THE UNPRODUCTIVENESS OF BRITISH LABOUR. [To THE EDITOR OP THE
"SPECTATOR."] Srn,—Referring to your article on " The ITnproductiveness of British Labour" in the Spectator of December 29th, may I give you my experience in a spinning mill P Some years ago I had control of a room in which some ten or twelve girls finished the goods for market by making balls of thread or twine. Each girl worked at a balling machine which made one ball at a time. Subsequently I was transferred to a branch factory in the United States, where I found one girl working a balling machine which made six balls simultaneously. About the same time, when crossing one night to Ireland, the captain of the Channel steamer told me that Fleetwood, with its grain elevators, robbed Belfast of much of its legitimate trade because the Belfast Harbour Commissioners were unwilling to do away with manual labour by erecting grain elevators. Doubtless many other instances can be given of towns or localities losing important trade through a short- sighted policy that refuses to advance with the times.—I
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