The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-26
new IMPETUS
IS ADDED TO
BRITISH FIGHT
BY DEWITT MACKENZIE
APP Foreign Affairs Analyst

llll1C SSO1l0lll1A 4SkSAFSa
impetus yesterday when 1000, 900
employees streamed back into fac
tories in the midlands, thereby
breaking a countrywide Industrial
blackout which had lasted a fort
night because of the disastrous
shortage in coal production-life-
blood of the nation.
Some 1000, 900 workers remain
ed idle in other parts OF England.
But coal was moving in apprecl'
able quantities again.
Last Friday Britain's socialist
government appealed to the al
ready austerity-Weary nation for
further sacrifices in an about effort
to meet the ecoonmic crisis threat
ening the foundations OF John
Bulls way of life.
1t was a call to arms equalled
in our time only by the immortal
declaration of winston Churchill in
the black days of May, 40; i
have nothing to offer but blood,
toll, tears and sweat" Indeed.
Lord Beaverbrook's Evening Stan
dard said that the present gov,
eminent ''offers the British people
toll, tears and sweat. Blood alone
they are spared in these piping
days of peace"
That was a blunt but accurate
way of summing up a situation
without precedent in modern Eng
lish history. Britain is fighting
for her life.
The governments appeal de
clared 'the central fact Of 1947
is that we have not enough re
sources to do all that we want ia
do and barely enough to do all
that we must do" Therefore, 1t
said, Britain must attend to first
things first" strictly control
imports, get production into high
gear and sharply increase exports
before the fast dwindling American
dollar loan runs out. Unless the
country concentrates on the really
ly important things, we may
never restore the foundations OF
our national life"
This is a grim situation. 1t has
been developing over a long per-
iod. This crisis has been precipltat-
ed. by the drain of war, but it
had its inception way back be-
fore even the first world con-
flict.
Britain's position, as l see it, is
due to the fact that it isn't a self
sustaining nation. The country has
almost no natural resources sx-
cepting coal. 1t achieved economic
might largely by the simple ex'
pedient of importing raw mater
ials, fabricating them and re-
exporting them at a tidy profit. in
English ships. This was accom-.
panied by the creation of great
banking and insurance business.
and the favorable geographical
location of the British isles was
of vast assistance.
However, times have changed
greatly since the turn of the cen
fury. Up to then England's steel
and cotton and woollen products
pretty much covered the world.
Even America-now the greatest
of steel - bought from
Britain. But then the United States
came forward with a rush indus.
triaIly. SO did other nations.
The first world war, by occupy
ing Britain industrial resources,
other countries to expand
their manufactures. Development
continued. Even might India,
which had provided England with
unlimited market for cotton
began to manufacture her
own and today is no longer depen-
dent on the mother country.
So I believe we will find that
Britain's present crisis is a logl-
cal development which has its
roots in the fact that the country
is so lacking in natural resources.
The corollary TO this would seem
10 be that John Bull is faced with
the problem of readjusting his en-
tire economic structure-his whole
way of life.