Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1929. FACING THE MAIN TASK

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 135, 4 December 1929, Page 10

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1929. FACING THE MAIN TASK

The Maxton-Kirkwood group in the British Labour Party is threatening trouble because unemployment is not diminishing. These murmurs within the party are but the echo of the grumblings outside. The annual conference of the party stood loyally by the Cabinet. If some members were inclined to express their disappointment with the progress made they were over-ruled by the majority who counselled patience and forbearance. The conference heard Mr. Snowden declare definitely and precisely that financial institutions could not be tampered with hastily. It refrained from adopting embarrassing resolutions, even when it was informed that the mining industry must be made prosperous before it could make substantial concessions to those engaged in it. But outside the conference there has been criticism, and this finds its echo now in Mr. Maxton's. threat of rebellion.

We have refrained from speaking with freedom thus far (said Mr. Maxton at Glasgow) out of loyalty to the Government; but the position will be humorous if Messrs. Wheatley, Maxton, Kirkwood, Stephen, and Buchanan aro expelled by tho votes of Lord Parmoor and Commander Eenworthy.

This is not the first rebellious move. On 16th November, Mr. Kirkwood made a speech for which the National Labour Party demanded an apology. That speech was not cabled to us, but we may assume that it had reference to the Government's unemployment insurance proposals. The Government proposed increases which would cost the Treasury £12,500,000 a year. The Left Wing demanded more, but Mr. Snowden resisted demands for the full scale (which would have cost an additional £11,----500,000) on the ground that the money was not available.

Now Mr. Maxton declares: "If I make a choice between supporting the Cabinet and the unemployed, I am standing by the unemployed."' The test that has to be made is whether the party as a whole, and the supporters of the party in the electorate, will see the issue as Mr. Maxton has stated it: a choice between the Cabinet and the unemployed. Hitherto Mr. Mac Donald has won the day; his rebukes to Mr. Maxton have been endorsed by the overwhelming support accorded him. But the present position is more perilous. Even if the most optimistic and favourable calculations made by Mr. Thomas are accepted in preference to those of his Conservative critics, it must be admitted that the progress in grappling with unemployment has been slow. Certainly Labour is not pledged to accomplish anything definite, as Mr. Lloyd George was pledged. The party claimed only that it could do more than the Conservatives or the Liberals; but by its trenchant criticism of Conservative de-rating and safeguarding it led the voters to believe that it had remedies which would be more rapid and effective. So far they have not proved so. De-. velopment schemes, involving heavy expenditure, have been approved, but their effect on the unemployment returns is small. Mr. Thomas himself is much less optimistic than formerly, especially as touching the relief to be obtained by redistribution of Empire population. A disappointed electorate may decide that the logic is on the side of the Maxtons and Kirkwoods, and against the Snowdens, Thomases, and Lees Smiths. Instead of allowing the Government to continue gradually re-shaping society while retaining its essential capitalistic basis, the party may clamour for Mr. Maxton's method and the abolition of capitalism. According to the "Daily Chronicle":

There is growing anxiety, even alarm, on the part of tho Government, at the ever-mounting unemployment figures, and the ■ apparent failure of Mr. Thomas's policy.

j Mr. Mac Donald is taking a hand and calling in outside help. His difficulty was foretold by "Augur" in the "Fortnightly Review" two months ago, at a time when the Labour stock had been raised to a high level by the achievements of the Prime Minister and Mr. Snowden in the reparations and pacification fields.

Just now, as we watch the political activities of Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald (wrote "Augur"), we are reminded of the mentality of the man with a bad tooth, who knows that soon he shall have to look up apprehensively into tho face of the dentist, but who, meanwhile, is anxious not to think of the operation. Tho bad tooth which will bring Mr. MacDonaia to the dentist's chair is the problem of unemployment. He was elocted because of his promise to

tackle tho question with all speed. Yet months havo gouo by and nothing visible has been accomplished to r<> (luco unemployment.

The election was fought on the domestic issue. The successes which the Government has to its credit were not widely considered in the contest. The way was prepared for the Anglo-American naval negotiations before Mr. Baldwin left office | and Mr. Winston Churchill sounded the first warning note against an attempt to saddle Britain with the cost of a reparations settlement. No doubt Mr. Snowden was able to protest against that settlement more forcibly than Mr. Churchill could have done with Sir Austen Chamberlain pulling him back; but, even allowing Mr. Snowden full credit for his work, the victory was mainly personal. It was not a success which proved the soundness of Labour policy. When all is said that can be said in favour of Labour's policy abroad, the fact remains that it has not advanced a solution of the domestic problem. It has not even prepared the way for such a solution. Labour must now face the main task, and it is as difficult as ever it was.

The only rational way of dealing with unemployment is to nationalise industry (wrote "Augur"). This means throwing over the time-honoured dogmas of class war, accepting c -operation with capital and concentrating on. new methods of production. Tho leaders of British Labour know this need, but they must be wary how they bring the knowledge to the masses whom they have for generations led in au opposite direction. First of all it is necessary to prove to tho workers that they cannot have more than Jieir industries can produce in competition with the rest of tho world. ' bitter pill to swallow, and the difficulties, perhaps we should say the insuperable difficulties, which confront Mac Donald, are clear. His tragedy is that he cannot by any means avoid them.

An insurgent Left Wing is forcing Mr. Mac Donald to face the issue. It is dragging him to the dentist's chair. Mr. Mac Donald has therefore called in "a representative body of economists and commercial experts." But this will not help him to quiet Mr. Maxton. The Left Wing does not iwant the advice of the experts of the existing system. It wants that system to be rooted out. If the leaders of industry give the advice that we may anticipate, Mr. Mac Donald cannot look to Mr. Maxton to help him in following it. Rather, he may be certain that the Clydeside section will resist any such measures. The choice of rationalisation or nationalisation will be forced.