LIGHT INDUSTRIES IN SCOTLAND
In the course of their valuable surveys of Light Industries in Scotland (Scottish Economic Committee, 19 Blvthswood Square, Glasgow, is. 6d.) the seven experts appointed by the Scottish Economic Committee come to conclusions which throw a good deal of light on the character of industrial civili- sation in Scotland. In the seven industries they examined— furniture, hosiery, canning, linen, boot and shoe, electrical equipment, heating, ventilating and refrigerating apparatus— they found a good deal of conservatism about the design of products, the lay-out of factories, sales organisation and adver- tising, the multiple-shift system, co-operation and amalgama- tion with other firms, mass-production, and catering for the lower-income groups. Whether this conservatism is always a social demerit depends on our point of view; some of these conclusions may be taken to show that Scottish light industry is still mainly organised on a humane basis, with the worker encouraged to be a craftsman rather than a machine-minder. But there is no question that, on the whole, this conservatism does not pay : Scottish shoes and furniture may be of higher quality than English, but they are higher priced, and the Scottish working-man can rarely afford them. When it comes to export, there are the further handicaps of freight charges (it costs less to send certain goods from Glasgow to Australia than from Glasgow to London), and the difficulty, through distance from London, of obtaining the required specifications in order to tender for Government contracts. The lesson seems to be that if Scottish light industries are to hold their own, even in Scotland, they must be prepared to conform to the pattern set by industrial England. This prospect may not be altogether encouraging, but, as the Chairman and Secretary of the Committee point out, mass-production need not eliminate craftsmanship, and there is plenty of scope for individual ability and initiative in the improvement of design.
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