BRITAIN'S NEW WORKSHOPS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 May 1916, Page 8

BRITAIN'S NEW WORKSHOPS.

READY FOR POST WAR TRADE. Sir George Riddell, in a recent address on "Britain's New Workshops," said that, in his opinion, the nation, after Hie war, would be better equipped than it had ever been before, and probably better than any other country. They had spent, and were spending, huge sums of money in creating new factories, in converting old factories, and in equipping liem with new machinery. He should ihink (although not speaking from any official information) that the sum spent 'n starting new factories was not less than £600,000,000. A great deal of the noney had been spent in equipping these ■factories with automatic machinery, in •which, before the war, we were lamentably deficient. He would not be surprised if, during the last twelve months, Wi had spent no less than £200,000(000 in putting down automatic machinery, riiink what this meant! The nation .'Kid paid, or was paying, for this machinery, and manufacturers, at the end of the war. would be in possession of these new buildings and plant to start any new business without any capital charges. Such manufacturers, at the end of the war, would surely be in a very happy situation. The speaker mentioned one firm which six months ago did not know what a fuse was, and was now turning out 30,000 fuses a week. Asked what be was going to do with the plant at the end of the war the bead of the firm replied, "There's no difficulty about that. We are going to do this and that, which we have long wanted in our business." So the war had brought a new_point of view to the British manufacturer. AVhen it was over he would be prepared to take risks which he was not ready to do before the war. He (Sir George) had not the slightest doubt that the commercial classes of the country would rise to the occasion, and display even greater ability and enterprise than they had shown in the past—which was saying a great deal. War had taught us (hat the -ssential thing for a nation was the power to produce commodities. That power depended upon the industry, energy and enterprise of the people of the country.