Notes

Abstract

IN the course of a debate on co-operative fiscal and economic policy, in the House of Commons on Monday, reference was made to the fact that some industries were almost entirely in German hands before the war broke out. Mr. Runciman, President of the Board of Trade, made the following remarks upon this subject towards the end of the debate:—We have been placed under grave disabilities owing to the fact that optical glas was made almost entirely in Austria and Germany and so little of it was made in this country. It was one of the first articles in which the Board of Trade took an interest in the autumn of 1914. We gathered together all the information we could on the subject of optical glass. We gave every possible assistance to those in this country who were prepared to undertake its manufacture, and already they are producing optical glass which never before had been equalled here. We trust that the monopoly which was held by Germany before the war will never go back to her. In chemicals we have produced to a remarkable degree a large number of articles which before the war were almost entirely in German hands. Take the case of dyes. Not only the company which by leave, of this House was assisted out of our national funds,. but also other concerns have produced an enormous amount of dyes during the war. Electrical apparatus in some particulars was almost entirely in German hands. Every one of these articles, glass, chemicals, dyes, electrical apparatus, and I could name about a dozen others, were industries of vast importance not, only to us as a great commercial country, but as a fighting country. Without these glass articles, without some;of the porcelain articles which are essential for electrical construction, without the best type of magneto, without some of the best of our chemicals,. and without a great range of dyes, which used to be manufactured in Germany, we were placed at a, great disadvantage. Never again should that happen. This is more than a mere matter of competing with Germany. It ought to be part of our national organT isation. Government departments can do a great deal, and I believe they ought to do more, but without the personal ability, without the training, skill, and industry of the individual, nothing can be done by Government departments. I therefore put down as one of the first necessities of this country, if she is to hold, her own during times of war and when war is over, that we must improve our research methods, the education of our people, and the training of our young men. We should not attempt to economise on the money we now spend on technical colleges and modern appliances. There are other directions in which we can cut down expenditure with less national damage.