INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 February 1941, Page 5

INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN

WORKING FOR A GREAT OBJECTIVE MR BEVIN BROADCASTS TO AUSTRALIA. CONSCRIPTION OF LABOUR NOT NEEDED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. February 17. Broadcasting to Australian workers, the Minister of Labour and National Service, Mr E. Bevin, stressed the unity of purpose that runs through British industry. "From the general manager right down there is the feeling that they are working for a great objectiv e. lie said. "There is no worrv and agitation over profits. The kind of profiteer or economic vulture that operated in previous wars is tabooed by the public as a whole —he is outlawed.” Everyone hated war. said Mr Bevin. but there" was something exciting about striving for the great purpose of overthrowing aggression and brute force and giving the people of the world a real chance to live in peace, developing prosperity and culture, living their own lives and practising their own religions - , and learning to be tolerant and to trust each other. As objectives these were worth achieving, Mr Bevin said.

Regarding conscription of labour, he continued: ' Now. you may have heard a lot of talk about conscription of labour—well, we are not doing anything of the kind. What we are doing is to register everybody to find out what their capabilities are. The people of this country do not need to be conscripted in the narrow and limited sense and put under a kind of military control in order to make them do their duty.

"What they say to us is: "We all want to do the most essential thing to win the war. Tell us what to do and where we are to go.' It is very good to find out what they can do. We are registering them and we shall, as great factories come into production more and more as time goes on, call upon them to come forward and fill vacancies in these great undertakings.”