The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1915. INROADS ON INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2381, 10 February 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1915. INROADS ON INDUSTRY

The speech in Parliament of the British (jnder-Secretary for War (Mr. Tenxant), a summary of which appears in our cable columns this morning, contains an important reference to the effect of recruiting .on the industries of the country. Mr. Tennant informed the House of Commons that more men are still required, but he makes no complaint as to the/rate at which the recruiting movement -is progressing. The t-onQ of Els remarks on this point closely resembles that of Lord Kitchener. He .says there is no cause for discontent, still less for disquiet, regarding the response of the manhood of the country to the call for soldiers. Recruiting, he remarks, is very satisfactory; but he warns the nation that the War Office may have ,to make inroads on impqrtant industries. There is plenty of work in Britain at the present time for all the able-bodied and oapable men available. Some industries have, of course, suffered severely since the. outbreak of the war, but in others the highest pressure has been maintained, and the amount of unemployment is probably less than in normal times. The effects, of recruiting are already being felt in the industrial sphere, and the Government and the country are face -to face with the difficult problems of building up Lord . Kitchener's new army and at the same time maintaining an adequate supply of labour to meet the requirements of the nation's industries and comimeree. It is quite evident that every increase in the army means a decrease in the number left to convert tho excellent ideal of "business as usual" into reality. But the nation's life must be the first and supreme consideration. Every man' Lord Kitchener asks for must be given, and the needs of industry must be met as well as possible witn the help of temporary expedients to keep things going. In a great crisis such as the present it behoves all sections ,of the population to co-operate with a good will in order to solve the labour problem which the war has created. Extraordinary measures aro required to meet the extraordinary situation, and there must be a relaxation of some of the industrial rules and customs. Mr. Tennant appeals -to the Labour Party to assist the Government in this matter, and his appeal is not likely to be in -vain. It is all-important to employers and workmen alike that tho industries of the country should not be permitted to languish. If Britain is to succeed in her efforts to capture the enemies' trade, she must not allow her own trade to come to a standstill for want of labour. Selfinterest as well as patriotism should ; lead the trades unionists readily to agree to the suggestion that a less stringent view should be taken of the Factory Act regulations, and that women should be enabled to replace men in certain occupations until normal conditions aro restored. These proposals are so necessary and so reasonable that they can hardly fail to commend themselves to the judgment of all right-thinking men and women. It is'_ some_ consolation to know that if Britain is experienc-' ing some difficulty in keeping her industries going owing to shortage of labour, it is quite certain that her enemies are feeling the pinch much more severelybut it must be borne in mind that in their case all overseas trade has been wiped out, and as a result the demand for labour has been correspondingly cur--1 tailed.

Mr. Tennant's referenoa to recruiting recalls the memorable speech delivered by Lord Kitchener on November 9, in the course of which he declared that he would "want more and still more, until the enemy is crushed." The Empire has fully made up its mind that there can be no halting until that end is achieved—until the foe is decisively vanquished. Notwithstanding tho cautious assertions of Lord Kitchener and Mk. Tennant, to the effect that they are not dissatisfied with the progress of the recruiting campaign, it is quite plain that the Empire will have to make a tvctjicntlmt!! isffm't. In nvcJe* bring ..the viptociow coaclusum of iM.

struggle within measurable distance. Though recruiting in Britain may uot have proeeed«d as rapidly :ls some people would have liked, tho fact remains, that a great ajmy has sprung into existence. The achievement has astonished foreign friends and foes. "At the cry of' outraged justice," says i M. Bergson, "one could sec rising from tho ground, in a country which had hitherto placed its reliance upon its Fleet, a- million—two millions of soldiers." The Russian military experts also pay a high tribute to tho great services which Britain ha-s rendered to the Allies by land as well as by sea, and they dcclare that "it ha-s been plainly mauifest that a British Army of a million men, admirably equipped, and with largo reserves, will soon arrive at the front." It is interesting in this connection to Sompar.e the strength of the various forces on the Home establishment at the opening of last year with the 'position on September 15, a little I more than a month after the commencement of hostilities:—

Jan., 1, Sept. 15, 1914. 1914. Kegular Army 15G,110 311,000 Army Reserve 1-JC,OOO — Special Reserve 63,000 80,000 Lord Kitchener's New Army — 500,000 -Territorial Force 2-51,000 213,000 6161110 1,207,000 This means that the strength of tho Home establishment was' doubled in a little more than a month after the outbreak of war. The whole of tho force, with the exception of the Territorials, was available for for.e.ign service, -and probably over 100,000 of the Territorials had volunteered for. the front. Since then the Government has obtained the permission of' Parliament to raise an; other million men. When this addi : tional million soldiers are ready for active service, Britain will have at her disposal an army of over 2,000,000 men, which will tfavc been got together without the use of any form of compulsion. In addition to this the Indian and Overseas Contingents must be counted. A large section of this great host will soon bo ready to reinforce General French's gallant little army. It is generally understood that wonderful things are going to happen in the spring. Russia and France are preparing to throw vast numbers of fresh troops into the field, and we are told that Germany also intends to make a supreme effort; With the increased pressure of the Allies on both of her frontiers, and the probable appearance of Italy in the ranks of her enemies, Germany will require the services of every fighting man she possesses, and even then it is almost inconceivable that she will be able to withstand the tremendous onslaught for any great length of time. But if we are to defeat our resolute, ruthless, and resourceful foe, we must make the best use of all the weapons at our disposalmoral and industrial, a-s well as naval and military. It is a question, as a writer in the Round Table points out, not merely of the manufacture of armies, but of the organisation of all our resources, so as most rapidly to meet the military demand and so as to distribute most fairly the strain involved. We have also to consider how to carry on most effectively the commercial and industrial activities _ on which our economic and financial _ strength absolutely depends. It is this interdependence of the military and in-dustrial.-resources of the country that Mr. Tennant has in mind when he refers to the severe strain which Lord Kitchener's demand for still more men must inevitably place upon British industries.