* * The decision of the smaller trade unions in
the West Riding Woollen Industry to support an application for safeguarding, though employers in the Bradford area had hitherto piped to them in vain, may not have much result although a Board of Trade Committee to consider the application has been appointed. It is now common knowledge that most trade unionists in this industry have no intention of going back on Free Trade. There is no question, as some people seem to think, of a tug-of- war between political and industrial interests within the Labour Party ; the opposition to safeguarding springs from the trade unions themselves wherever the leaders take the long view that the advantages to the home trade would not counterbalance the losses in the export trade. This view must surely be right so long as Great Britain's industrial life depends on imported raw materials. We would add that when the economic interdependence of the nations is becoming more evident every day, insulation by tariffs is an anachronism. If the woollen manu- facturers bring their machinery and methods up to date they will be surprised at the reduction of their costs. The members of the Board of Trade Committee are Sir H. Llewellyn Smith, Mr. F. R. Davenport, and Mr. G. N. Barnes. Mr. Davenport alone among these is said to be a safeguarder. The three already form the Standing Committee of the Merchandise Marks Act.
Previous page
