A New Internationalism
One at least of the activities of Geneva has persisted during the period of war and will go on when it is over—that -of the Inter- national Labour Office, whose Governing Body have been holding meetings in London. A full conference of the International Labour Organisation is to be held next spring. Last Saturday the British Government representative, Sir Frederick Leggett, made an inter- esting proposal for the setting up of joint industrial committees on international lines. This country has led the way in the development of voluntary organisations of employers and workers, through which the two partners in industry work together to solve practical industrial problems ; workers have been enabled to feel that they were taking a substantial part in govern- ing the concerns to which they belonged. It is the growth of responsible trade unionism in this country, recognised and wel- comed by the employers no less than by the workers, which has paved the way for co-operation between employers and workers engaged in the same industry, and aware of a' common interest in promoting its success. The idea behind the British proposal is that the same common interest exists. not only between employers and workers engaged in the same trade in this country, but between them and their opposite numbers in foreign countries. There are many possible results of international organisations on these lines. They should tend to produce, not only healthier conceptions of the relation between employers and workers, but also industrial loyalties which may counteract the wastage of competitive nationalism.
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