Evening star., 1926-11-28
By SIR PHILIP GIBBS.

T oNDON.-England faces Winter
with mingled hopes and fears
regarding industrial prosperity
IL and social problems. BY seven
months of the coal strike her
heavy industries and many trades
have suffered Staggering losses run
ming into hundreds of millions of
pounds.
The strike is now ending and nearly
400 900 miners are back at work on
district agreements made independ-
emily of their national organization
which has lost its power and au-
thority But it is intimated that be-
tween 200 1000 and 250,000 miners en-
gagged before the strike began will no
longer be employed when new ar
rangements are made. Automatically
thew will be added to the states in
creasingly heavy burden Of support
ing unemployed men, already amount
ing to 100000.
This is the tragic result Of in
dustrial conflict and all leaders
throughout England are calling Tor
new plans and a new spirit to create
friendly relations between capltal ara
labor so that prosperity may be Sc
cured Long speeches and vague OPP
timism are not going to help england
III
by very cold, clear thinking that TINS
industrial crisis will be alleviated.
Temporary Boom Possible.
It is probable that there will be a
Temporary boom in British trade as
soon as coal is freely available again.
Most industries have plenty of orders
in hand which will enable them TO re-
cover with fair rapidity after six
months stoppage. That Will tend 10
increase employment and remove lhat
black cloud of pessimlsm Whlch over
hangs public opinion. But, IN my
Judgment, England has reached a
point i'm her history when great lead
ership will be necessary to deal WIN
new conditions of economic life ana
eradicate certain persons who are
weakening her national strength.
These conditions are due to inter
national competition, increasingly
fierce. which has deprived England OF
her old easy supremacy in many mar.
kets. Those persons are political and
moral microbes, which are threaten
ing to destroy her old qualities OF
vitality.
1t seems certain that Great Britain
| can no longer find work for at least
| ! .O00. 900 able-bOdied men without a
very great development OF foreign
| trade. which is not in sight now. Her
exports are dWindling and her olo
markets are impoverished. There Is
only one solution to this difficulty. and
| that has been frankly faced and dis
cussed at the imperial conference al
| London. There must be Il steady
stream of emigration from the mother
| country to dominions overseas, where
! there is room for many millions anC
where new markets may be built uE
! for British goods in return for fooC
and raw material. That is not going
| to be an easy solution.
Australian Labor View.
! In Australia especially. organized
! labor is hostile to British immigra
| ton, owing to the short-sighted view
| that they will drag down wages anc
| create unfair competition. There has
been a tendency to exploit emigrants
rather than help them, and l have
heard many lamentable stories o1
English settlers who did not make
good owing to bad conditions ant
poor chances after rislling their small
capital in Australia and Canada.
On the other hand. well organized
settlements have succeeded splendidly
and the whole problem of emigration
depends on careful organization anC
selection of good types of settlers aht
sufficient credit to tide them over the
first years of pioneer life.
The British Empire has four times
the resources of the United States ir
natural wealth and potential pros
perity.
So far they remain largely unde
veloped for lack of population anC
vital energy. 1t is in that direction
Great Britain must move in order tc
relieve her own national burdens anC