Hughes, William Morris, 1864-1952; Lloyd George, David, 1863-1945; World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects
On the other hand, there is the conviction that unrestricted output,
having registered its golden returns, will be the rule, not the
exception, among the English artisans. England's frenzied desire for
economic authority proclaims a job for everybody.
I asked a member of the British Cabinet, a man perhaps better qualified
than any other in England to speak on this subject, to sum up the whole
after-war labour situation, as he saw it, and his epigrammatic reply
was:
"After the war capital will be ungrudging in its remuneration to labour;
and labour, in turn, must be ungrudging in its output."
No one doubts that after the war the British worker will have his full
share of profits. As one large manufacturer told me: "We have so gotten
into the habit of turning our profits over to the government that it
will be easy to divide with our employees." Here may be the panacea for
the whole English labour ill.
But, whatever may be the readjustment of this labour problem, one thing
is certain: Peace will find a disciplined England. The five million men,
trained to military service, will dominate the new English life; and
this means that it will be orderly and productive.
With this discipline will come a democracy--social and industrial--such
as England has never known. The comradeship between peer and valet,
master and man, born of common danger under fire, will find renewal, in
part at least, when they go back to their respective tasks. This wiping
out of caste in shop, mill and counting room will likewise remove one of
the old barriers to the larger prosperity.
England wants the closest trade relations with her Dominions. But will
the Colonies accept the idea of a fiscal union of empire, which
practically means intercolonial free trade? Or will they want to
protect their own industries, even against the Mother Country? Like the
French, they are willing to risk life and limb for a cause, but they
likewise want to guard jealously their purse and products. They have not
forgotten the click when Churchill locked the home door against them.
This leads to the question that is agitating all England: Will peace
bring tariff reform? Both English and American economic destiny will be
affected by the decision, whatever it may be.
Canvass England and you encounter a widespread movement that means, as
the advocates see it, a broadening of the home market; security for the
infant "key" industries; a safeguard for British labour--in short, the
end of the old inequality of a Free England against a Protected Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account