SCOTLAND'S LOST INDUSTRIES
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Snt,—Dr. Bowie's article on this subject will provoke a considerable amount of discussion, and thereby do a great service both to Scotland and England. May I take part in it ? I think Dr. Bowie indicates the direction in which we must look for a considerable improvement in our prosperity, when he says :
" The movement towards securing the economies of concentra- tion and standardization has made less progress in Scotland than in the South. . . . The Scots are a nation of individualists who find co-operation irksome."
But I would have this progressive movement take a more direct and active national turn in a great Scheme of Collective Action. We want each industry in the country and every other national activity : religion, education, art, literature, drama, &c., to make a special effort to improve its product, whether it be steel or poetry, so that the result of such a collective improvement on a national scale would be reflected in the advance of the standard of life in every corner of
the land, and would turn the eyes of men to Scotland as a nation who were alive and were determined to progress.
To make this dream a reality we need team work above all else. It is not so much first-class ability that is needed everywhere—we in Scotland have got our normal share of that, in natural endowments. What we want to do is to put the ability we do possess into our every-day work, and then to work collectively for the national good.
There are many things we could do if we worked as a team. Here are two of them. There are six Scottish industries,
viz., hosiery (including underwear and outerwear), woollens, thread, linen, linoleum, golf clubs, which have a great reputa- tion and do well in England and other countries. If the statistics for these industries were published with judgement at regular intervals, and if Scottish business men would speak more about these in public when we had justification for doing so—Scotland would make more headway as a country, and these particular industries would receive a regular amount of publicity which they justly deserve. Apart from this all Scottish industries, &c., should support our two national associations (Scottish Travel Association and the Scottish National Development Council) and take counsel with them regularly to advance the national prosperity.
The other thing we could do if we worked as a team is a very big thing, and in my opinion it offers by far the quickest road to a great advance in national prosperity and life. I refer to tourist traffic. It is also one of the three things that can never " be drifted South " or drifted anywhere else. Scotland possesses natural attractions of the highest order, she can have several million pounds of extra tourist traffic any' summer she likes, if she will act collectively, and make known her wonderful attractions to the 343,000,000 people in England. The Scottish Travel Association is working hard to this end ; but Scotland is slow to respond. We know we have a hundred and one things to create and improve in our attractions, before we can get maximum returns— but that is a work that must take years in any case. What Niro urgently need is Scotland to spend £10,000 in advertising her natural attractions collectively in England this summer. If we did that it would be the beginning of a great national advance in Scottish industry, which would fertilize every other industry in the country, and give Scotland the best tonic she has had for 50 years.
The attractions and scenery are here, and so are the facilities for travel, residence, and sport—people like to travel (it is an instinctive desire in the human heart) and they will do so up to the limit of their resources—all they require is that they should be told about our attractions.—I am, Sir, &c., R. MCKEAN CANT. 105 Hanover Street, Edinburgh.
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