BRITAIN AWAKE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 January 1917, Page 7

BRITAIN AWAKE.

BUSINESS MAN'S OBSERVATIONS. GOOD EFFECTS OF THE WAR. The thorough awakening of the whole British nation is what most impresses; travellers nowadays. From various sources much lias been said about this rousing of the Empire at the sound of war's alarms, and it is interesting, therefore, to hear the views of a business man who has lived in the centre of activity—London—for over four years Mr. B. F. H. Whiteombe, genera] manager for Messrs. Whiteombe and Tombs, Ltd., has just returned to New Zealand, after managing the London office of the. company for the period stated, and hag consequently passed through the difficult times experienced by all exporters and Shippers eve;- since?'the great crisis of 1914. Speaking to a Post reporter, he indicated how earnestly Great Britain was engaging in the wai. Export licenses, permits, and returns demanded by the various Government bodies had now increased to such ail extent as to form a very undesirable additional expense on England's export business. In fact, the iPort of London had become so expensive that shippers did all they could to use other centres. The difficulties of carrying on the British export trade were becoming still greater owing to the growing scarcity of-raw materials and a serious shortage of labor. A REMARKABLE FACT. '•Considering that Great Britain must now have about one man in every nine of the total population serving in either the Army or the Navy," continued Mr. Whiteombe, "it is really remarkable how the British industries have been maintained at all. Success in this direction must be largely credited to the newlv-discovered army of women workers of all grades of society, who have done so well in many trades previously monopolised by men and boys." The great increase in the cost of all classes of labor was driving British manufacturers to adopt more modern machinery and greater labor-saving devices. In this respect at least the war had done great and good service, as many a- sluggish employer would not bother with advanced machinery while labor was cheap. Much of the labor could never have been really cheap at any price. Since the war it had been proved that some classes of unskilled women workers accomplished more per individual than the male workers in the same classes. DOING WONDERS. Mr. Whiteombe gave instances of the curse of low-priced labor —the waste of man-power as it existed before the war. This sort of thing had disappeared. Britain was doing wonders nowadays about which the world at large knew very little. In the matter of science, as applied to both the war and general trade and manufactures, her genius was developing amazingly along hitherto untouched lines, and the actual accomplishment oi wonders was the first intimation given to the world. England had learned how to keep a secret*, as instanced in the cast of the famous "tanks." THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE. It is Mr. Whitcombe's opinion that after the war a large number of young soldiers will be coming out to New Zealand and the other colonies, as many had stated that they would not return to their former occupations. The new offices erected for the Dominion would materially assist New Zealand in obtaining fresh batches of colonists, as they were well situated in the busiest part of the Strand. The windows, which were attractively dressed with New Zealand products, would tempt many to venture out, to these lands of milk and hone}'. The High Commissioner's Office was much more active now than heretofore, and great credit was due to Sir Thomas Mackenzie and Mr. T. E. Donne, whose administrative energy had brought about many much-needed reforms. PRINTING TRADE IN AMERICA. Mr. Whiteombe found business in his line in America very brisk indeed. He said it was very difficult to obtain within reasonable time the delivery of paper or printing machinery. Oil arrival in New Zealand flic was surprised to find that the prices of the daily papers bail not been increased, because paper itself was treble the price which ruled before the war. In addition, the freights and other expenses were three or four times as much. Americans, who, said Mr. Whiteombe, were never very careful about their export business, were paying even less attention to it now, since they have become so prosperous as a result of the munition business for the Allies. In handling export trade they did not show the same skill as the British, neither their methods nor their prices being steady enough to establish continuous connection such as existed in British trade.