Evening star., 1947-02-22
Test for the British

There is no comfort for the British
people in the latest economic White
Paper issued by the Labor govern
ment. They are told in plain
spoken terms that they will have
to continue to put up with "aus-
terity" living standards for some
time to come and devote all their
energies to the critical task of in
creasing production. Otherwise,
they are warned, they may never
be able to restore the foundations
of their national life.
Ever since 1899 the British have
been doing without. They must find
it bitter thing, therefore, to be in
formed now-in the midst of a coal
crisis and an unusually severe win
ter-that no early relief is in sight.
Yet there is no way they can get
around the hard facts Of their heav-
lily strained economy. The war Gre
ated a deep dislocation in their
export-import position. Where once
they were a great creditor nation,
they now are debtor, harried on
every side for enough foreign ex-
change to keep themselves going
to buy from other countries the
vast amounts of food and raw mate
rlals they must have if they are to
regain a comfortable standard of
living.
In a long-term sense, to support
their domestic economy and their
commitments abroad, the British
must increase their exports IS per
cent over the prewar level. In the
last eighteen months they have in
creased them about Is per cent, but
this has been insufficient to pay for
their imports, even though the i'm
ports have been 80 per cent under
the 1888 volume. In other words,
they have sold more abroad and
bought less but still have not raised
enough foreign exchange to cover
what they have bought. BY the end
of the year they plan to expand
their imports another 10 or IS per
cent, but to do that, to get the ex-
change for it, they must simultane-
ously expand their exports at least
an additional Is per cent.
This means that Britain will have
to take heroic measures to increase
production, which already has suf-
fered a hard blow in the coal crisis
shutting down electric power for
industries. The central problem, in
the words of the White Paper, is to
get coal. After that comes action
on serious man-power deficiencies.
Importing foreign workers, includ-
ing displaced persons from Europe,
will help. But more than that will
be needed. There will have to be
redistribution of the labor force;
women and older men planning to
retire from industrial employment
will have to keep on the job; union
management talk about shorter
work weeks will have to be forgot
ten. The all-important thing is to
boost output in every field. Without
that, Britain cannot keep its head
above water.
In saying these things the Labor
government obviously has not
sugared the pill. Although they will
continue short of food, clothing,
household textiles, furniture, ETC.,
Britons must nevertheless produce
more than ever before for their ex-
port markets, while their own home
market scrimps along. 1t is a grave
moment for their country. The
same spirit that inspired them
after Dunkirk is mandatory now
They have been sorely tried. They
are in need of relaxation, but they
cannot relax. No national commu-
nifty has faced a harder test. Their
greatness as democracy is at
stake, and the outcome will be of
far-reaching significance every
where.