INDUSTRY AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 90, 9 January 1918, Page 7

INDUSTRY AND WAR

BRITAIN TRANSFORMED

REMARKABLE OFFICIAL RECORD

It is almost impossible) to convey an Hdequato picture oE tlio transformation "which, was effected throughout Great Britain in tho courso of a comparatively few months (says an official publication in describing the transformation of tho United Kingdom under war conjdition). Railway workshops, hitherto idevoted to tho building and repair of locomotives, were given over to tliQ Construction of gun-carriages and field guns. Four-fifths of the energy of the companies normally occupied in manufacturing heating apparatus was scon employed in turning out trench mortar bombs and hand grenades. Root hud shoe factories were utilised for tho manufacture of _ 4.5-inch' shells find primers—and this in spite of the fnot ithat Britain has supplied many million pairs of boots to'her Allies! Hero machinery was adapted to new purposes; there machinery was removed and fresh machinery installed;

Indispensable "Key" Industries. Elsewhere, factories wero requisitioned to produce machine tools, for one of the earliest steps taken by the Ministry of Munitions was to acquire ci nItrof of every machine tool-maker in tho United Kingdom, Practically every ■weapon used in the war has boon fashioned with the aid of a machinetool, but, unfortunately, . the greater proportion of these tools is of foreign origin. During the war it has boon necessary to secure'scores of thousands of .machine tools in order to enable the munitions output of the Allies first to approach," and then to surpass, that of the enemy. Millions and millions of pounds worth of machine tools have been bought in America during the war period to ensure adequate.supplies of munitions from our factoriesnational and otherwise. Without imported machine tools Britain could not have thought of winning the war. Her own facilities for producing these'machines were totally inadequate at the commencement of hostilities. The British machine-tool trade was being steadily squeezed out 'by German end .American competition. Britain exported, in the year.before the war, kss than £750,000 worth of machine,tools as compared with Germany's export of over £3,000,000 worth in 1913. The war pointed out the urgent necessity for different-methods and greater co-opera-tion among manufacturers in .order to secure for Great Britain a larger share of the machine-tool trade. In .the, case of such a "key" industry—the indispensable basis of all engineer-manufac-turers, from a tin tack to a battleship —she now . aims at becoming selfsupporting. It was soon discovered that more metal's, of one kind and another would bo required to meet the ; varied needs. Under Mr. Lloyd George's direction the. Ministry of Munitions took control of the metal market. It'proceeded to develop fresh supplies,. assisted by the Governments .of: Australia and Canada. It was also, necessary to'.create'.industries which hitherto had been practically .unknown, in the British Isles: Courage." and ingenuity facilitated '. this . .work. Isolated illustrations, only can .'be; given.'". Chemists declared that the -gasworks throughout the country" could be. adapted, to produce material needed for. the.; manufacture of high explosives, •immediately the Ministry provided the necessary, plant, rendering the country independent of foreign 1 'supplies of elements necessary for the making of T.N.T. and other'high explosives.'Tho illuminating power of gas- in domestic use was thus : sbinowhat reduced,' hut the sae'rifico oirtlie'part;'of J house- ' holders..:was .-a, small one arid was readily . and cheerfully;.made. ... V

Another example oi' the spirit in which .the munition- movement has been conducted Was furnished "by. 'tho course adopted, with reference to the nation's supply of sulphuric acid.Largii. quantities had hitherto been imported, for the making -of/.-chemical manures., and. for galvanising 'iron,' while, the textile'industries had also used.no 'small'quantity." I '-It became apparent that the Ministry would-re-quire, all the sulphuric acid which it could obtain, and the various industries which had hitherto heeii : dependent upon it were in danger of having to close down. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the chemist is the godfather of modern industry. Research Was'encouraged, and it was found that, in some cases, industry could be pursued hy. utilising by-pro-ducts of the sulphuric acid not required- for the "■ maljing of munitions, and that, in other instances, substitutes could be employed. " • Yet another industry affected -was the making.of spjrjts,- -. Fifty-seven per cent, of the British Merchant Navy

had been requisitioned by tho Government for themselves and their Allies, mainly for naval and military purposes. Iu consequence, the Government was compelled to restrict imports, and, among other things, grain for the making of_ spirits camo nlidcr the ban. The Minister of Munitions immediately saw his opportunity. He took over tho control of all the distilleries in the United Kingdom and became the largest producer in tho world of alcoholic spirits, which form a constituent in the production of modem explosives. And so, step by step, county by comity, industry by industry, 'the great scheme of creation, conversion, and reconstruction proceeded. Labour's Great Sacrifice, Ono of the most anxious problems was the supply and distribution of skilled labour. .There was not enough skilled labour to go round. This fact was recognised ,by the trade unions, and tlio Government has received their hearty assistance throughout, both iu the distribution of skilled labour and in tho dilution of skilled labour with unskilled. Skilled men have trained and instructed unskilled workers, and, in thousands of cases, have voluntarily been removed from piece work to day wages, with tho result that tlicy have sometimes earned smaller wages'-than thoso thoy trained havo received at piece work. British organised labour gave to tho army at the front more than its heart and hands. It yielded up, in tho hour of national.crisis, many of tho legal rights and privileges only established after years of effort and controversy. To realise what this sacrifice meant, it is necessary to consider the delicate character of tho industrial situation when war broke out. For the past four years Labour had been in irruption. The great railway strike- of 1911, with its menace of a still greater upheaval to come, had been forgotten neither by the public nor by the men. The Welsh minors were restless; tho transport workers generally were demanding reforms. Capital and Labour, in August, 1914, if not'openly hostile, were suspicious of each other's designs. Tlioro was no guarantee that the new methods of organisation adopted to safeguard tho interests of the workers would avert further strikes. Yet when Great Britain took up arms against German tyranny and in defence of democrats freedom, her workmen not only; postponed a settlement of outstanding differences -with the capitalists; they sheathed, those weapons of offence and defence with .which Parliament had equipped theni. In other words, they voluntarily abrogated the whole of the combatant code of trade union regulations.- They sank the immediate interests of their class in tho broad demand for national unity. No stronger proof of tho country's whole-hearted concentration on its grave task coud be conceived. And Labour made this supreme renunciation, not in the fir t weeks of the war, when it believed that the struggle would be short, but after ft was borne m on the public mind that the conflict might go on for years! Labour gave up something it greatly valued, for, an indefinite period. What.Women Have Done. • The problem of "hands" for the writ at home was also.solved by the employment of women; In the first fe* 'mouths of tho war less than 200,000 women were engaged in 'war industries. --.To-dav there are over-1,000,000. Ot the 4,000,000 workers they constitute aquarter;.and every' m<mth their total is increasing. It follows that much -labour has been expended in housing I the" munition workers, winch iorm about half of the total engaged on war supplies. mole villages have been built/ During the past war year housing. accommodation has been provided . for-60,000 people. . What are these workshops like wliero women feed the armies in which theirkith and kin are fighting? ■ Here, is Mrs. Humphry Ward's- impression of one which-she inspected in the north, a factory, which makes fuses and primers and games:—■ ; ' "The large airy building with its cheerful lighting, the girl's in their dark blue'caps and overalls, their long and comely lines reminding oiie of some processional'effect in a'-Florentine picture; the high proportion of good looks ,—eveft'of delicate beauty among them —the upper galleries, their tables piled with glittering " brass work, .among which move the quick, trained hands of women: if one could have forgotten fd.r a moment the meaning of it all, one might-have applied to it Carlyle's description of a great school as 'a temple of industrious peace.' Some day, perhaps this ■ 'new ■ industry'—as our ancestors talked' of a 'new learning'— this swift, astonishing development of industrial faculty among our peoples, especially among our women, will bear other and rich fruit for England under a cleared/sky. . It is impossible -that it should pass by without effect—profound effect—upon our national life. But, at present, it has one meaning and ono only—war!" " •