The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-11-24
BY CUSHMAN REYNOLDS

WdSHlIlS tUH tIJI ~ - II llC Mdl
shall Plan is working well and the
British people deeply appreciate
American aid, but Britain's econ
omic recovery is a far bigger pro-
blem than can be solved by the
Marshall Plan or any external pro-
gram. What's more, in the end Bri-
tain must and can find the answer
within herself through her own eff
forts, while the Marshall Plan
keeps things going for a while.
That, in effect, is what w. Ern-
est Jones, general secretary for the
Yorkshire area of the Natl Union
of Mine Workers, and Leonard
Green, assistant general secretary
of the Heating, Domestic & Venti-
lating Engineers & General Metal
Workers, told this reporter over
the breakfast bacon and eggs the
other morning.
The two are members of team
of 13 labor leaders who have been
touring US industrial centers since
mid October to see what aspects OF
American industrial savvy can be
applied in Britain's mines, mills,
and factories. At the same time
there is a good chance that the
visitors can hand out a few point
ers themselves, notably on the
making of quality goods, for which
British industry is justly famous.
Splitting into groups, the men
are having a look at the garment
industry under the guidance of the
Int'l Ladies Garment Union-AFL
and the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers-CIO; at foundries and
machine shops with the Int'l Assn
of Machinists; at various construc-
tion projects with AFL building
trades representatives; at the steel
and auto industries with the Unit
ed Steelworkers-CIO and the Unit
ed Auto Workers-CIO, and at
whatever else they have a chance
to see.
What they are seeking are ways
and means to increase the produc-
tivity of British workers. Greater
productivity is the key to Britain's
economic future, Jones and Green
agreed, but they were reluctant to
discuss their conclusions about
what they have observed here.
They want to wait until their team
can consolidate it's views and report
as whole. However, one thing
that seems to impsess this and
other British groups which have
visited the US is the abundance of
electric power on this side of the
Atlantic. Electric power, Euro
peans apparently feel, is a basic
factor in Americas mammoth pro-
duction statistics.
Jones and Green were less loath
to talk what is going on in Britain
under the Labor government, with
which they seemed well satisfied.
should understand that
Britain is living under an outright
planned economy" Jones declar-
ed, and he didn't seem to care
whether Senator Bob Taft was in
earshot or not when he said it. The
whole nation, including the unions,
are giving "every possible assis-
,ance toward production" The ad-
"Boost production" is
a watchword.
Every industry sets target fig
Tres, Jones went on, and the
lnions help set them. AS an ex-
mple, Jones cited his own indus
ry, coal mining. He said the 1949
arget is 207 million tons and that {
he miners would just about make
/. However, to do so the individual
oal digger must work an extra
hift every two weeks.
Jones, who is heartily British in
lold and manner, pointed out that f
ne reason for the extra shift is h
nat there are a lot fewer coal \
liners in Britain than there used V
, be. What has saved coal mining k
naturalization he said, which h
as "enabled industry to be revit- s.
Iized." The introduction of new X
much of it American in [
rigin, and new underground pat n
rms in the mines themselves have Il
,me with naturalization and have N
realty increased mining efficiency, q
2 observed. b
Green, whose soft British accent II
as decidedly different from the it
merican talk at nearby tables, Ii
i'd the members of his union were c;
1T actually production workers as Ii
lat term is understood. They are el
eamfitters, and they are in the
stallation business. Nevertheless,
e union makes every effort to en- IL
urage greater efficiency as u 81