt and the Soudan, which, owing to the great development in these countries during the last decade, is becoming a very important factor.^ These countries are now supplying an amount 1. See Appendix II. 2. See Appendix III. [91 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. approaching one half of the raw material required for the cotton industry of the world, the larger portion of the world's crop being still supplied by the United States. To undertake the work which is outlined here demands a specially constituted body of men thoroughly conversant with all the needs of the trade, and it is to the Cotton Control Board that we must look to deal with these far-reaching and important proposals, so that one of the largest industries in the country shall not be placed at a disadvantage in the commercial world fight which will most assuredly come when the noise of armed battle has died away. 92] THE ORGANISATION OF TRADE. The success of organised industrial effort is measured by the peaceful conditions which obtain in any given industry. But all organ- ised effort, if it is to reap the full reward of organisation, must be comprehensive. To organise with a view to increased production, and not to take into account the position of the rank and file of the producing army, must be fatal to production. For the employer to strive to secure a greater return on his capital — a quite legitimate effort — and at the same time to ignore the reasonable demands of the worker, will create dissatisfaction among the general body of workers, tend, finally, to up- set all the plans which were laid in the name of organisation, and lead to disruption. The end of all organisation should be effi- ciency and contentment. These desiderata [93 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. cannot be gained or maintained if we permit divisions of opinion, or grievances to irritate and annoy cither the employers or the workers. It is time that we had done with such absurd catch words as " the tyranny of Capital" and " the tyranny of Labour." We must go forward in the future bound indis- solubly together, the employers giving more serious and sympathetic consideration to those whom they employ, and the workers, in their turn, putting an end to the " ca' canny" system, increasing their interest in their pro- duction, and turning aside from any attempt to throw undeserved suspicion and distrust on those who employ them. Happily, there prevails in the cotton indus- try a system of organisation which assails any attempt of the employer to exploit the worker, and also to check any insidious de- signs on the legitimate interests of the em- ployers. These organisations, in the past, have done a great service to the cause which each represents, but they do not fully repre- sent their respective interests, and, inasmuch 94] ORGANISATION OF TRADE. as they are rival organisations, are not com- petent to organise the industry from one end to the other, which is now so urgently de- manded. The weakness of these organised bodies, considered, of course, in the light of the general question of reconstruction, and as channels for conciliation, hes in the fact that the machinery employed is intended to mobilise the respective armies for a fight ; not to offer the olive branch of conciHation. In the nature of things there is, of course little disposition to accommodation, no burning de- sire to placate conflicting interests; too great an inclination to contention and wordy litiga- tion. The question of wages has been, and still is, the common ground of dispute. The general welfare of the worker is considered to be met in the settlement of a wages claim. The adoption of a reasonable wage standard does, it is true, pave the way to industrial peace and concord, but far too many em- ployers are content to regard their work- [95 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. people's claim upon them as having been satisfied with the payment of wages for work done. The claim I make is that we must more closely harmonise the interests of em- ployer and worker. Our aims must be on a more comprehensive scale; our outlook must be more sympathetic one toward the other, and the general welfare of the whole industrial community must be widened and deepened. • In these days of big combines, the separa- tion of the employers from the workers has been so greatly widened that there is now felt to be no community of interest. There are a few firms of the old type in which the em- ployer considers it his duty to be brought into daily contact with his workpeople, and the direct result of this considerate relationship is everywhere seen in the feeling of content- ment that prevails. But firms which are , merely dividend-making concerns for a com- munity of people whose interest in the cotton trade does not advance beyond their own direct financial interest, have not, generally 96] ORGANISATION OF TRADE. speaking (there arc a few outstanding excep- tions), made any really honest attempt to im- prove the conditions — industrial, social and economic — of the workers who are dependent upon them for their livelihood. We want to raise the status of all industrial effort. In the cotton industry we have gone a long way to establish that better understand- ing between employers and employed which I have urged for many years. But we have not reached the highest altitude of organising ability. In what I will call our merely " trading organisations" we have not enjoyed that unity which is so vital to progress. The Federation of Employers, in its scheme for the welfare of the industry, has been re- peatedly thwarted by firms who held aloof — who claimed to act independently and yet took great care to enjoy, without cost to them- selves, all the privileges gained by the feder- ated firms, whilst not submitting to regula- tions which have imposed on the majority of the firms in the trade a line of action which was not considered at the moment to be so H [97 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. acceptable. The operatives' organisations have been similarly handicapped through the existence of non-union members. Some hrms have actively encouraged ]ion-unionism and helped to retain that bitter feeling be- tween federated and non-federated firms and between union and non-union operatives. For years these organisations have had to submit to a loss of power and prestige in con- sequence of this independent and disloyal section. But the war has brought about a change. To-day, the industry is represented by a Board whose decisions must be every- where respeoted, and disloyalty is punished. The non-federated firms have been made to toe the same line as the federated firms, and the non-unionist operative has seen the ad- vantages of alliance with unionism more clearly. The Control Board's decisions affect all ; there is, as far as possible, equality of opportunity. No firm is allowed to run all its spindles because it is outside of the Federation of cotton spinners, for it is de- creed that what is good for three-quarters of 98] ORGANISATION OF TRADE. the industry must be considered to be bene- ficial to the whole. The end of the war will relieve the cotton industry of great anxiety. Government con- trol, I hope, will not be always necessary to demand uniformity of action. We shall, no doubt, in the future, have alternating periods of peace and prosperity, and discontent in periods of adversity. The employer will have to demand greater efficiency in all de- partments of industrial activity, and the worker will of course claim his rights. We may have to submit to some form of State regulation and supervision in order to bring about unity of action if we do not agree among ourselves to initiate a system designed to upset the anarchic methods of revolt which have obtained in the past. The old method of negotiation will certainly have to be " scrapped" if we are to make progress. The hostile spirit so often manifested in the past between employers and operatives, through their organisations, must be exorcised if we are to to go forward conquering and to con- [99 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. quer in the markets of the world and to have peace and contentment in the spinning mill and the weaving shed. These are a few considerations which must claim our undivided attention now. We can- not countenance delay. Employers have great opportunities before them. If they make the best of these we have nothing to fear. If they neglect them our industrial anxieties of the past will accompany us in the future with consequences far-reaching in their scope and seriousness. ^' I go] THE RAW COTTON PROBLEM. The question of improving the baling of American cotton both as regards its ship- ment to this country in first-class commer- cial condition, and as a means of economising space, both in our ships and warehouses, has received my constant attention. At the end of March, 1918, I received a cablegram from the National Association of Cotton Manufacturers, Boston, Mass., a body of which I am a member, urging me to influ- ence the British Embassy at Washington to recommend, as a war measure, to the Ameri- can Government, to increase the density of American cotton bales; at the same time re- minding me that this was a reform I had advocated for many years in my position as President of the International Cotton Federa- [lOI SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. tion. To this appeal I at once responded, and had this proposition been carried out in past years, it would not only have enabled the carrying of a much larger quantity of cotton in each ship, but would have materially helped to win the war. It is evident that at last a fiercer lisfht is being thrown on the grievances which I have so long exposed. The signs of the times are favourable to the party of efficiency and progress, and a reforming movement is now taking firm root in America as well as in this country. The spinning mills and weaving sheds which combine to make up Lancashire's great industry of cotton manufacture are separated from the cotton-growing fields by wide stretches of sea. Just think of it ! An in- dustry which, with its subsidiary and depen- dent industries, gives employment to millions of men and women, has to rely for a con- tinuous supply of cotton of all descriptions coming regularly to this country from over- seas. This, on the face of it, looks like 102] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. taking an unnecessarily big initial risk. Sup- pose, in any one year, the cotton crop of the Southern States of America should fail, or that any one of a hundred contingencies were to arise and to interfere with that supply to this country, what would happen? What is happening now? The nations of the world are at war, and an industry which, it is said, supplies nine-tenths of the clothing of the world's inhabitants is seriously crippled. Wfe have known all along that in that event it must be seriously crippled, and become largely ineffective — that cotton would cer- tainly be short in supply, that spindles and looms would have to be stopped, that a large army of operatives would be idle, and that grave discontent would exist. The price of cotton has soared to an almost incredible heioht, and oraduallv the stocks of cotton which are available for the mills are being greatly depleted. These arc two of the worst evils that could possibly attend the in- dustry at any time, and they cannot go on interminably without the industry being dis- [103 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. organised. Cotton is now controlled, and the price of the raw material is excep- tionally high; the passage of the seas also is not free and open, pirate bands being at large reducing the shipping facilities to a serious point. But, unless the position improves soon — and we have been holding on determinedly for a long time — the Lancashire industry will be still further crippled. This does not mean merely silencing the machinery in the mill and turning the key of the entrance gate, to leave the furnaces gradually to cool down, and the last pillar of smoke to climb lazily up the long chimney to its release ; it means cutting off automatically the livelihood of the larger part of Lancashire's population, and throwing the county into deeper mourning than it now displays as the result of the sacri- fices and miseries which are the outcome of the war. But the majority of people in the Lancashire cotton trade who had the power to arranoe matters were indifferent as o 104] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. to the steps that could be taken to minimise the effects of war on their inckistry. As with Imperial and national affairs, so it was in the matters of industry. I am not sur- prised that a country which looked to the foreigner for the greater part of its foodstuffs when it could have grown most of its food in the homeland, did not embrace the suggestion that we should place ourselves on the right side in regard to our possessing a surplus of material for clothing^. To have done so would have been illogical. It is not astonish- ing, therefore, that when I and other mem- bers of the International Cotton Federation sounded an alarm, we were looked upon as visionaries. Years before the outbreak of war, I sup- ported what I considered to be some urgent reforms for the cotton trade. The two main proposals directly touched the question of creating a reserve of cotton, so that in times of scarcity in the cotton fields, or through any other cau.se likely to interfere with the run- nino- of the Lancashire mills, we mioht have L 1 <\s SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. a stock of cotton which could be rationed to the trade in much the same way as the cotton is now distributed. The other urcrent need was high-density cotton-bahng. Let me deal with the improved baling of cotton before I say anything more about the storing of cotton. Secure in the control of a great natural monopoly, cotton growers of the Southern States of America, and more especi- ally the army of interested merchants who " handle" cotton before it reaches the spinner, have shown a contemptuous indifference to the opinions of those who, on this side of the Atlantic, have for years advocated very neces- sary reforms in the baling and handling of cotton. Does the Lancashire cotton spinner and manufacturer want evidence as to that un- desirable character — the American bale? " The American cotton bale is a ' dirty, damaged, disreputable, water-soaked, waste- ful, slovenly, clumsy, highly-inflammable, turtle-backed package.'" — Judge Ogden, at Washington Convention, May, 1906. 1 06] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. " It is the clumsiest, dirtiest, most expen- sive, and most wasteful package in which cotton, or any other commodity of like value, is anywhere put up." — An American book on " Cotton." This is a " bill of indictment," drawn up in truly American terms, about baling of cotton in that country. It is so comprehen- sive and so scathing that if there was any evidence on this side of the Atlantic to sup- port it, I think that the unprejudiced and in- dependent opinion so clearly and forcibly expressed, would be convincing enough. British and Continental spinners, through the Congresses of the International Federa- tion, have poured the greatest obloquy on the American bale for years, and it is quite pro- bable that the above quotations were penned by way of giving support to the spinners' complaint. The evidence against the methods employed in baling and handling the American crop has been overwhelming, and resolutions demanding reform have been passed at International Cotton Confer- [107 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. ences, and in turn ignored by the vested in-, terests desiring to perpetuate the antiquated method of bahng. Happily, I can record one serious, and, indeed, successful attempt to improve things. My friend, Mr. Harvie Jordan, of the National Cotton Association, U.S.A., At- lanta, Ga., succeeded, in June, 1908, in organising the Farmers' Gin Compress and Cotton Company, with headquarters at At- lanta. In a letter he wrote to the Inter- national Cotton Congress, when it met at Milan in 1909, Mr. Jordan said that their ambition was to prepare and deliver a neat package of cotton- to their customers, upon the most economic basis, and entirely freed from that system of waste and bad baling which had so long characterised the Ameri- can bale. " The mission of the grower is to produce raw cotton, and that of the spinner and manufacturer to convert the raw material into the finished fabric. These two interests (Mr. Jordan added) should combine in forc- ing those middle interests which occupy 108] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. the various positions of ginning, baling, hand- ling, and delivering the crop from the farmers to the spinners to introduce and maintain such methods as will meet the demands of modern requirements at the hands of twentieth cen- tury civilisation." Generally speaking, however, the Ameri- can bale, although slightly improved, is still a long way short of what it should be, and the cotton is treated as though it were of trifling account. The reforms which we spinners advocate may conveniently be summarised as follows : (i) That the unbusinesslike and wasteful methods which now obtain in the baling of American cotton should give place to greatly improved methods of baling. In short, we want common-sense and business experience to be exercised in handling the cotton in- tended for our market. (2) That the Egyptian gin-compressed bale is a better-protected bale than any other bale on the market, and we strongly recommend SOCIAI. AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. the American growers to adopt that type of bale, not in the remote future, but now. (3) 1 hat the high-density bahng is an ur- gent necessity, since shipping accommodation is so restricted. There is, too, the considera- tion of cost of transport, which would be greatly diminished annually. (4) The regularisation of the supply and the price of cotton by means of a reserve of cotton. This reserve, if properly established, would go a long way effectively to eliminate the evil of reckless speculation, which has done so much in years past to bring about violent fluctuations on the market, and generally to disorganise the industry. Compression of cotton is a means of eco- nomy in transportation, and that is a question which at this time overrides all others. Finan- cially, too, it would be a great gain, since it is estimated that it would save at least 50 per cent of the expense of the present sys- tem. The demand for an improved Ameri- can bale is everywhere insistent, and along with it there is the imperative necessity for a no] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. better handling- of the produet. The Ameri- ean bale of cotton, for some quite incompre- hensible reason, is treated in just the way that one would not expect it to be treated. It might be a commodity of inconsiderable value; a surplus of production for which there is no outlet. At the International Conference of Cotton Growers, Spinners, and Manufacturers, held at Atlanta, Ga., in October, 1907, the follow- ing resolution was unanimously passed : " We condemn the bagging now in use. First, because of its rough and coarse nature, it invites rough treatment; second, it does not hold the marks; third, on ac- count of its great weight and bulk it entails heavy loss in freight. We therefore recommend the use of a light burlap or covering made of cotton, such as Osna- burg, 10 oz. weight per yard, 40 in. wide." Before leaving the question of the Ameri- can bale wrapping, I would like to quote Pro- fessor T. J. Brooks, of Mississippi, who, in a paper prepared for the ninth International ' [ill SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. Cotton Congress at Scheveningen, in 19 13, said that those who opposed the necessary changes in the bahng of American cotton were: — (i) The compress companies; (2) buyers who have interest in compress com- panies ; (3) buyers who are interested in banks which carry large accounts with compress companies; (4) buyers who make a profit out of samples pulled and kept; (5) buyers who anticipate that the gin-compressed bale will make it easier for the farmer to sell direct to the spinner; (6) men who are in business sympathy with cotton buyers for financial reasons; (7) members of exchanges who sur- mise that direct selling might lessen the volume of exchange contracts; (8) grafters who export cotton upon which they have added excess tare and make the spinner pay for the same ; (9) manufacturers of old-time presses. Turning to the higher density baling of American cotton on much the same hues as the Egyptian bale, the arguments that might be advanced for this reform are most con- 1 12] RAV/ COTTON PROBLEM. vincing in normal times. To-day, the trans- port difficulties demand the change, and the interests involved in perpetuating the old and deliberately wasteful system must be made to give way. We are now allowing private in- terests to dictate in a matter of supreme national and international importance. To reiterate all that has been said on this matter for years past is not necessary. The need of the hour is strenuous action. Private interest must fall before a great international need. Finally, I appeal to the cotton industry seriously to tackle the all-important question of establishing a reserve of cotton. If the cotton for the mills of Lancashire could be grown in the adjoining county of Yorkshire, and every year the crop could be so arranged as to meet all the requirements of the indus- try, the position of the British Indus- try would be in a much more stable con- dition. The price of cotton manufac- ture could be regulated, the evil of specu- lation could be eliminated, the grower might be guaranteed a reasonable price for his cot- I L113 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. ton, and the question of high-density packing would not be a matter about which any branch of the trade would need to Qrive a moment's thought. But cotton will not grow in Yorkshire, or in any other part of this country, so that for a considerable proportion of the cotton consumed in this country we have to look to America. We have, therefore, to take things as we find them and act accordingly. From ex- perience, we know that cotton, like all other crops, cannot claim immunity from unfavour- able climatic conditions, and that the insect pest is sometimes responsible for greatly re- ducino^ the harvest. Wars and rumours of wars, insurrections and rumours of insurrec- tions, threatened labour troubles in the field or on the railway, incessant rain or a period of drought — all these and many other move- ments affect the size and the distribution of the cotton crop. In one year there is abun- dance ; in another dearth. The remedy for all this, I maintain, is the completion of a scheme which shall place us above all these disturbing influences. We 114] RAW COTTON PROBLEM. are to-day biiildino- up reserves of food, and although we cannot now build up a big re- serve of cotton, we have an organisation charged primarily with the responsibility of conserving the small supply of cotton which now manages to find its way to our shores. We are now reaping the folly of the past. The war has shown us how necessary it is even in times of peace to look ahead ; to pre- pare for emergencies. Let us at once lay our plans for meeting the exigencies of the future of the industry. We want all the cot- ton we can get, and in years of plenty we should be building up a supply to be drawn upon in years of scarcity. The United States of America and the British Empire practically control the cotton crop of the world, and at the outbreak of war I made proposals for dealing with the situa- tion that had arisen, which, had they been carried out, might have had an immense bear- ing upon the duration of the war. What I suggested in August, 1914, w^as that the British and United States Govern- [115 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. ments should have employed the organisa- tions which deal with the cotton crop of the world to regulate matters in such a way as to minimise the effects of the outbreak of war. This was a purely business proposition, but was received at the time with apathy by those most interested. A.nything that adversely affects the growers of the raw material of a world-wide industry, such as cotton, must undoubtedly recoil on the users of that raw material. The grower of cotton, if involved in serious loss, as was the case at the outbreak of war, may turn his land to the cultivation of other and more profitable crops, whilst the cotton spinner and manufacturer can only spin and weave cotton. Taking a general view of present conditions, I fear a crisis as regards the raw material for the cotton industry, is again arising. It is to be hoped that, as was advocated at the commencement of the war, a much-needed reserve will be created. Any surplus that may have been grown as a conse- quence of the stimulating influence of iiG] KAW COTTON PROBLEM. the exceptionally high prices ruling during the past two years, and which will be accumulated as a result of the enforced idleness of so many of the spindles and looms throughout the world, owing to war conditions, ought to be controlled by the Governments concerned. Let me briefly summarise my main pro- posals. They are : — (i) The improved baling of American cot- ton is imperatively necessary, not only as a war-time economy, but as a distinctly com- mercial proposition. The wasteful system which now obtains fails to give satisfaction to any of those who are directly concerned in the spinning and manufacturing processes. (2) Increasing the density of the packing of American cotton is a reform against which no reasonable argument can be advanced. It has been demonstrated that such reform would have the effect of saving millions of pounds sterling yearly. As a war measure it is of the utmost importance, and should be adopted forthwith. L117 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. (3) That the establishment of a reserve of cotton is not a visionary, but an eminently practical proposal, and that definite steps should be taken at the earliest opportunity to accomplish something in that direction. 118] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. In this hour of the nation's history which is destined to have far-reaching effects, either for good or for ill, on this and succeeding generations, I hesitate to say anything of a critical character touching the new Man- Power Act, lest in some quarters I should be thought to be advancing arguments dictated by purely personal motives.^ In order to remove any suspicion of that nature, I say here and now that my only desire is to be of service to the nation ; to assist, with practical advice, those upon whose shoulders rest the heavy respon- sibility of meeting the urgent needs on the battle front whilst safeguarding our industries at home. We all realise that Great Britain is burdened with tremendous military responsibilities. A Power so circumstan(M:^d cannot nfford to trifle with its strength or ignore the industries upon 1. The new Man-Power Act received the Royal Assent on April 18. 1918. [119 SOCIAL xIND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. which the Empire has been built, and, while I would much prefer not to strike a pessimistic note, I feel that I ought to remind the public that our short-sightedness in the past is greatly to blame for the harassing sense of insecurity which is now permeating our industrial life, to appeal to our statesmen to take a more businesslike and broader view of our industrial requirements, and to urge with all the influence at my command that nothing of a drastic character should be attempted (except after consultation with the representatives of industry and commerce), which would in any way militate against the continuance of our industries, which are so essential, not only to the nation's welfare, but to the Empire as a whole. Men of industry and of commerce ask this in no way as a favour, but as a right, since the continued prosperity of our industrial life contributes so largely to success on the field of battle and to comparative contentment at home. In the years immediately preceding the war we, as a nation, disregarded the warnings 120] MAK-POWER AND INDUbTRY. of men who discerned the gathering clouds which diey knew to be a i)rehidc to a disastrous storm. Indeed, so secure did we consider ourselves against the military ambition of any other nation, that when the Germans were actually on the eve of deploying their troops for attack, in order clandestinely to overwhelm our neighbours and ourselves, we were asked by a noisy, but not influential, section of the community to curtail our naval expenditure and to be satisfied with nothing more than the skeleton of an army. To the cry, "If you want peace be prepared for war," came the rejoinder, " If you want peace be prepared for peace." We had embraced the old, unbusiness- like pohcy of " muddhng through " any serious emergency. None of us will readily forget how, like a thief in the night, the enemy sprang upon us in the sure and certain hope of snatching a victory before we had the time to array ourselves to meet him. But. thanks to the men of our navy and of our army, the ancient glory of Knoland has been [121 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. adequately sustained, although at a cost which was much greater than would have been the case had we been better prepared. I have briefly reviewed the period before the war in order that what I have to say about our industries shall be fully appreciated. The first point I wish to make is that if our military position had been more in accordance with our responsibilities, our industrial activities would not have been interfered with as they are to-day, for in providing adequately for our military defence, we would have been prepared with a systematic plan to meet military requirements. We should not, for instance, have been so blind to the interests of the army as to deplete the country of skilled engineers by placing them in the trenches instead of retaining them behind the benches in the munition shops. Even in the rush of recruiting one would expect some thought to be given to the demand for men for feeding the rifles and guns, for without this necessary provision no flghting army can exist for a day. 122] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. We have been greatly handicapped in consequence of a lack of system and organisation, and these defects have had a most disturbing effect on industry. How much better it would have been for the nation if we had left our mobilisation to men of proved business capacity, organising ability, and sound common sense, and accepted the advice of such men, without question, on matters which men immersed in politics cannot be expected to handle successfully. The mere politician might conveniently be eliminated in a great crisis like the present. I do not, of course, expect to find finished examples of moral excellence — the just made perfect — but the country is surely not in a state of bankruptcy as regards men possessing some of the elements which go to the making of organised efficiency. One of our urgent needs at this time is a man with an almost instinctive skill in discerning dangers, and of applying measures to meet those dangers which will not create difficulties in another direction. In spite of serious errors of [123 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. judgment in the past, the policy of the Government seems to be to ignore the indis- pensable claims of industry. Now it cannot be controverted that if, on the one hand, we are j)iling up a huge war debt, and on the other we are menacing our industrial life by withdrawing indispensable men from their civil occupations in order to place them in positions in the military machine which might be filled by other and more suitable men, and if by adopting this course of action we seriously cripple some industries and actually bring others to a standstill, we shall be following a course that can only lead to disaster. A nation that is fighting for its existence must have the money with which to fight, and as long as industry is able to find the money, and not a day longer, the fight may go on to what we confidently hope and believe will be a glorious victory. It will be a suicidal policy seriously to reduce our industrial artivitirs and thereby weaken our financial position. I cannot bring myself to believe t^at it is the deliberate intention of the 124] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. Government to do this, but of one thing I am certain, that if the present official attitude towards industry is maintained, whether it is intentioTial or not, the general dislocation which will follow will be disastrous from an economic point of view. We have to draw a clear line of demarca- tion between the essential trades and what are termed luxury trades. In the national welfare — and this is the view-point to which I address myself — all forms of luxury, without exception, ought not to be admitted in^o our v/ar-time expenditure. We cannot afford to lay out money on things that are superfluous. I need not enumerate the non-essentials. Anyone could draw up a formidable list of extravagances which are to-day indulged in as thouoh we were living" in normal times. Any steps that are taken to check useless expenditure will be welcomed. But the essential trades should not be subjected to any measure which may mean seriously restricting or stopping them. Indeed, it is in the national welfare that they should, [125 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. if necessary, be supported by the State. Two of the really essential trades are those which provide food and clothing. The provision of coal, too, cannot be left to chance. Then there are the dependent industries. I need not name them all. It is sufficient for my purpose first of all to prove that if we are to have any care for the comfort and well-being of the civil population, we must not close our eyes to their urgent and legitimate demands for the necessaries of life. The fact that we are taking our part in the largest and most hideous war known to history surely compels us the more closely to nurse those industries which are so vital to keep the people at home free from anxieties over and above those which are inseparable from the war. In this way we shall be assisting our soldiers at the front to march against the enemy confident in the knowledge that their people at home are immune from the great dangers which, in times past, have involved the non-fighting part of the population. It is our duty at home to sustain the national 126] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. spirit; not to paralyse it. Our leaders must move with circumspection in an\ thing that they may do in order not to encourage suspicion or breed anxiety. The increased production of home-grown foodstuffs is a work of paramount importance. We are short of food now, and the failure of the harvest in any one year would bring us within measurable distance of starvation, because we cannot, as formerly, rely upon supplies from overseas. If our aims are dictated by prudence and foresight, we shall cultivate every available piece of land. We never could afford to neglect agriculture ; we certainly cannot afford to neglect it now. Farmers should receive every encouragement to produce food in such quantities that we may be able to pass through this great national crisis without compelling the people to submit to a further reduction in their food supplies. Any appearance of neglect in this matter will tend to lower the moral force of the nation, and cause a feeling of restlessness which will not be easily removed. Through SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. our thoughtlessness in the past — or should I say maladministration ? — xve have looked too much to the foreigner to feed our population. The extreme folly of that policy is now made manifest. The feeding of our people is one of the most urgent — it is ihe most urgent — problem with which we have to deal. Are we facing that problem with the resoluteness it demands? Some may think that I am imagining a situation which is not likely to be experienced by our people; that I am painting a distress- ful picture out of an imagination which is run- ning to excess. But I woulcl ask what is likely to happen if our recruiting agencies have failed to profit by the mistake which was made in the earlier stages of this war, when men were taken for the Army quite regardless of the fact that they would be giving better service at home? In this earlier instance, it is true, the younger men were taken; but that fact only strengthens my case now that the older men are liable to be withdrawn from their civil oc-cupations for some form of m.ili- 128] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. tary service. The younger men were, in most cases, fitted for the more strenuous life in the trenches. The men between forty and fifty, generally speaking, are not. But that ques- tion may be left to the military authorities. All that I claim is that men with a knowledge of the trades that are to be affected by the new call to the colours should have a voice in the class of men to be withdrawn from industry. The fear to-day is that those who are re- sponsible for issuing the calling-up notices will not be in a position, through lack of knowledge, to discriminate between the essen- tial and the non-essential trades, and the essential and the non-essential men in those trades. If we are further to deplete the army of men on the land our food crops will be seriously reduced in consequence. That contingency is one that should deter us from taking so grave a step. If we turn to the cotton industry — an in- dustry which, from the beginning of the war, has been seriously restricted in its output of goods through the shortage of the raw J ['^9 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. material and labour — I submit that there is a grave danger ahead which might easily be overlooked by those who are not competent to decide on the value of this or that man to a cotton mill or warehouse. In most indus- tries there are men employed on certain work, and upon the continuance and regularity of which the whole body of workpeople depend for their subsistence. This is especially the case in the cotton industry. If a small num- ber of men skilled in a certain branch of this highly-technical industry were withdrawn from a mill, the work in that mill would stop almost automatically, and with this stoppage hundreds of operatives would immediately be reduced to want — they would be without visible means of subsistence. Thus, a decision come to without know- ledge in connection with one mill, if multi- plied, might easily bring despair to thousands of homes and millions of people in Lanca- shire alone, as the trouble would immediately spread to the subsidiary and dependent in- dustries, and the mercantile interests, involv- 130] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. ing- a loss of trade which would be incal- culable. The possibilities of the trouble are colossal. The more one thinks about the dang-er which would follow a false and un- warrantable step, the greater must be our sur- prise and indignation that the machinery of the Industrial Council, representing both Capital and Labour — each indispensable to the other — and which was in existence at the outbreak of war, has not been put into opera- tion to safeguard our industries and com- merce. There are tribunals for the individual man; why not have used this tribunal, com- posed of men who were in a position, as a result of practical experience, to decide how far Military Authorities might safely go in withdrawing labour without temporarily, and perhaps permanently, ruining industry, upon which everything depends? I have sought to raise some im- portant questions which we cannot afford to neglect. The British nation, so far, has shown an admirable spirit, in spite of increas- ing dangers and anxieties, and it is the duty [131 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. of our statesmen to guard against doing any- thing that may weaken that spirit. Speaking on behalf of the industrial and commercial section of the community, I may say that we have had constant disappointments in regard to the manner in which the trade and com- merce of the country have been treated by men who are quite incapable, through lack of business training, to give the country that assistance which is so urgently required. False steps have been taken again and again, and, rather than admit mistakes, they have been persisted in, quite irrespective of the serious consequences that their action has en- tailed. Our Government officials seem to have elaborated machinery for crushing practical and independent advice out of exist- ence. Expert advice has been occasionally sought, and readily tendered. And each time it had been treated with a calculated in- difference, or completely ignored. The point has now been reached when the business men of the nation have lost confidence in the ability of our leaders efficiently to lead when 132] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. questions directly affecting our national in- dustries are involved. The army of workers might not exist, judged by the standard of their dealings with all matters appertaining to industry. Let me summarise the main points of this chapter. I affirm that, as a nation, we welcome every effort that is made to defeat, in the field, the unrighteous ends of the enemy. All classes in the nation have sacrificed, and are prepared still further to sacrifice, their per- sonal convenience for their country's need. But we do not want to make unnecessary sacrifices, or create difficulties which might easily be avoided. I have indicated some of the dangers that are threatening the country now that the demand for men has become so urgent. No one would think of withholding reinforce- ments from our brave soldiers in the trenches. I know that I measure the feelings of the country when I say that nothing must be allowed to interfere with our victory on sea and on land. That is perfectly clear. But b33 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. whilst we offer every opposition to the enemy, we should, at the same time, guard our interests at home, for this, too, is a way to victory. Those interests are (i) the un- restricted cultivation of the land so that we might effectively resist the enemy of starva- tion; (2) the removal of all unnecessary re- strictions on essential industries, and especi- ally those concerned with the clothing of the people. Finally, I would ask this pertinent ques- tion : Why does the Government persistently refuse to call to their aid the Industrial Coun- cil? This Council was established by the Government in the year 191 1, and is com- posed of representatives of the organised employers and Workpeople in the principal industries of the country, and it is incompre- hensible why the Government did not turn to such a body for advice and assistance in mobilising the industries for war. The failure to do this, together with the indifferent use that has been made of the National Register, especially as regards the organising of women, 134] MAN-POWER AND INDUSTRY. and the utilisation of the municipal organisa- tions which were ready to hand, has led to in'-efficiency, resulting in serious waste of life and treasure, and the postponement of victory in this unprecedented struggle for liberty and civilisation. [U5 BRITISH AGRICULTURE. Solicitous for the prosperity of my country, I am constrained to make an appeal in regard to the future of British agriculture. It is sometimes charged against leaders of industry that they have neither the time nor the in- clination to turn their thoughts to another industry which is not considered to be closely allied with the one in which they are daily immersed. I fear that there is some truth in that complaint. 'But, considering how wholly dependent all classes in the nation are on the prosperity of the agricultural in- dustry — and surely this War has brought us completely to realise that dependence — it is the duty of all Britishers, without exception, seriously to entertain and, as opportunity offers, publicly to express their views, in order to secure the permanency of that practical 136] BRITISH AGRICULTURE. interest in the increased productivity of our land which, since the beginning of the war, has been stimulated by patriotism, but which is primarily due to the fear of a food famine in consequence of our insularity and former dependence on foreign crops. My chief interest, industrially, is cotton •manufacture, but I may claim to have other interests, and first and foremost among these is agriculture. Cotton manufacture and agriculture are the two largest and most im- portant British industries. In the case of the former, the raw material must of necessity come from oversea. It is not possible to grow cotton in the British Isles ; if it were, it would be done. The climate is altogether opposed to such a project. Accordingly, when war comes and enemy ships menace our merchant ^'essels, the cotton manufacturing industry only by extremely careful manage- ment is able to avert a disastrous stoppage. But the national industry of agriculture, on account of what seems to be a calculated system of discouragement, has been de- [137 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. pressed for many years. Incomprehensible as it must seem to us now, we had elected, in spite of our insularity, to allow our supplies of foodstuffs to decrease and to place our re- liance for staple food products on what the foreigner was pleased to send us. The present crisis has shown us what an incal- culable blunder that was. But, apart from our present trouble, why should we allow our land to remain idle instead of supporting our population? In making known the pro- gramme of the Government for dealing with the land problem, in 19 13, it was officially stated that in Germany there were ten million agricultural workers, in France there were nine millions, and in Great Britain there were only one and a half millions, and that while the men employed on the land in Great Britain in sixty years had diminished by 600,000, the number of gamekeepers had in- creased in the same period from 9,000 to 23,000. To so great an extent did we dis- courage agriculture in this country that cer- tain railways were allowed to give preference 138] BRITISH AGRICULTURE. to foreign produce. It is difficult to find words adequately to express such a calami- tous policy, because the welfare of land culti- vation is a matter of life or death. But Britain in her blindness could not see this until a world war seriously interfered with her food supply. We are told that our annual importation of foodstuffs, most of which we could grow at home, amounts to something like ^200,000,000. This huge importation became necessary because we preferred not to cultivate our own land, and thereby become self-supporting and indepen- dent of the foreigner. In this we assented to a very dangerous and wholly incomprehen- sible procedure. The vast importance of agriculture to us, an island Power, cannot be over-estimated. The less we depend upon foreign countries for our food the better, for it is unreasonable to build upon a dream of perpetual peace. Given proper encourage- ment, it is held that we might grow sufficient food to support our own population. It is to be hoped that in future we shall make agri- [139 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. culture the main interest in the country. The steady, sturdy perseverance of our race under existing difficuhies bids us hope that even out of the present evil permanent good may come. We shall not have thoroughly learned our lesson if we do not get back to the land, and carry with us there the practical and scientific training which is now so indispensable to the successful agriculturist. My own idea is that Training Centres for agricultural stu- dents should be established in many parts of the country, where the most up-to-date system of land cultivation might be taught. I have myself established a Training Centre at Broughton, near Preston, Lancashire, for young women, in market gardening, includ- ing ploughing, harrowing, the management of horses, milking, &c., and students who have gone from this Centre have uniformly done well. It is managed by one of my daughters, who, before the war, gained diplomas in the subjects she is teaching, and who reaHsed that amateurs could not train amateurs. Her 140] BRITISH AGRICULTURE. aim is to instruct young women who have, since the war, patriotically put aside their hockey, golf, and other pastimes, to give emi- nently practical help to their country in this hour of great trial, in order that they, in their turn, may instruct others. To me one bene- ficial result of this terrible war is the remark- able response which has come from women of all classes to help their country over the in- creasingly difficult situation imposed by the rigours of war. There is hardly any descrip- tion of work which they have not tackled with willingness, and displayed a degree of efficiency which, before the necessity arose, was not thought possible. Whilst our men are fighting German militarism, the women of our land are fighting the enemy of starva- tion. For years, in other countries, a much larger proportion of the female population has been working on the land than has been the case in England, and the fears in regard to de- creased food supplies in those countries is therefore not so pronounced. I have had ['41 SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM. practical experience of this in my travels abroad in connection with the extension of the cotton fields of the world, where I have been brought into close contact with agricul- ture in all its phases. It is earnestly to be hoped that rnany more Training Centres will be established, under properly quahfied teachers, because the greater productivity of the soil is one of the most urgent needs of the day. 142] Appendices APPENDIX I. RETENTION OF THE COTTON CONTROL BOARD. In support of my proposal for the reten- tion of the Cotton Control Board after the war as the Industrial Council of the cotton industry, the Right Hon. J. H. Whitley, M.P,, Chairman of Committees (House of Commons), and Chairman of the Whitley Committee, wrote to me (June 26, 19 18), as follows : — I have been pleased to read your articles suggesting that the Cotton Control Board might well be retained after the war, as the permanent Joint Industrial Council of the cotton trade, and I venture to hope that your proposal may receive the serious and practical attention of all persons engaged in the trade. Constructive co-operation in tackling the difficulties of war is the best preparation for similar co-operation in dealing with the prob- lems of almost equal magnitude that will arise after the war. By common consent the Cotton Control Board has been the most suc- [143 APPENDIX I. cessful of the " War Emergency Controls," because it was based on the minimum of Government interference, and the maximum of self-government by employers and em- ployed in the trade. This is the principle advocated by the committee over which I have recently presided for dealing with the prob- lems of war, of transition, and of peace ; and I should like to see the cotton trade first in the future in this matter as it has been first in some other things in days gone by. The proposal is no mere matter of machinery, for it involves a dual recognition — first, of every man and woman engaged in an industry as an individual, whose welfare and development are a concern to that indus- try — second, of all work as in a large degree service of the Commonwealth. The absence of such joint organisations has of necessity led the Government to attempt functions for which it could not be equipped; hence the alarming number of " hotels" vainly endeavouring to do work that had better be entrusted to practical persons endowed with the experience and knowledge that only daily life spent in industry can give. I feel sure that a preliminary joint meeting of employers and trade union leaders would prepare the way for a plan suited to the needs of the cotton industry. 144I APPENDIX II. COTTON SPINNING SPINDLES. This compilation was issued by the International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Associations in August 19 1 3. The war has prevented any Total World Estimated Number of Spinning Spindles. later issue : — Countries. Great Britain Germany Russia France India Austria Italy Spain Japan Switzerland Belgium ... Sweden ... Portugal ... Holland ... Denmark Norway ... U.S. America* Canada Mexico, Brazil, &c. Total 143,452,659 * The figures for the U.S.A. have been supplied by the Census Bureau at Washington, D.C. Doubling spindle.'? are not included in the above table. K [145 55,652,820 11,186,023 9^212,557 7,400,000 6,084,378 4,909,458 4,600,000 2,000,000 2,300,000 1,398,062 1,492,258 534,000 480,000 478,682 89,556 74,572 31,505,000 855,293 3,200,000 APPENDIX III, INDIAN COTTON.^ No one can be engaged in the Lancashire Cotton Industry without coming into contact with India and Indian affairs. The Lan- cashire cotton trade supports a population which for \veight and wealth and density per square mile is hardly equalled in the known civilised world, and it is an impressive thought — it is indeed one of the economic marvels of the world — that a trade which carries so vast a human responsibility is not, like agriculture or shipbuilding, native to the climate and character of Britain, but is so far exotic and fortuitous that not one particle of its raw material could possibly be grown at home' and three-quarters of its final product — in normal times — goes abroad. The severest privation through which the county ever passed was caused by a war for the liberation of South American slaves, and in the same v/ay the troubles of India react immediately on the interests, and have been found in practice to react no less on the sympathies, of Lancashire. Instances of this are to be found in the Indian famines of 1897 ^r^d 1900, and the earlier famine which occurred in 1877. A very important part of the constructive 1. Extract from tho "Manchester Guardian," Indian Supplement, Marcli 1918. 146] APPENDIX III. work of the International Cotton Federation was done in India. No problem of the cotton trade received more of the time and attention of the Federation than the state of the Indian cotton crop. The degeneracy of the Indian crop is historic. Once the source of the priceless Indian hand-woven muslins, it had become in the course of the ages the charac- teristically short-stapled crop of the world, and though as such it served satisfactorily for the coarser manufactures of India, Japan, and the Continent of Europe, deterioration, if carried much farther, would have meant a definite loss of wealth at once to India and the world. The object, then, of the Federa- tion in knocking without cessation at the doors of the India Office was a twofold one : first to increase the yield of the Indian cotton crop as it then was, and secondly to spread such principles and practices of cultivation as would lead to a progressive improvement of its quality. In the first of these objects the Federation succeeded so well that the crop was lifted from three million to nearly six million bales, and a project for the experi- mental sowing of selected American and Egyptian seed on 7,500 acres of irrigated land provided by the Government was only arrested by the outbreak of the European War. With ten more years of peace the [147 APPENDIX III. Indian cotton crop might have equalled in quantity the crop of America. Any very marked improvement in its quality would have taken much longer, but this also was among the plans of the Federation. Appendix IV.—Note. I include in this volume the last annual report of the Employers' Parliamen- tary Association. This Association was founded in December, 191 1, as a result of the general dissatisfaction caused by the National Insurance Act. The first Annual Report of the Association states clearly the objects for which the Association was formed. It was to " endeavour to secure the postpone- ment of the Insurance Act, and, failing that, to work for its material amendment, with the object of removing the injustice which the Act imposes upon industrial employers, and, further, to endeavour to secure the recognition of the right of great bodies of employers to be consulted before important industrial legislation is undertaken." For five years the Association carried on a large propaganda work of the utmost importance, and as the last Report, now published for the first time, indicates, was then (contrary to the advice of the chief promoter of the movement), absorbed in another organisation which was only in its initial stages of dcvlopment. i4«] APPENDIX IV. THE EMPLOYERS' PARLIAMEN- TARY ASSOCIATION. President: Sir CHARLES W. MACARA, Baut. Vice-Preside George Henry Cox, Esq., Salt Union Ltd., Liverpool. W. Crowther, Esq., Hudderafield and District Woollen Manufacturers' and Spinners' Association, Hud- dersfield. Arthur K. Da vies, Esq., Managing Dir-jctor, Bleachers' Association, Ltd., Manchester. Herbert Ellis, Esq., Leicestershire, Warwickshire Quarry Masters' Conference, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. A. J. FoRSDiKB, Esq., Yorkshire Federation of Building Trade Employers^ Leeds. W. W. Harding, Esq., Leicester Master Dyers' & Trimmers' Assoc, Leicester. T. D. Harrison, Esq., Agricultural Engineers' As- sociation, London, P^.C. J. H. Harwood, Esq., Birmingham Pinafore Mfrs. Association, Birmingham. William Heap, Esq., National Federation of Meat Traders' Associations, London E.C. Henry Heys, Esq., Hawthorn House, Stacksteads. nts : W. N. Hicking, Esq., Notts Lace & Net Dressers' Association. C. R. Hindley, Esq., British Cotton & Wool Dyers' Association, IMaiichester. Albert E. Jacob, Esq. Association of Biscuit Manu- facturers of the United Kingdom, Glasgow. Hy. Jenkinson, Esq. Leeds and District Master Printei's' Association, Leeds. Arthur Kemp, Esq., Hosieiy Manufacturers' As- sociation, Leicester. Wm. Gates, Esq., Potters' Assoc, Southport. J. Wharton Pollitt, Esq., Employers' Federation of Bleachers, Printers, Dyers & Finishers (Piece Goods), Manchester. Chas. H. Richardson, Esq. Combined Scotch and Irish Bleaciiers' and Finisliers' Association, Belfast. W. Peter Rylands, Esq., Iron and Steel Wire Manu- facturers' Association, War- rington. A. E. Smith, Esq., Nottingham Lace Finishers' As.=;ociation, Nottingham. [149 APPENDIX lY. J. Percy Smith, Esq., Nottingham Lace Manufac- turers' Assoc, Nottingham. R. W. Southern, Esq., Manchester and Salford Case Makers' Alliance, Manchester. R H. Swain, Esq., Nottingham Master Hosiery Dyers' and Finishers' Associa- tion, Nottingham. A. Herman Sykes, Esq. Fine Cloth Manufacturers' Association, Station Street Buildings, Huddersfield. Ben Talbot, Esq., North-Western Federation of Building Trade Emjjloyers, Manchester. J. E. Turner, Esq., Fine Cloth Manufacturers' Association of the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax dis- tricts, Leeds. W. Wadsworth, Esq., Joseph Whbatlbt, Esq., J.P., Woolcombers Ltd., Bradford. Geo. H. Wood, Esq., Huddersfield Masters Dyers' and Fini.shers' Association, Huddersfield. CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Chairman : Sir Charles W. Macara, Bart. Vice^C/iairman -. W. Peter Rylands, Esq. (Director : Messrs. The Pearson & Knowles, Coal & Iron Co., Ltd.), etc. W. H. Carey, Esq., J.P. (Managing Director, Bulwell Finishing Co., Ltd., Nottingham — Representative and Chairman of the Nottiiioham Branch). Arthur K. Tjavies, Esq. (Managing Director, Bleachers' A.ssociation, Ltd., Manche.ster). Col. T. W. Harding, V.D., D.L., J.P. (Representative and Chairman of the Leeds Branch). T. D. Harrison, Esq., J.P. (Managing Director, Harrison McGregor & Co., Ltd., Agricultural Engineers, Leigh, Lanca.snire ; Agricultural Engineers' Association, London). Frank A. Hopkin.son, Esq. (Managing Director, J. Hopkinson & Co., Ltd., Engineers, Huddersfield — Representative and Chairman of the Huddersfield Branch). Frank Moore, Esq. (Managing Director, Moore, Eadie & Murcott Goode, Ltd., Hosiery Manufacturers, Leicester — • Representative of the Leicester Branch). B. Ormerod, Esq. (Secretary, Andrew Knowles & Sons, Ltd., Colliery Proprietors, Manchester). J. R. Ormerod, Esq. (Representative of the Liverpool Branch). J. W. Pollitt, Esq. (Ex-President, Employers' Federation of Bleachers, Printers, Dyern & Finishers (Piece-Goods), Manchester). 150] APPENDIX lY. Robert Rowlev, Esq., J. P. (Managing Director, R. Rowley & Co., Ltd., Hosiery Manufacturer.s, Leicester ; Ex-Presidont, Leicester Chamber of Commerce). E. J. Smith, Esq. (Representative and Hon. Sec. of the Birmingham Branch). S. WiGHAM, Esq. (Secretary, Lancashire, Chosliire & North Wales Building Trades Employers' Federation. ilanchester). Col. W. W. CLAPnAii, V.D., Mantliester. C. Shb)>herd-Cross, Esq. (Director, Jones JJros., Ltd., Cotton Spinners & Manufacturers, Manchester). FINANCE COMMITTEE. Cliuinnan : W. Peter Rtlands, Esq Joint Hon. Treasurers : C. Shepherd-Cboss, Esq., ■J. W. PoLLiTT, Esq. ORGANISATION COMMITTEE Chairman : B. Ormrrod, Esq Col. W. W. Clapham, A. K. Davies, Esq., Frank Moore, Esq., J. R. Ormbrod, Esq., and S. Wigham, Esq. BRANCH OFFICES AND OFFICIALS. BIRMINGHAM : 14, Temple Street— Chairman : T. H. Charles, Esq. Representative on Central Executive Committee, E. J. Smith, Esq. HUDDERSFIELD : 9, Imperial Arcade— Chairman : F. A. Hopkinson, E."5q. Representative on Central Executive Committee, the Chairman. LP]EDS : Standard Buildings, City Square — Chairman -. Col. W. Harding, V.D., D.L. Representative on Central Executive Committee, the Chairman. LEICESTER : 31, Corridor Chambers— Chairman -. R. Rowlet, Esq., J.P. Representative on Central Executive Committee, F. Moore, Esq. LIVERPOOL : 36, Dale Street- Chairman -. Col. A. L. Macfie, V.D. Representative on Central Executive Committee, J. R. Ormerod, Esq. NOTTINGHAM : Armitage Chambers, Victoria Street- - Chairman : W. H. Carev, Esq., J.P. Representative on Central Executive Committee, the Chairman. STAFFORDSHIRE : Bank Chambers, Wedncsbury— Secretary : A. J. Glover, Esq. Solicit orff : Messrs. SLATER, HEELIS & CO., Princess St., Manchester. [151 APPENDIX lY. Auditors : Messrs. DAVID SMITH, GARNETT & CO., 61, Brown Street, Manchester. General Secretary : ^ Mr. JOHN HAWORTH, 15, Cross Street, Manchester. ASSOCIATIONS ALSO AFFILIATED WITH THE EMPLOYERS' PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION. Bradford Coal Merchants' & Consumers' Association, Ltd., Bradford Bradford Dyers' Association, Ltd. Bradford. English Sewing Cotton Co., Ltd., Manchester. English Velvet & Cord Dyers' Association Ltd., Manchester. Potters' Federation Ltd., Glasgow. Huddersfield & District Yarn Spinners' Association, Hud- dersfield. Nottingham Master Case Makers' Assoc, Nottingham. Lace Curtain Bleaching, Dressing and Finishing As- sociation, Nottinghatm. Fifth Annual Report. For the Year Ending December $isf, 191 6. In submitting the 5th Annual Report, your Central Executive Committee are desirous, in treating upon the various phases of work undertaken by the Association during the past year, of endeavouring to shape to some extent their idea of a National Trade Policy for the future. To formulate any but broad general principles would manifestly be hope- less. To cite general principles to be ob- served during the possibly quickly forthcom- ing era of Industrial Reconstruction and to give reasons therefor is probably a work 152] APPENDIX lY. which, if adequately fulfilled, may prove of inestimable National benefit. At any rate, it appears to your Central Executive Com- mittee an imperative duty to endeavour to sketch a policy of executive action. The following are the principal subjects dealt with by the Central Executive Com- mittee during the past year : — (a) Industrial Unrest. -. {b) Industry and Finance. (c) Alien Indebtedness. (ct) Scientific Industrial Research. (e) Patents. (/) Transport Facilities. (g) Ministry of Commerce. (h) Commission of Investigation : National Insurance Act. (/) Federation of British Industries. Industrial Unrest. The Chief Industrial Commissioner, in 191 1, in his report on the working of the Lemieux Act of Canada, said : " The public have no use for strikes or lock-outs." This was an epigrammatic statement of fact in pre- war times, but the aphorism is scarcely suffi- ciently intense under present circumstances. Under the probable future conditions of strenuous reconsiruction after the war, it is, perhaps, not too much to prophesy that if a [153 APPENDIX lY. panacea for industrial friction is not dis- covered, then our position as a nation and as an Empire is in jeopardy. All questions of " Trade after the War," Banking Facilities, Fiscal Reform, and others, are comparatively insignificant, because " Industrial Harmony" alone renders their consideration possible. Can a solution to Industrial Unrest be found ? Your Committee believe that a solu- tion can and will be found, and formulated a policy in the last annual report, which may well be reiterated : — " That the Central Executive Com- mittee of the Employers' Parliamentary Association, recognising the impossibility of enforcing compulsory arbitration upon large bodies of workers, expresses its strong opposition to the policy of compul- sory arbitration, and realising the preju- dicial effect of strikes and lock-outs upon the national interests, is earnestly of opinion that the Government should make use of the Industrial Council which it ap- pointed in 191 1, and which is equally repre- sentative of capital and labour; this Com- mittee is further of opinon that the Govern- ment should appoint the Industrial Council as an Industrial Advisory Council, and that when negotiations in a labour dispute affecting large bodies of workpeople have 154] APPENDIX lY. reached a deadlock, or in which an impor- tant principle is involved, the Board of Trade should publicly invite both bodies to submit their case to the arbitrament of the Industrial Council, the award of such policy being given the fullest possible pub- licity. This Committee is also of opinion that the refusal of either side to submit its case to such arbitration would afford ' public opinion,' the supreme arbiter of all such disputes, strong presumptive evidence as to the merits of the dispute." The principles of this policy of dealing with the problem have been advocated by the Carton Foundation in an admirable " Memor- andum on the Industrial Situation after the War," pubHshed October, 191 6, by the Economic and Statistical Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in a report dated August 15th, 1916, and by the Scottish Organisation of Iron, Steel, Engineering, Shipbuilding and Allied Industries, at a meeting held on August 4th, 19 1 6. The necessity for the formation of some body such as the Industrial Council of 191 1, on an elective basis, perhaps varying, it may be, in personnel, is becoming recog- nised as a fundamental part of the machinery for the settlement of industrial disputes; the alternative is State interference The ex- [155 APPENDIX lY. perience of the operation of the Munitions Act is significant. During a time when an overwhelming patriotism in the face of a common danger smothered many fires which would in times of peace have burst into flame — with circumstances favourable to its suc- cess, compulsory arbitration has been tried and found lacking. Compulsory arbitration appears to be, however, the alternative to the policy urged by your Committee. It cannot be adopted. One of the underlying causes of industrial disputes is the belief held to some extent by both sides that the interests of employer and employe are antagonistic. It cannot be too much emphasised that their in- terests are mutual; one cannot exist without the other, and the welfare of the country is dependent upon both. On September 6th, 191 6, at the Trade Union Congsess (an organisation represent- ing some 2,850,547 trade unionists, out of a total of 3,987,115 trade unionists in the coun- try), the following resolution was adopted : — " In view of the importance of maintain- ing the trade and commerce of the country in the period immediately following the declaration of peace, when industrial ad- justments of all kinds will require to be made, this Congress is of the opinion that every effort should be put forth to pre- 156] APPENDIX lY. serve industrial peace, and thereby assist to secure the material prosperity of the nation after the war. " That, for the purpose of removing causes of friction likely to lead to indus- trial disturbance, the Parliamentary Com- mittee is hereby instructed to approach the Government and the Employers' Parlia- mentary Association, with the object of discussing terms that will secure the end in view for a period of three years, such terms to include the acceptance of the fol- lowing proposals : — (i) Membership of a Trade Union to be cofiipulsory upon all workers, in- cluding clerks. (2) Compulsory 48-hour working week in every occupation. (3) Compulsory minimum wage of 30/- for all adult workers. (4) No reduction of present wages or in- crease in working hours. (5) Complete recognition by Employers of Trade Unions and all agree- ments entered into between the unions and Employers' Associa- tions. (6) State unemployment pay for men and women out of work. L157 APPENDIX lY. (7) Settlement by the unions of the con- ditions of women's labour after the war. The Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress duly transmitted this resolution to your Committee, and the invita- tion to discuss the terms of the resolution was accepted. Your President suggested a pre- liminary conference of three from each side to discuss procedure. It was recognised that although the Employers' Parliamentary Association was the only body on the side of capital at all analogous to that of the Trade Union Congress representing labour, yet the Trade Union Congress represented Labour to a much greater extent than the Employers' Parliamentary Association represented Capi- tal. A preliminary conference was therefore held, Sir Charles W. Macara, Bart., Mr. W. Peter Rylands, and your Secretary represent- ing the Employers' Parliamentary Associa- tion, and Messrs. J. Hill (President), G. H. Stuart-Bunning, and C. W. Bowerman, M.P. (Secretary), representing the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress. Arrangements were discussed for obtaining, if possible, adequate representation of both sides, with a view to a subsequent conference. The negotiations being szib judice, it is mani- festly impossible for your Committee to dis- 158] ' APPENDIX lY. cuss the terms of the resolution categorically, or even to deal specifically with any of the proposals set forth. The Committee, how- ever, would venture to make the following observations : — (i) Inasmuch as the most representative body of labour in the country has evinced a desire to negotiate with Em- ployers with a view to discussion of the Industrial position after the war, your Committee could not take the responsibility of refusing to accept an invitation to such a discussion. (2) Your Committee appreciate their re- sponsibility in this matter, and will take no action unless they are satisfied that they will have the support of the majority of Employers in this country. (3) Your Committee, without expressing any opinion one way or another, re- gard the Trade Union Congress reso- lution as a whole simply and solely as a basis for discussion, and which was admitted to be the case by the repre- sentatives of the Trade Union Con- gress, and (4) Your Committee subscribe to the opinion that Trade Unionism has won an indisputable right to have its opinions heard in any industrial read- justment after the war, and that the [159 APPENDIX lY. principal menace to Industrial peace, in the future as in the past, is the un- associated employer and the non- unionist. The amount assessable to income tax in 1913/ 1 9 14 was ^1,170,000,000, and it may be calculated that the wages earned by per- sons under the income tax limit was in the neighbourhood of ;!^ 1,2 00,000,000. The gross profits assessable to income tax in the same year on account of public companies and firms amounted to some ^441,044,404. The net profits, after providing for proper allocation to reserve, extension of enterprise, etc., one might with justice estimate to be about, say, ^350,000,000. It needs very little statistical ability to demon- strate that a general advance in wages of 5/- per week would result in most serious conse- quences. Sir Hugh Bell, speaking at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Manchester last year, demonstrated that in the cost of production of every ton of steel made at his works, 70 to 75 per cent, of the cost was labour. Transport absorbed from 15 to 20 per cent., and the remaining 10 per cent, was left for distribution amongst the shareholders and for allocation to reserve. Sir Hugh pointed out that at least 3 per cent, had to be 160] APPENDIX lY. left in the business for maintenance, thus leaving from 5 to 7 per cent, for distribution amongst the shareholders. If, therefore, labour is to receive an increased reward, this can only be provided by increased selling prices and/or increased efficiency. Without State, or Imperial interference, there is no ground for anticipating a higher selling price, and that alternative will doubt- less receive the due consideration of producers and of the Government. In any case, however, the most important question is that of in- creased efficiency, both on the part of em- ployers and of the workers. The solution of this can only be found in co-operation among employers and close understanding and agreement with the workers, and every effort in future should be directed to that end. Industry and Finance. That our past conservative banking methods have served us in good stead during the war, and have proved in many ways the backbone of the Entente Alliance, is beyond question. Your Committee, however, have felt for some time the need for a slackening of the purse-strings of the bankers for the benefit of British manufacturers. Although our financial system of the past has been tried APPENDIX lY. and found trustworthy, yet there is little or no doubt but that the lack of financial support has prejudiced our industrial enterprise in many markets. Sir Henry Birchenough, K.C.M.G., Director of the British South Africa Company, late Board of Trade Com- missioner to South Africa, in a lecture delivered on January 26th, 191 1, on "South Africa," at Birmingham, said : " German trade has benefited perhaps most of all by a banking system which enables finance to co- operate with industry far more continuously and effectively than in Great Britain. It was solely due to the assistance of the Ger- man banks, for instance, that Germany was able to secure the vast orders for the electrical equipment of the Victoria Falls and Trans- vaal Company, one of the largest electrical installations in the world." This intimate co-operation of German finance and industry can, therefore, supplant us in our own colonial markets. It is, therefore, with no surprise that our consular reports abound with evi- dence to the same effect. It was, therefore, with particular pleasure that your Committee learned of the appoint- ment by the Board of Trade, on July ist, 19 1 6, of a representative committee of bankers and of prominent industrialists, under the Chairmanship of Lord Faringdon, 162] APPENDIX lY. " to consider the best means of meeting the needs of British firms after tfie war as regards financial facilities for trade, principally with reference to the financing of large overseas contracts and to prepare a detailed scheme for that purpose." The Committee recommended the forma- tion of a British Trade Bank, of which the chief features should be : — (i) It should have a capital of / 10,000,000, the first issue to be from ^2,500,000 to i^5, 000,000, upon which in the first instance only a small amount should be paid up, but which should all be called up within a reasonable time. A further issue to be made afterwards, if possible at a premium. (2) It should have a Foreign Exchange Department, where special facilities might be afforded for dealing with bills in foreign currency. (3) It should open a Credit Department for the issue of credits to parties at home and abroad. (4) It should enter into banking ao-ency arrangements with existing Colonial or British-Foreign Banks wherever they could be concluded upon reason- able terms, and where such arrange- ments were made, it should undertake [163 APPENDIX lY. not to set up for a specified period its own branches or agencies where no British-Foreign Bank of importance exists. (5) It should inaugurate an Information Bureau. (6) It should not interfere in any business for which existing Banks and Banking Houses now provide facilities. (7) Where the Government decides to finance " key" industries, the British Bank should be made the agent for such assistance. Your Committee, after careful considera- tion of the report, and of the recommenda- tions, unanimously adopted the following resolution : — " That this Committee desire to urge upon H.M. Government the extreme desirability of taking immediate steps to establish such a British Trade Bank as recommended by the Departmental Com- mittee, which reported on August 31st last, but venture to express the opinion that considering the extended scope of the very necessary work proposed to be undertaken, a capital of ^{^10,000,000 is inadequate." Your Committee have endeavoured, and will endeavour to urge upon H.M. Govern- ment the absolute necessity of adopting the 164] APPENDIX lY. scheme recommended. Their comment in the resolution anent the smaUness of the capi- tal is of primary importance. They are con- vinced that, given adequate Government sup- port, additional capital will be quickly forth- coming. One great virtue of the scheme as recommended is the expressed intention not to interfere with the work of existing banks. It is possible, through this scheme, in the opinion of your Committee, to preserve the financial strength which has served us so well in the present crisis, and at the same time to secure Industrial and Financial co-operation, to the advancement of both. An illustration of the modus operandi of the German Trade Banks may be useful as revealing the potentialities of the British Trade Bank. If a German manufacturer of, say, textile machinery, wishes to trade with Russia, his wishes could be carried out with ease and dispatch. His course would be to go to his local bank, which, through fts Russian Branch, would furnish him with par- ticulars of similar machinery imported, the cost of the same, the prospects of the particu- lar trade for which he proposes to cater, the methods of management, and, indeed, all technical data necessary to enable him to arrive at a sound judgment as to whether the venture was worth making. If, after due [165 APPENDIX lY. consideration, the manufacturer decided to undertake the enterprise, the bank would introduce him to rehable agents, would place him in touch with financially sound prospec- tive customers, and would exercise a benevo- lent supervisory function over his trade. The bank would, moreover, finance his business if necessary, and would collect his accounts. Necessarily there are disadvantages in con- nexion with this class of trading; the advan- tages, in the opinion of your Committee, out- weigh them. The bed-rock fact remains that long credit transactions are only possible with accurate local knowledge of trade in foreign countries. If increased trade with Russia, Italy, South America, and other countries is desired, long credits are necessary. Under the present system they are impossible. The proposed British Trade Bank, if quickly established, will supply the need. Alien Indebtedness. Your Committee have, since the outbreak of the war, as will be remembered, persistently urged upon H.M. Government the necessity of safeguarding the interests of Briti-sh credi- tors of alien enemies in respect of book debts. That no definite promise has been given by the Government to deal with the subject in the manner suggested by the 1 66] APPENDIX lY. Association, is scarcely surprising in that the pohcy to be adopted by the Government is contingent upon the Entente winning the war. The war has not yet been won, and hence your Committee are not incHned to view their work in this connexion with any degree of disappointment. They are, in- deed, confident that their efforts during the past and previous year will be regarded by members with approval, and that the result of those efforts will be satisfactory to those traders on whose behalf they are made. This subject, it may be remembered, was fully treated on in the last annual report, and members have been fully advised of the action the Association has taken during the year. The Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 19 1 6, introduced by Sir Geo. Cave, K.C., M.P., at that time the Solicitor- General, early in the year, was viewed with a very considerable measure of approval by vour Committee. Under the terms of that measure the Board of Trade were granted powers to wind up businesses carried on by enemies or with enemy associations. The surplus assets of such businesses were to be handed over to the Public Trustee, as Public Custodian. Furthermore, if the Board of Trade (vmsidrrrd it was in the public interest L167 APPENDIX lY. that an enemy business should be carried on, or that a company had a number of its shares held by enemies, they might make an order vesting ffie business or the shares in the Public Custodian, to be sold by him to British subjects. (It may be incidentally mentioned that since April, 191 6, the Board of Trade have made 223 such orders. The Public Trustee has completed 117 trans- actions, 1 01 are in process of being dealt vvith, and 5 are held up pending the Board of Trade's directions). It seemed to your Committee that the passage of this measure would have the effect of placing a consider- able sum in cash in the hands of the Public Trustee, and on March 30th the following resolution was unanimously adopted : — " That this Committee, viewing with ap- proval the passing of the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 19 16, desire to reiterate the view that in respect of simple trade debts the Government should at once devise machinery whereby on the cessation of hostilities the British Government should be in a position to investigate all claims of British Traders, and, if satisfied as to their validity, discharge the debt, full oppor- tunity being given to the alien enemy to contest the claim in the British Courts, the British Government beino; fullv indemni- 168] APPENDIX lY. ficd by the enemy Governments on behalf of the sums so expended." Your Committee further appointed a sub- committee, with plenary powers, to make every effort to secure the carrying into effect of the terms of the resolution. On April 5th a deputation consisting of representatives from Bradford, Leicester, London, Nottingham, and your Secretary, waited upon the Commercial Committee of the House of Commons and presented the policy of the Association with respect to this question. A sub-committee of the Commer- cial Committee, consisting of Messrs. E. T. John, M.P., E. Pryce-Jones, M.P., and S. Roberts, M.P., was appointed to discuss pro- cedure with the members of the deputation. The President of the Board of Trade, on being approached, adopted a non possumus attitude, and in a written reply stated that : — " As at present advised I am not prepared to treat as " confiscated property, trade debts which have not been cancelled by legislative enactment." Your Committee thereupon set forth their views upon the subject in a manifesto, and have asked for the support of members of Parliament, Chambers of Com- merce, and prominent individuals, to the draft Bill formulated by your Committee in June of last year. (A list of unconditional sup- [169 APPENDIX lY. porters of this measure and the draft Bill will be found attached to this report). A substantial measure of support being forth- coming, your Committee are, with the assist- ance of the Right Hon. John Hodge, M.P., Sir J. S. Harmood-Banner, M.P., Messrs. Leslie Scott, K.C., M.P., P. Wilson Raffan, M.P., and C. T. Needham, M.P., to convene a mass meeting of supporters of the policy of the Association with a view to finally placing the safeguarding of the interests of British creditors of Alien enemies by H.M. Govern- ment beyond doubt. The Public Trustee, speaking in London on December 7th, is reported to have said that : — " They might rest assured that none of it (the cash held on account of enemy businesses disposed of by him, under the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 19 16), would find its way into enemy countries, if the powers here, and the Custodian, could prevent it." Your Committee submit that the policy formulated by them could be adopted by the Government with a minimum of dislocation ; the leaving of the solution of the problem to legal process will mean considerable worry and financial loss, and they are confident that, although no definite promise has been given, the work done will not be barren of result. 170] APPENDIX lY. Report of the Szib -Committee of the Advisory Committee to tJte Board of Trade on Commercial I ntelligence zuith respect to the measures for securing the position after the war of certain Inanches of Britishindustry . (Cd. 8181). Your Committee have had under detailed consideration, from time to time, schemes for the improvement of industrial conditions. The comprehensive report referred to de- servedly attracted widespread and generally favourable comment in the press at the time of its issue on January 28th of this year. Scientific Industrial Research. The recommendations of the report of the Advisory Committee under this head might be summarised as follows — {a) That larger funds should be placed' at the disposal of the new Committee of the Privy Council, and also of the ^ Board of Education, for the promo- tion of scientific and industrial re- search and training ; {})) That the Universities should be en- couraged to assist neighbouring manu- facturers, either through trade or other associations, in research work. {c) That an authoritative recorcl of research authorities should be established, [171 APPENDIX lY. under Governmental supervision, for the use of manufacturers only. It may be remembered that the last annual report treated at some length on the work of the Association in connexion with securing the establishment of a Committee on the lines referred to in Clause (a) of the Committee's recommendations. Your Committee cor- dially endorse the recommendations of the Committee as to Clause (a). Whilst generally approving of the other recommendations, yourCommittee desire to lay particular stress upon (i) the necessity of perhaps the most vital of the whole of the three recommenda- tions, increasing the number of chemists trained in research work, and (2) the necessity of making special efforts to enlist the co- operation of manufacturers who hitherto have been lamentably apathetic in this matter. Ypur Committee have no hesitation in stating that Clause (b) is perhaps the most vital of the whole of the three recommenda- tions. Manufacturers are apathetic with re- gard to this subject because they are un- organised, and although consultant scientists, chemists, physicists, and engineers exist in this country in sufficient numbers, their talents are largely neglected. This country suffers^ has suffered, and may in the future suffer, be- cause of the lack of intimate intercommunica- 172] APPENDIX lY. tion between Science and Industry. Science and Industry are welded together in the United States and in Germany to form a mighty weapon for the advancement of the commerce of their respective States. That the United Kingdom lacks this weapon is due perhaps in the main to the unassociated employer. Your Committee wish to empha- sise particularly the recommendation of the " Advisory Committee" that help be given to the manufacturer through his association. Patents. The " Advisory Committee" recommended uniformity of Patent Law throughout the E-mpire, more strict enforcement of the law with regard to compulsory working of patents in the United Kingdom, and that the fullest possible information of enemy patents should be given to British firms during the war. Your Committee have no hesitation in en- dorsing these recommendations. They have been advocated persistently by this Associa- tion, and are, in the opinion of your Com- mittee, of great importance. There is, how- ever, one matter with regard to " patents" to which it is desired that the attention of mem- bers should be particularly called. The sub- ject of a patent must (i) be a manufacture, (2) possess novelty, and (3) possess utility. [173 APPENDIX lY. Your Committee are of opinion that greater precautions should be taken to avoid the grant of " Letters Patent" in cases lacking evidence of novelty and utility than appear at the present time. Patents are granted exclu- sively for the purpose of stimulating the in- ventive spirit for the benefit of industry and of the general community. It is difficult to see how patents granted for all kinds of trumpery articles can be other than mere instruments of advertisement of minor wares, and consequently, from a national point of view, absolutely useless. This prostitution of " Letters Patent" involves waste of the time of the officials at the Patent Office, and may act detrimentally in contributing to care- lessness in the question of " priority" in respect of really important inventions. Transport Facilities. Your Committee cordially approve of the recommendations of the report that : — (a) An impartial committee shall be set up to secure fair and impartial treatment to British Traders by British Shipping Companies, Shipowners, and Home Railways ; (b) That a definite policy with regard to the improvement and extension of the canal system of the United Kingdom should be formulated; 174] APPENDIX lY. {c) Tlvdi Shipping- Companies should be prohibited from charging higher rates of freights from British ports than from any North European ports. Your Committee have, as will be remem- bered, expressed their agreement with Clauses {h) and {c), and desire to urge upon members most strongly the desirability of supporting these recommendations, wherever opportunity serves. It seems to your Committee that one practi- cal method of dealing with part of this sub- ject would be : — " That railway companies be compelled to divide up and enter in their rate books all through rates on imported goods, so that the actual rates in respect of the inland carriage should be known." Your Committee contend that were this condition enforced, the publicity thereby afforded would in due course prevent pre- ferential rates being given to imported goods. Goods in pre-war times shipped from Ham- burg via Harwich to Bath or Dublin, were carried at a lower rate than goods sent from London to these towns, and similar anomalies might be quoted showing the unfair handi- caps under which British Traders laboured with respect to the rate?: charged on the Home Railways. Li 75 APPENDIX IV. Ministry of Commerce. Your Committee are strongly in favour of a Ministry of Commerce, composed of men of whom a certain number should be actually representative of commerce, and acquainted with its practical working difficulties and re- quirements, and would stipulate that the prime duty of such Ministry of Commerce v/ould be to champion its cause against any other department which seeks to impose re- strictive conditions. COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION. National Insurance Act. In January, 191 6, the Lords of the Treasury appointed a Departmental Com- mittee " to consider and report upon any amendments in the financial scheme of the National Insurance Acts which experience of the administration of Sickness, Disablement, and Maternity Benefits may suggest as de- sirable, within the existing limits of contribu- tions and benefits, before the completion of any valuations of Approved Societies; and, further, to consider how far the work of Approved Societies could be simplified, and its cost reduced without detriment to the interests of insured persons, by amendment of the Acts and Regulations; and to make recommendations thereon." 176] - • APPENDIX lY. Under the terms of the National Insurance Act, 191 1, it is enacted that a valuation of Approved Societies should take place after three years, or at longer or shorter periods, according to the discretion of the Commis- sioners. Any Society which, as a result of that valuation, is demonstrated to be in defi- ciency, that is, whose contributions of yd. and 6d. per week are insufficient to pay the bene- fits provided under the National' Insurance Act, is expressly allowed under the Act to make either a levy on its members, increasing the contributions, or alternatively of decreas- ing the benefits. On the other hand, a society which, by good management, or by the happy possession of a segregation of " good lives," is able to show, as the result of that valuation, that the contributions of yd. and 6d. per week are more than sufficient to meet its liabilities to benefit, is allowed to use its surplus in the payment of certain additional benefits to its members. It will be seen, therefore, that until a first valuation takes place, the financial soundness or otherwise of the National Insur- ance Act cannot be determined with exacti- tude. Your Committee have been of opinion that the results of a first valuation will demon- strate the inherent financial unsoundness of the whole structure of the National Insurance Act, and the interim report of the Depart- M ' [177 APPENDIX lY. mental Committee confirms them in their view. The National Insurance Act bristles with technicalities, and in order that the atti- tude and policy of your Committee may be made clear, a brief review of the provisions of the original Act of 191 1 is necessary. The Insurance Act is a compulsory measure whose terms are applicable to persons be- tween the ages of 16 and 70. The administration of the Act is mainly shared between Approved Societies and In- surance Committees, under the " aegis" of Insurance Commissioners. All insured per- sons are member* of Approved Societies, ex- cept those who, for various reasons, elected to come under the scheme as " deposit" con- tributors, or who have been refused admission to membership of an Approved Society. Members of Approved Societies are entitled to : — (i) Sickness benefit for 26 weeks, at 10/- per week for men, and 7/6 per week for women. (2) Disablement benefit at 5/- per week for men and women alike. (3) Maternity benefit of 30/-. (4) Medical benefit. (5) Sanatorium benefit. Members of the Post Office Fund (deposit contributors) are entitled to sanatorium bene- 178] APPENDIX lY. fit and medical benefit only, and to the other benefits only so far as the amount credited to them in the Post Office Fund. The position of the Deposit Contributor is, therefore, a most invidious one; he is expressly debarred from participating in the maximum benefits procurable under the Act, and as an isolated unit, is unable to " cut his losses" by aver- aging out with his fellow deposit contribu- tors. In order to appreciate the financial structure of the Act, one might with advan- tage consider the position of a private Insur- ance Company which had elected to receive the same premiums from the insured {yd. and 6d. per week respectively), and to pay the same benefits. Such a company would have had to possess a capital of at least ^66,000,000 in order to be in an actuarially sound position as regards its ability to meet its liabilities. The National Insurance Act, not being possessed of an initial reserve of ^66,000,000, created a system of paper credits in respect of each person, aggregating some ^66,000,000, representing the probable liabilities in respect of those persons. Under the National Insurance Act, 191 1, il was enacted that a Sinking- Fund be created by the deduction of i S-gd. per week from each man's contribution of yd. per week, and i-^d. out of the women's contribution of 6d. per [179 APPENDIX lY. week, and that these deductions should be credited to the " sinking fund," which, in 1932, it was estimated would amount to some /'66,ooo,ooo, and would thus wipe out these paper credits. The ^4,500,000 per annum now hypothecated to the " sinking fund" would then be devoted to the provision of benefits over and above the present benefits. This was one of the main planks in the plat- form of the advocates of the Act. When the rare and refreshing fruit matured in 1932, then, and then only, would the full blessings of this inspired enactment be forthcoming. After the foregoing resume of the Act of 191 1, the interim report of the Departmental Committee may be considered. It may be stated in advance, however, that if their recommendations are adopted, the promised crop of good things in 1932 will not be gar- nered. The interim report recommends the reduction of the contributions to the " sinking fund" to id. and fd. respectively, utilising the 5-9d. and fd. so saved to bolster up the 'present measure against the probably devas- tating effect of the result of a first valuation. The money released is possibly sufficient to stave off wholesale dislocation subsequent to the disclosure of a first valuation. It has been estimated that societies representing some 5,000,000 insured are in a state of defi- 180] APPENDIX lY. ciency. Every person under the present Act has a right to transfer from one society to another. If, therefore, any person found himself obliged to pay an enhanced contribu- tion, or to suffer a reduced rate of benefit, it is reasonable to suppose that, having the right of free transfer, he would endeavour to trans- fer to a society enjoying a surplus, even though his liability to an enhanced contribu- tion or to reduced benefits followed him thither. Everybody is naturally disinclined to pour water into a flower pot. Every society can, however, refuse membership to applicants. What would probably result — assuming there was no departure from the promises made in the promotion of the National Insurance Act, 191 1, or from the provisions of that measure — would be that, as a result of first valuation, there would be perhaps some 5,000,000 or more insured per- sons crying for the fulfilment of the promises which so lavishly heralded the inception of the measure. To guard against this danger, the Departmental Committee have introduced buffers. They have recommended measures which will rob the well-to-do Peters to save the impoverished Pauls. They have recom- mended an increased difficulty of transfer. They have recommended the deferment of the payment of maximum benefits for an [181 APPENDIX lY. additional period of 20 years, thus flagrantly violating the contract entered into with the insured. They have recommended the sacri- fice of promises and principles. To do what? To save the. National Insurajice Act in its present form. Your Committee feel justified in denouncing these recommendations, in that legislative sanction to them would mean the application of palliatives to remedy defects which are inherent and fundamental in a scheme which has for its object the alleviation of sickness. In a nutshell, the recommenda- tions, if adopted by the legislature, will be the salvation of the hierarchy of officialdom, and the violation of the right of the insured. The Faculty of Insurance, an organisation representing officials connected with the ad- ministration of the National Insurance Act, feeling that enough experience had been gained of the working of the measure, and being of opinion that the terms of reference to the Departmental Committee to confine themselves " within the existing limits of con- tributions and benefits, and apart from fur- ther exchequer grants," were unduly restric- tive, appointed a Commission of Investiga- tion to consider, inter alia : — (a) The interim report of the Departmental Committee on Approved Society Finance and Administration. 182] APPENDIX lY. (/^) To review the whole position of National Health Insurance. The Committee of Investigation. This Commission of Investigation consists of : - Right Hon. John Hodge, M.P. (Chairman). ' Alderman F. Askew, J. P. (Secretary, United Ancient Order of Druids, Vice-President National Conference Friendly Societies). W. S. Bennett, Esq. (Past President, National Conference Friendly Socie- ties; Secretary, Ancient Order Fores- ters' Guarantee Fund). Walter Collins, Esq. (Past Grand Master United Oddfellows). F. Handel Booth, Esq., M.P. G. W. Barnes, Esq., (Hearts of Oak Benefit Society). G. W. CuRRiE, Esq., M.P., C.A. G. Fletcher, Esq. (Secretary, Great Wes- tern Railway Friendly Society). Mrs. Cyril Grant (Women's Social and Political Union). Fr.\nk G. H.^rris, Esq. (Chairman, Joint C(->mmittee of Approved Societies). John Haworth, Esq. (Secretary, Em- ployers' Parliamentary Association). [183 APPENDIX lY. H. Lesser, Esq. (President Federation of Employers' Provident Funds, Secre- tary Soutli Metropolitan Gas Com- pany's Approved Society). E. B. Nathan, Esq., F.I.A., F.F.A. J. W. Pratt, Esq., M.P. R. E. Prothero, Esq., M.P. Sir J. D. Rees, K.C.I.E., C.V.O., M.P. Sn- John Spear, M.P. Mrs. RoBiE Uniacke (National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies). Your President — on account of the opposi- tion campaign he led, both on the inception of the measure and after its passage into law — was invited to join this Commission, but was compelled, owing to pressure of engage- ments, to decline, but recommended the ap- pointment of the Secretary, to whom an invi- tation was subsequently extended. It is, of course, impossible to forecast the report of the Commission. There have been some 34 sittings of the Commission, involving the examination of 69 witnesses. The witnesses examined have embraced representatives of Employers, of Approved Societies, of Doc- tors, Trade Unions, and, in fact, have practi- cally covered the whole field of National Health Insurance. It may safely be stated, however, that your Committee are firmly of opinion that their 184] APPENDIX lY. past criticisms of the National Insurance Act have been justified up to the hilt. The National Insurance Act of 191 1 requires a drastic remodelling to make it a satisfactory instrument for dealing with National Health Insurance. They are firmly convinced that the incidence of taxation of the National In- surance Scheme will have to be more equit- able. The Employer cannot be mulcted with practically the whole cost (other than the workpeople's contributions) of National Health Insurance. The argument that the cost of the employers' contributions can in all cases be passed on to the consumer is futile. The dead-weight charge of National Health Insurance acts to the detriment of the spirit of enterprise. Additional burdens mean the weakening of our competitive strength. Enhanced costs of production means precariousness of employment, and consequently increased sickness. Your Committee are heartily in favour of the principles of National Insurance. They realise that the cost of National Insurance (if the past experience of Germany is any guide) must be ever increasing, but this cost shall be shared equitably by all classes, as they are convinced that only in this way will a scheme be evolved sufficiently elastic to meet the [185 APPENDIX lY. necessarily increasing demand made upon it. There is a unique opportunity at the present time for evolving the machinery of a scheme to be placed in operation after the war of se- curing the co-operation of Employer and Employed in its administration. The present scheme is regarded with disfavour by Employers. Without their co-operation no scheme can flourish. The present scheme is unsound. The opportunity of making a re- modelled scheme dovetail in with the other measures of social reform, wherein Employer and Employed harmoniously co-operate, is unique. FEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUS- TRIES AND THE EMPLOYERS' PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION. It will be remembered that the Employers' Parliamentary Association, at the end of last year, initiated a movement which had for its object the formation of a Central Association of Employers' Organisations. This move- ment attained a very considerable measure of success. It was found, however, that there were two other movements which had been set on foot with the same object in view, viz., the formation of a centralised organisa- tion of Employers, which would be able to voice the opinions of Employers as a whole. 1 86] APPENDIX lY. The conveners of the Central Association of Employers' Organisations came to the "Conclusion that anything in the nature of com- petition between the three movements, having the same object, was to be avoided if at all possible. Each had the same object in view, and the generation of antagonism was likely to result in the efforts of each being nullified. The three movements of Employers de- cided, therefore, to join forces, and collec- tively, instead of separately, work for the attainment of the common object. The result was the formation of the Federation of British Industries in the early part of last autumn. The movement has secured widespread support, and the 43 Trade Associations already members include the most important in the country, notably the Cotton, Iron and Steel, and Electrical Indus- tries. Under the terms of membership only British producing firms and associations are eligible, and the subscription of ;^ioo per annum insures ample funds. While indi- vidual firms are eligible for membership, and, indeed, over 200 have already joined, the Federation is essentially a Federation of Associations, and it is appreciated that to some of the smaller Associations the rate of subscription Would be a consideration, while [187 APPENDIX lY. the large number of unassociated firms might fail to be represented at all. Your Com- mittee discussed this aspect of the question with a deputation from the Federation of British Industries, and both appreciated the vital importance of the point. It was thought that a satisfactory solution would be afforded by the affiliation of the Employers' Parlia- mentary Association with the Federation. By this means the Federation would be streng- thened by the great influence enjoyed by the Employers' Parliamentary Association and the support of its wide range of members, while the work of the Employers' Parliamen- tary Association would be increased in effec- tiveness by its association with the new powerful organisation. Your Committee, after several meetings with the representa- tives of the Federation of British Industries, thoroughly discussed the question in all its aspects, and the following resolution has been adopted by the Executive Committees of both organisations : — (i) " It is agreed that it is advisable the Employers' Parliamentary Association shall affiliate with the Federation of British Industries. (2) " The Federation of British Indus- tries to take over as a going concern the organisation, membership, income, and obli- 188] APPENDIX lY. gations of the Employers' Parliamentary Association. (3) " Employers' Parliamentary Asso- ciation Branches of the Federation of British Industries to be established in the four chief centres of the Employers' Par- liamentary Association. (4) " Employers' Parliamentary Associa- tion will recommend their larger Associa- tion members and the larger individual members to become direct members of the Federation of British Industries." This resolution, together with a detailed scheme of working, it is hoped to submit to the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of members. Under the arrangement now proposed the District Branches of the Employers' Parlia- mentary Association will act as the centre of district opinion for the guidance of the Federation, and the membership of the branches vyill "consist of the subscribing members of the Employers' Parliamentary Association, toorcther with the members of the Federation carrying on business in the respec- tive districts, who will be ex-ofjicio members of the branch. While, therefore, the Committee will urge all the more important members of the Em- ployers' Parliamentary Association to join [189 APPENDIX lY. th':" Federation, and so be actnal members of bodi organisations, all maniifaeturers in the country will continue as members, or eligible for membership, of the Employers' Parlia- mentary Association upon the same terms as at present, and so be able to bring their influ- ence to bear in shaping the policy both of the Employers' Parliamentary Association and of the Federation of British Industries. Your Committee confidently invite the members to confirm the proposed arrange- ment with the Federation, a course which the Committee only recommend after long and anxious consideration, in the belief that the d-lose co-operation of two such organisations as the Employers' Parliamentary Association and the Federation of British Industries should result in the consummation, so long sought and advocated by your Committee, of a complete and truly national Association of Employers. The Central Executive Committee greatly regret that Sir Charles Macara, not being in accord with the terms of the arrangement outlined above, which he considers as being at variance with his experience of a quarter of a century's successful national and inter- national trade organisation, has decided to retire from the position of President of the Employers' Parliamentary Association, which 19^] APPENDIX lY. he has occupied since the iiiaugiiralion of the /Association five years ago. Sir Charles contends that a satisfactory affihation between two organisations so dissimikirly constituted is, in his opinion, impracticable, although co- operation is quite feasible. These views have been put before the Executve Com- mittee, and are recorded in the minutes. At the commencement of the war, Sir Charles offered his services to any of the Government departments in which his experi- ence might be useful, the result being that he had been involved in personal work of a most arduous character. In presiding at the last annual meeting he referred to his position, and foreshadowed the possibility of his not being able to continue the presidency. The Central Executive Committee are pleased to know, however, that notwithstanding his retirement from his official position, Sir Charles is willing, as long as he retains his full vigour, to assist whenever and wherever possible in any way in which his extensive experience may be of service. THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK. In coiiclusion, your Committee would ven- ture to sound an optimistic note as regards the future. It cannot ho forgotten that great [191 APPENDIX lY. wars ill the past have often heralded the dawn of a period of Industrial and Commercial prosperity. The American Civil War was followed by an unprecedented rise to indus- trial eminence of that country. The war of 1870/71 has been utilised by Germany as a stepping-stone to a great industrial position. Signs are not wanting that an Industrial re- generative spirit is operative in more than one of the Allied belligerents. Russia, unpro- gressive, despotic, reactionary, before the war, has by her proclamation concerning Poland, by the great work accomplished by the Zemstvos under the aeo^is of the Govern- ment, by her strong internal measures relative to the vodka traffic, afforded unmistakable evidence of forthcoming democratic commer- cial strength. France is not the France of pre-war times, and Italy promises renewed vigour. The British Empire has raised an army on a Continental scale, the energising influence of the Ministry of Munitions has revealed her industrial power, old methods have been scrapped, and our productivity has attained almost incredible dimensions. The output of industries other than munitions has been sustained in a way little short of mar- vellous, considering that the most vigorous of our manhood has been withdrawn for the re- cruitment of the defensive forces of the 192] APPENDIX lY. Crown. Your Committee are confident that peace will offer great opportunities for Indus- trial and Commercial advancement for the Empire. The resources of the Empire are unrivalled. The cessation of hostilities will, and must, bring about the more thorough de- velopment of these resources. There must be no narrow, insular view taken of the future. This country must think in terms of Empire, and not of the United Kingdom. Our over-seas possessions are ready to act with us in peace, as they have supported us so nobly during war. Your Committee, in making these observations, preserve a neutral attitude with respect to past fiscal controver- sies; they desire only to reiterate their oft- repeated assertion that the only way to secure the consummation of these ideals is to organise the producers as a whole. On behalf of the Central Executive Com- mittee, Charles W. Macara, President. W. Peter Rylands, Vice-Chairman, Central : Exectitive Committee. John Haworth, General Secretary. N - [193 APPENDIX lY. MEMBERSHIP OF THE INDUS- TRIAL COUNCIL APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN 1911. Employers' Representatives. Mr. George Ainsworth : Chairman of the Steel Ingot Makers' Association. Sir Hugh Bell, Bt., J. P. : President of the Iron, Steel and Allied Trades Federation and Chairman of the Cleveland Mine Owners' Association. Sir G. H. Claughton, Bt., J. P. : Chairman of the London and North-Western Railway Company. Mr. W. A. Clowes : Chairman of the London Master Printers' Association. Mr. J. H. C. Crockett : President of the In- corporated Federated Associations of Boot and Shoe Manufacturers of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. F. L. Davis, J. P. : Chairman of the South Wales Coal Conciliation Board. Mr. T. L. Devitt : Chairman of the Shipping Federation, Limited. Sir Thomas R. Ratcliffe Ellis : Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Coal Owners' Association and Joint Secretary of the Board of Conciliation of the Coal Trade of the Federated Districts, etc. 194] APPENDIX lY. Mr. F. W. Gibbins : Chairman of the Welsh Plate and Sheet Manufacturers' Associa- tion. Sir Charles W. Macara, Bt., J. P. : President of the Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' Associations. Mr. Robert Thompson, J. P., M.P. : Past President of the Ulster Flax Spinners' Association. Mr. Alexander Siemens : Chairman of the Executive Board of the Engineering Em- ployers' Federation. Mr. J. W. White : President of the National Building Trades Employers' Federation. Workmen's Representatives. Right Hon. Thomas Burt, M.P. : General becretary of the Northumberland Miners' Mutual Confident Association. Mr. T. Ashton, J. P. : Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain and General Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation. Mr. C. W. Bovverman, M.P. : Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress and President of the Print- ino- and Kindred Trades Federation of the United Kingdom. Mr. F. Chandler, J. P. : General Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. [195 APPENDIX lY. Mr. J. R. Clynes, J. P., M.P. : Orgamsing Secretary of the National Union of Gas- workers and General Labourers of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. H. Gosling : President of the National Transport Workers' Federation and General Secretary of th€ Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen, and Watchmen of River Thames. Right Hon. Arthur Henderson, M.P. : Friendly Society of Iron Founders. Mr. John Hodge, M.P. : General Secretary of the British Steel Smelters, Mill Iron, and Tinplate Workers' Amalgamated Association. Mr. W. Mosses : General Secretary of the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuild- ing Trades and of the United Pattern- makers' Association. Mr. W. Mullin, J. P. : President of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association and General Secretary of the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Ooeratives. Mr. E. L. Poulton : General Secretary of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Opera- tives. Mr. Alexander V/ilkie, J.P., M.P. : Secre- tary of the Shipyard Standing Committee under the National Agreement of 1909 and 196] APPENDIX lY. General Secretary of the Shipconstructive and Shipwrights' Society. Mr. J. E. WilHams : General Secretarv of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Ser- vants. The members of the Council will in the first instance hold office for one year. Sir George Askwith, K.C.B., K.C., the present Comptroller-General of the Labour Department of the Board of Trade, has been appointed to be Chairman of the Industrial Council with the title of Chief Industrial Commissioner, and Mr. H. J. Wilson, of the Board of Trade, to be Registrar of the Council. DRAFT BILL OF THE ASSOCIATION ON THE SUBJECT OF- ALIEN INDEBTEDNESS, TOGETHER WITH A LIST OF SUPPORTERS. Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament as- sembled and by the authority of the same as follows : I. (i) From and after the passing of this Act any British Subject having a claim to which this section appHes against an enemy (hereinafter called the enemy debtor) may make an [197 APPENDIX lY. application to the Court to adjudicate on such claim in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (2) Notice to such application shall be served on the custodian of enemy property appointed under the Trad- ing with the Enemy Amendment Act 19 1 6 (hereinafter called the cus- todian) who shall be entitled to be heard thereon. (3) If on any such application the Court is of opinion that the adjudica- tion on such claim should be post- poned in order that the enemy debtor may have an opportunity of being heard the Court may make an order for service of notice of the applica- tion on the enemy debtor by means of advertisement or otherwise and on that order being complied with, the Court may proceed to hear the appli- cation. (4) After having heard the applica- tion, the Court may either (a) dismiss the same or ip) make an order (hereinafter called the adjudication order) adjudicating that the enemy debtor is indebted to the appli- cant in a sum to be stated in such order. 198] APPENDIX lY. (5) Where In the hearing of any such appKcation it appears not to be prac- ticable to obtain the best evidence of any transaction matter or document material to the case the Court may admit such other evidence thereof as appears proper in the circumstances. (6) Where for the purposes of an ad- judication under this section it be- comes necessary to convert a sum stated in foreign currency to a sum stated in sterling the rates of conver- sion specified in the schedule to this Act shall apply.* (7) The Court shall have power in any case where an application is wholly or in part successful to add to the sum stated in the adjudication order such sum in respect of the costs of the proceedings and of the costs of any other proceedings in respect of the same claim which may have been commenced either in England or elsewhere and either before or after the outbreak of war (the amount of such costs to be fixed by the Court or ascertained by taxation or other- wise) as the Court may consider just. (8) The Lord Chancellor may make such rules and g^ive such directions [199 APPENDIX lY. as he thinks fit for the purpose of giving effect to this Act and regulat- ing the procedure thereunder. (9) The powers given under this Act shall be in addition to and not in de- rogation of any other powers of any Court. (10) This section applies to claims which had arisen prior to the outbreak of war and to claims arising out of transactions entered into prior to the outbreak of war. (i) On proof being furnished to the satisfaction of the Court by which an adjudication order has been made that there is no reasonable probability of the applicant being able without commencing or prosecuting or fur- ther prosecuting legal proceedings in any enemy country to recover in full the sum stated in such adjudi- cation order and any sum added thereto in respect of costs the Court shall make a further order (which may be made .simultaneously with the adjudication order or at any time thereafter) authorising the payment by the custodian of such sums or such part thereof as the Court shall be satisfied that the applicant is not 2 00 J APPENDIX lY. able to recover without commencing or prosecuting such legal proceed- ings as aforesaid and on such further order (hereinafter called the payment order) being lodged with the cus- todian the amount specified therein shall be paid by the custodian to the applicant. (2) The custodian shall keep a register of all apphcations notice whereof shall be served on him under this Act and of all adjudication orders and payment orders made under this Act and such register shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times free of charge. (3) The making of a payment order shall operate as a discharge either wholly or pro tanto as the case may be of the claim upon which the rela- tive adjudication order was made but subject to this provision nothing in this Act shall effect the operation of any remedy of any creditor of any enemy. FOR the purposes of this Act {a) the expression " enemy country " means the territory which at the date of the passing of this Act is the territory of any sovereign [201 APPENDIX lY. or state at war with His Majesty during the late war. {b) the expression " enemy" includes (i) persons or bodies of persons of whatever nationality resi- dent or carrying on business in an enemy country at the outbreak of war. (ii) corporations incorporated in an enemy country. (iii) persons or bodies of persons who are subjects of any sovereign or state at war with His Majesty and who at the outbreak of war re- sided or carried on business in England but have since ceased so to do. (c) the expression " outbreak of war " shall as respects any enemy be construed as referring to the out- break of war with an enemy coun- try in which the enemy is or was resident or carrying on business or incorporated or with the sovereign or state of which the enemy is a subject. (d) the expression " British subject " includes a corporation incor- 202] APPENDIX IV. porated in His Majesty's do- minions. 4. THIS Act may be cited as the Claims against Enemies Act 191 . . * N.B. The schedule to which reference is made in clause 6, of the Bill, provides for the rate of Exchange being considered as at par. (i) To support the policy of the Association. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. Barlow, C. M. Barbie, H. T. Bathurst, Capt. Charles. Bbthel, Sir J. H., Bart. Bentinck, Lord Hy. Bird, A. F. Black, Sir Arthur William. BowDON, Major Harland. BOiTON, J. Bttll, Sir Wm. James. Byles, Sir W. P. Cavendish-Bextinck, Lord Henry, Lieut. -Col. Chapplb, Dr. W. A. Cory, Sir C. J., Bart. Croft, Hy. Page. Davibs, Sir W. H. Duncan, Sir J. Hastings, esslemont, g. b. Fethebstonhaugh. G. Field, J. H. Foster, P. S. Ganzoxi, Capt. F. J. C. Hamersley, Lt.-Col. A. St. G. Hamilton, Lord Claud. Hamilton, Major C. G. 0. Hancock, Jno. Gbo. Habmood-Baxner, Sir J. S. Hibbert, Sir Henry F. Hicham, J. S. Hodge, John. Hope, Henry. Hope, John D. Hudson Walter. Hunt, Major Roland. Jacobsen, T. 0. Jardine, H. Jkssel, Col. H. M. Kenyon, Barnet. Levy, Sir Maurice, Bart. Mallalieu, F. W. Manfield, H. Marshall, A. M. Needham, C. T. Pennefather, de F. Peto, Basil E. Pryce-Joxes, Col. E. Raffan, p. Wilson. Rawson, Col. R. H. Rees, Sir J. D., K.C.LE, C.V.O. Rexdall, a. Rutherford, Col. Sir John, Bart. Rutherford, Wm. Watson. Scott, L. Tootill, Robert. Wardle, Geo. J. Watt, H. A. Whyte, Lt.-Col. G. Dalyrmplb. Wilson, Leslie. WiLsox, W. T. WiLKIK, A. Yeo, a. W. L203 APPENDIX lY. CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Bury, Coventry, Croydon, Dewsbury, Dudley, Dundee, Dunfermlme, Ealing, Edinburgh, Exeter, Hartlepools, Kidderminster, Luton, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oldham, Ossett, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Redruth, Wolverhampton, Woolwich, Worcester, and Yeadon, Guiseley and District. EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATIONS. Employers' Parliamentary Association (embracing 40 Federa- tions and Associations of Employers), Manchester. Notts. Lace and Net Dressers' Association. Notts. Lace Curtain Bleaching, Dressing & Finishing Assoc. Notts. Master Hosiery Dyers' and Finishers' Association. The Sillt Association of Great Britain & Ireland Incorporated, Manchester. INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES, Etc. Barr, Sir James, Kt Liverpool. English Sewing Cotton Co. ... Manchester. Gardner, Joseph, & Sons ... Bootle. Hamilton, D., 4 Co Bradford. Haworth, Sir Arthur A., Bart. Manchester. Haworth, Richard, & Co. ... Manchester. Holland & Sherry London. Jones Brotners, Ltd Manchester. Moore, Eadie & Murcott Leicester. Goode, Ltd. Manifoldia Ltd. * North-Western Rubber Co. Pearce, A. C. & Co., Ltd. Peters, C. A., Ltd. Ritchie, Graham & Milne Rolleston, Sir John S. ... Storrs, J White, Child & Beney, Ltd Vickers, Ltd. ... West Brorawich. Liverpool. Nottingham. Derby. Glasgow. Leicester. Stalybridge. London, S.W. London. S.W. and many others. 204] INDEX Agricultural students, training centres, 140 Agriculture, British, 136 must not be neglected, 127 Alien indebtedness, 166 Draft Bill, 197 Balfour, Lord, report of his Committee, 66 Bank. British trade, recom- mended, 163 Banking methods, 161 Bell, Sir Hugh, 160 Birchenough, Sir Henry, 162 Bolshevik danger, 5 — 9 Bowerman, C. W., 158 British agriculture, 136 Brooks, T. J., on cotton baling, HI. 112 Canals, improvement, 174 Capital and Labour, review of their relations, 75 rights of, 76 see also Wealth Capitalist system, Socialist's view, 19 Capitalists not responsible for the war, 60, 61 Cave, Sir George, 167 Clynes, J. R., on dilution of capital with humanism, 16 Commerce, Ministry of, 176 " Commission of Investigation, 176 Conscription of Wealth, 10 — 17 Cotton baling, American, 106 — 109 Control Board, 41, 42, 45, 85 its work, 75 Mr. Whitley's opinion on its retention, 143 retention of, 143 — Indian, 146 — industry and the Control Board, 85 excess profits, unfair calculation, 14 — raw. deficiency of, 91 — problem, 101 — spinning spindles, world's statistics, 145 — trade and tariff reform, 69 — workers : danger of with- drawing skilled men, 130 see also Workers Diplomacy or war — which ? 34 Employers" Parliamentary Com- mittee, fifth report, 149 Excess profits tax, 13, 47 — 51 Factions more ruinous than swords, 1 Faringdon, Lord, 162 [205 INDEX Federation of British Industries League of industries, 27 and. the Employers' Parliamen- see also Industrial tary Association, 186 Council of employers, 97 Macara, Sir C. W., 158, 190 Finance and industry, 161 Man-power and industry, 119 Free Trade policy in cotton, 67 Militarism in Europe, 36 Garton Foundation, 155 National Association of Cotton German trade banks, 165 Manufacturers^ Boston, 101 Germany, military caste in, 35 Insurance Act, 176 trade with, after the war, Non-uniohism, 98 70 — 72 Ogden, Judge, on American Haworth, John, 158 cotton baling, 106 Hill, J., 158 Organisation of trade, 93 Hyndman, H. M., on Germany, Patents, uniformity of patent 36 law throughout the Empire, Indian cotton, 146 173 Industrial "Council, 27, 39, 57,64, Post-war problems of labour, 56 134, 154 Present conditions, survey of, 1 members of, 194 Protection, Lord Balfour's Com- see also Cotton Con- mittee, 66 trol Board Raw cotton problem, 101 disputes, danger of bom- Reconstruction, industrial, 45 bastic statements, 4 Reserve of cotton. 111 — 115, 118 outlook, 191 Russia, cotton manufacturers, reconstruction, 45 9-10 unrest, 153 Rylands, W. Peter, 158 Industry and finance, 161 Scientific industrial research, 171 and man-power, 119 Shipping charges, 174 war in the sphere of, 27 Smith, Adam, on labour, 28 Insurance, National, Act, 176 Social Democrats v. Bolshevism, Jordan, Harvie, on cotton 7 — 9 baling, 108 Spindles' world's statistics, 145 Labour, rights of, 28—33 Stanley, Sir Albert, 45, 79 Labour's post-war problems, 56 Strikes and lock-outs, 153 Law, A. Bonar, on conscription Stuart-Bunning, G. H., 158 of wealth, 17 Survey of present conditions, 1 206] INDEX Tariff reform, 73 War, European, Great Britain's Taxation of war profits, 49 — 51 entry, 35 Trade Union Congress, resolu- not a capitalists' war, tion on trade after the war, 20 156 present conditions, 1 organisation of, 93 in the sphere of industry, unions, improved conditions 27 of work since their advent, 29 Socialist view of, 34 Transport facilities^ 174 Wealth, conscription of, 10—17 Waechter, Sir Max, on mili- Whitley, J. H., M.P., letter to tarism, 36 Sir C. W. Macara, 143 Wages bill of the country, ad- on retention of the Cotton vance of, 12-13 Control Board, 143 higher standard, 88 Woollen industry, 13, 46 — 47 result of general advance. Workers must be made ton- 160 tented, 15, 87, 93 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9 — 15m-10,"48(B1039)4-i4 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT 2^ Ivkcara - 256.2 Social and in- ustrinl re f orm UC SOUTHERN RFGinN/fli i ibd^pv ca^.. .-ry AA 000 561 513 HC 256.2 Mils