Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-16

the belief that Great Britain is stag
rerine hopelesSly through the valley o.
economic depression has another guess
coming.
Somewhat intensive inquiry on that
score during the doldrums OF the NaVal
Conference convinced this observer
that no such state Of affairs, or any
thing remotely resembling 1t, exists.
A heavy slump in export trade, yes.
Persistent and widespread unemploy-
ment yes Old markets overseas gone
forever. yes. rather reluctant reali-
cation that new methods are called tor,
especially in the basic industries-coal,
shipbuilding, cotton and wool, ana
engineering (the metals and mechanl-
cal trades9--yes. But despair on any
Of these counts-not the wisp OF
whisper or a sign. Mr.. Briton is see
ing it through.
Blame Themselves.
Britishers say that if a contrary i'm
preston has taken root abroad as IL
has to a large extent in the United
States. they are themselves primarily
to blame. It is due to what they cali
one of their national vices-set-de-
probation.
A situation conceded to be serious has
been magnified. they contend, into one
Of gravity by their own lugubrious dis
! cussions Of it and Of the means by
which they intend to remedy it. 1t Is
! acknowledged that the industrial NAL
| ady which overlook these islands after
| the great war, and in direct conse-
| ouence Of IL, has developed more viru-
lence and longevity than was expected.
| Industrial leaders were too much in
| clined to meet the postwar crisis in
| the spirit in which they had faced and
| overcome previous business depressions
throughout the past half century.
Finally it has dawned upon them that
Britain confronts an industrial upheval
utterly without parallel, even though
they came to the tardy realization that
nothing has happened but the newt
able. They are conscious that John
Bull now has simply to pull himself to-
gether and grapple with the unpre-
cedented conditions on new lines. Mr.
| Bull is doing so far faster than the
outside world seems to comprehend.
Director of Bank Speaks.
AS astute an authority as Great
Britain contains-a director OF the
Bank of England-assures this writer
that a year hence will see the coun-
try pretty we'll back in its ancient ana
mighty stride as a formidable factor
In the worlds business.
The spokesman Of the old lady OF
Threadneedle street coined graphic
phrase, which evidently epitomizes the
| crying need of the hour in British IN
dustry, as we'll as It's determined policy
i. e.. "scrapping capital" Industry must
violently readlust itself to the abnormal
conditions which have arrived
There is. above all, too much manu-
featuring plant for the widely curtaileo
market now awaiting British products
at home and abroad, especially abroad.
Not only did four years Of war destroy
British trade in many fields overseas,
but in the meantime numerous new In
dustrial nations have come into exist
ence, which now offer vigorous compe-
tition everywhere.
OUTPUT in Britain, as a result Of all
this, must be Systematically reduced to
keep pace with outlet and plans cut
down proportionately. This calls for
ruthless "scrapping" Of capital and its
withdrawal. from obviously unremunera-
tive employment. whatever the cause,
and its reinvestment in other and pro-
ductive lines.
Shipbuilders Reduce Yards.
The British shipbuilding industry is
at the moment engaged In what Is
| called "the elimination Of redundant
yards" which is another name for
"scrapping capital" A financing COM
pany has been formed for the purpose
| of buying Up and scrapping obsolete
| establishments altogether, or doing
away with useless berths and slips.
With the constantly growing size Of
ships, $500, 600 tons Of vessels, which
used TO represent 500 ships, today are
| put into $50. Substantial savings in
production are expected as the result
of the proposed concentration in the
shipbuilding industry Builders claim
there will not be less, but actually more,
employment under the scheme and that
it will be more constant.
British industry, as a whole, Is not
yet ready to take refuge in the Ameri-
can merger or the German cartel II
is still welded to the individualism
which made Great Britain the shop
keeper of the world. It thinks 1t can
win through all the vicissitudes which
now encircle the economic situation by
proceeding on the old individualistic
lines, always provided that capital Is
intelligently and progressively scrap
ped"
Asked for case in point. the Bank
Of England director-hinself a shining
light in ndustry-instanced the Brit
ish locomotive building trade. He de-
clares that two of the better equipped
locomotive works in the kingdom to-
day have all the plant that is needed
to turn out all the engines Britain can
sell, and that at least Is establishments
are superfiuous.
100000 Receive Dole.
Americans hear a good deal about the
dole in Britain, and Jump to the con-
clusion that it typifles a state Of in
dustrial illness peculiar to this country.
There are now some !, SOC, 900 men and
women in receipt of the unemployment
bounty, representing roundly 10 per cent
more than were getting it year ago.
Yet there are aspects of the dole little
understood abroad
In the first place, the dole is merely
emergency relief under different guise.
1t has prevented restitution and starva-
ton, though it has not obliterated dis
tress. Only now London learns of the
several millions of unemployed in the
United States and of the congressional
proposal to have the American Red
Cross distribute $50,000,000 of Federal
relief funds.
That. as the Britishers see it, is
nothing but the dole in another form.
In the second place, the British dole
is ordinarily paid out of the state un-
employment insurance fund. to which
every man and woman while at work
has contributed 1.-THE of the weekly
wage So, up TO a certain point, the
unemployed now on the dole are only
getting a bit of their own back-a lot
more than their own, as a matter OF
fact, because the treasury is heavily
drawn on to replenish the insurance
fund which was theoretically to pro-
vide for rainy day.
In the third place, rife and chronic
as unemployment Is, Britain has today