BANKERS AND TRADE DEPRESSION;
BY ARTHUR W. KIDDY. .
[ THE position of the Banker in relation to our industrial- , problems must often be .a- very difficult one. From his intimate knowledge not only of the financial position of. Many firms and institutions but of the precise causes of prosperity or depression as the case may be, no one' ii probably more fit to adjudicate upon the relations' between cause and effect. The firm or company which these peculiar times seems fearful of asserting boldly where the shoe pinches in unreasonable trade union: exactions probably does not hesitate to confide the facts, to its banker. And the same may be said with regard to other handicaps such as foreign competition, the falling off: in purchasing-power on the part of Other countries, the: effect of the depreciation of foreign currencies on our trade and many other points which are dealt with in Mr. Brunton's article on another page.
Similarly perhaps no one is better informed than the banker as to how far matters in some of our key indus- tries Might be improved by fusions and even by working. arrangements with similar concerns operating in other: countries. The banker is also thoroughly conversant. With the precise effect of high taxation upon our industrial Welfare. And yet we know that upon very few of these matters is the banker able to express his views with the freedom which might'conceivably be helpful to a solution Of many of our pressing problems. Save in the most general sense bank chairmen -at the annual meetings do' not attempt to get at close quarters with the causes of , our industrial depression. It is always safe, of course, to discourse generally upon such matters as the need for national economy, but it is less easy for a banker to declare that certain industrial fusions may be imperative. ff foreign competition is to be met, or to emphasize the need for cheapened production and lower prices, remem- bering that in the process particular interests might be prejudicially affected. While, therefore, the banker is: often the target for Criticism from many quarters when trade is depressed, his ability to make effective reply is usually impaired by the very nature of his business, the confidences which are imposed upon him and the diverse. and even Conflicting interests which he represents. :
. LABOUR PROBLEMS. -
: I have been led, however, to make these brief and,' perhaps-it will be said, desultory remarks, not by way of holding any brief for the banker, but because I could wish that the views which bankers and the City generally Undoubtedly hold with regard to some of the causes of our industrial depression were focussed more effect- ively so as to aid a solution of some of the difficult pro- blems with which we itre confronted. So far as economy in the Nationalexpenditure and the curbing of inflation were concerned there is no doubt that bankers played a very important part in forming public opinion and in bringing pressure (helpful pressure) on the Government to take the requisite measures. In the matter of industrial firoblems. however- there seems-to be a greater reluctance' to speak out emphatically, though the fact that there 5s BANKING AND INSURANCE:- — - intimidation amongst the ranks of labour would seem to increase the responsibiliy of those who know full well the deadly injury which is being inflicted not only upon -our economic position, but upon the very morale of the workers.
A STRIKING ARTICLE.
I am very glad, therefore, in this connexion to draw attention to an article in the current issue of The Financial Review of Reviews, by Mr. E. T. Good, on" Trade Unionism and Industry." In doing so, I chi not mean to suggest that all the causes of industrial depression emanate from the side of labour, but I fancy that bankers, who I have said are in a position peculiarly well able to judge as to the facts in many industries, would affirm that the following sentences with which Mr. Good opens his article are justified by the facts. "As an old workman," says Mr. Good : " a trade unionist and a diligent investigator, I attribute at least
unions and Labour Party. These people pretend to be out to cure poverty. Their policy prevents the cure. They shout for plenty and cheapness. They cause scarcity and dearness. They restrict working hours and shifts ; they limit apprentices ; they slow-time machinery ; they drive away trade, employment and wage3."
I should not draw the attention of readers of the Spectator to this article if it consisted of nothing further than assertions such as the foregoing—but it does much more. The position of such industries as Coal, House-building, Shipbuilding, Plumbing, &c., are carefully and critically considered, -and I venture to think that those who read the Article, whether householders, wage earners or economic experts, will say that the case is fairly stated and that active and prosperous trade cannot return so long as political trade unionism in its present form holds sway. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer very well said in his recent speech to bankers at the Mansion House, there must be a turning back by the trade unions from the paths of political intrigue to the functions of seeking the good of the industries and of the workers concerned in them. The initiative in the matter_ of industrial re- organizations may have to come from the employers in many instances, but no good can result if labour organi- zations a-re dominated by the spirit of class warfare and: anti-capitalism.
A -COMMON INTEREST.
One of- the many reasons which undoubtedly hold bankers back from expressing more clearly and publicly: their views upon our industrial problems is the feeling that their views would be regarded as merely "capital-. istic," and might therefore do more harm than good. And yet if labour would pause for a moment to consider) they might recognize that as a plain matter of fact the interests of labour and the interests of the banker are virtually identical, for they desire not the prosperity' of one particular class, but the prosperity of trade and of the country as a whole. Moreover no one more than the banker desires that this prosperity should extend to every' aection of the community, for he knows full well that only so will the prosperity be established -on a safe and: enduring basis.
ninety per cent. of our industrial troubles to the policy of the trade
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