Lancashire's Trade Rivals Fortunately the Government and the City are
still eager to meet Japanese competition in cotton goods by peaceful negotiation, for which the recent Judo-Japanese treaty, offers an admirable precedent. But if one can judge by • the Manchester Chamber, of Commerce meeting last Monday, Lancashire still likes the strong hand ; and it must have been in response to this feeling that Mr._ Runciman promised " support " if the negotiations with Japan on the Indian market did not reach a conclusion satisfactory to Lancashire. We hope " support " will be unnecessary. Certainly the Japanese have given a token of reasonableness by admitting rayon into the discussions. And, besides Government support, there are other methods capable of winning concessions. Japan will be more ready to come to terms when we have set ourselves to reconstruct India's broken power to purchase. It would help a great deal if. American raw cotton were replaced by Indian. Lancashire is making the mechanical adjust- ments, but Japan, which she has to overhaul, imported in 1932-3 eight times as much Indian cotton as she did. Meanwhile, she can afford to learn from Japan the benefits' of rationalization, large-scale efficiency, and up-to,date plant. There are many ways in which she can cheapen her products unaided.
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