It came out at a Conference of Co-operators and Trade
Union- ists last week that the Government had asked the two bodies to take over the national shipyards. After all that we have heard of late about Labour's desire to control industry, it might have been supposed that the Oo-operators and the Trade Unions would jump at the opportunity of showing how a shipyard ought to be managed. But the speakers at the Conference fought very shy of the proposaL Mr. Bowerman said that " they had not reached that stage yet." Another speaker argued that co- operation meant production for use, whereas a shipyard's pros duction was for profit—a distinction which is not clear to us— and that the shipyard would have been a white elephant, which is probably true. Thus it would seem, on Labour's own showing, that in the shipbuilding industry the much-abused capitalist and the skilled manager serve a purpose after all.
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