The Mersey boilermakers, as well as the South Wales miners,
should be edified by the appearance of Mr. Frank Hodges as an earnest advocate of increased production. The Secretary of the Miners' Federation has learned wisdom from the trade depression. On Saturday ho told a miners' meeting that the price of coal must be brought down to " a price that will attract the buyers of the world." That could be done only " by the miners putting their backs into production " and by economies in the management. He went on to say :—
• " I hope the ruinous gospel once preached in Wales of getting the maximum wages for the minimum of effort will cease. That doctrine has so affected the revolution in Russia that the industrials have had to be militarized in order to secure anything like a degree of efficiency in industry. A doctrine such as this acts like a boomerang."
In those words are contained the Law and the Prophets. Now that Mr. Hodges recognizes that wages can only increase or be maintained at a high level if production is increased, we may perhaps begin to hope that trade unionists generally will renounce the fallacious policy of " Ca' canny."
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