Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-09-23
Behind The Headlines
Tory Campaign Aeainsf
British Socialism EoiIs
Ry NATHAN ROBERTSON

The campaign, inspired by the conservative
press and conservative politicians in this coun-
try who follow the big business line was de-
signed to convince Americans that the British
government was a failure and therefore
warning to us to defeat the liberal program of
the Truman Administration, which these same
propa g7ndists were denouncing as socialistic.
But the campaign back-fired because it was
so blatantly false, The facts and figures which
have been brought out in the recent dollar con-
ferences in Washington between top British
and American officials have shown that the
cause of the trouble was not the socialistic
policies of the British government, but under
lying problems that any government in Brit-
ain would have faced
They are basic economic problems arising
from the fact that Britain has used up her re-
sources and strength fighting two world wars
in a quarter century-wars which weakened
her financially and industrially while our in
dustral capacity and efficiency were expand
ing at record breaking rate. Even more
fundamental were differences in industrial
efficiency which have developed over several
generations under conservative British govern
ments.
The picture the snt-Truman propag gandists
drew for us was Britain that was living on
doles from America, indolently loafing while
we worked hard, with the result that British
goods cost top much to compete with ours
while the Socialist government was going
The facts are quite different Britain is on
a 45-hour week. as compared with our 40-hour
week Her industrial production has climbed
under the Labor government faster than any
of the non socialist countries in Europe and Is
now third higher than before the war Pro-
duction of coal, the first major industry to be.
socislzed is steadily rising and is higher than
before the war, although the technical difficult
ties of working Brtains deep mines are in
cre5sing
1t is quite true that as compared with
America, British production costs still are high.
That is because over several generations Brit
ain has failed to keep up with our industrial
progress-our rapid development of power
driven machinery in its mines and factories.
But that was true long before the Labor gov
ernment took over in Britain.
It resulted not from the socialistic policies
of the Labor government in Great Britain, but
from the years of monopoly control of British
industries under Tory governments mon
opoly control which made it possible for in
dustry to make big profits without botherng
to modernize. Conservative British govern
ments, by encouraging monopoly, discouraged
efficiency. The big industries had become so
bad the Labor government had to take them
over to modernize them.
In addition the Labor government faced an
aceentuation of competitive difficulties with
us because of rapid industrial progress
durin gthe war while Great Britans industries
were being bombed and destroyed her skilled
workers manned and killed.
Social services provided by the British gov
ernment for its people--such as the national
health system-are not the cause of the present
dollar difficulties They are paid for by in
ternal taxation of the British people--and the
Labor government as managed to balance the
budget despite them 1t is not true that our
loan and gifts to Britain have paid for them.
Great Britain's current difficulties on the
dollar front arise from the fact that she is an
island, tiny, heavily populated island which
has never been self-sufficient and has always
had to import more than 1t exported Before
the last war Britain managed to pay for many
of these additional imports by profits from her
investment abroad--in this country and else
where, and from other services to the world
such as shipping These paid for about 40 per
cent of her imports.
During the last war Britain was so hard
pressed that she had to sell many of her for
eign investments in order to keep fighting the
NaZis Today her income from foreign invest
ments shipping and other invisbles is less
than third of what 1t was before the war.
But she still has to buy food for her people and
raw materials for her industries
The Socialist government has faced this
problem gravely and with considerable success.
BY maintaining rstioning, the British are man
aging to survive with imports 20 per cent be-
low what they were before the war. At the
same time the British are selling nearly so
per cent more goods than before the war to
help pay for the imports they must have.
But many of these exports are going to
countries tied into the Sterling system rather
than the dollar system in payment for Brit
aims huge war debts to these nations. These
countries buy from her, instead of from us,
because they have Sterling but do not have
dollars
These sales do not help Britain to get dol
lars to buy from us the things she needs in this
country. She can only pay for them by sales to
us We want to sell to Britain, but do not
want TO buy We have erected high tariffs to
prevent British goods from coming in-at the
very same time that the propagandists tell us
British goods cost too much to compete with
ours II British production costs are so high,
why do we need to continue our tariffs Yet
at the very moment the British and American
statesmen were trying to work out solution
TO Britsns dollar shortage, Republicans in
Congress were fighting to cripple the recipro-
cal trade program which would permit foreign
countries to sell more goods TO us, and thereby
obtain more dollars
II the big business propsgandists in this
country were willing to cast the mote from
their own eyes they would find that our tar
ifs have far more TO do with Brtain's current
difficulties than all of the much maligned
socialistic policies of the Labor government