Post-War Economy
In a speech at Edinburgh on Monday, Mr. Bevin outlined some of the measures which the Government have been studying to ensure an orderly transition from war to peace. The transition must be a gradual one ; an abrupt change-over would lead to industrial and economic chaos and soaring prices. The exact procedure of de mobilisation cannot be forecast, depending as it will on how long Japan holds out and how many men are needed for the occupa- tion of Europe. Goods for a long time will continue to be in short supply, and rationing must inevitably continue, though not neces- sarily for as long as the five years suggested by Mr. Bevin. As the Minister of Labour pointed out, every home will need replenishing, and as the factories begin to turn out more goods for home consump- tion everyone will want to buy, and controls will have to be exercised to ensure fair distribution and to' prevent exorbitant prices. The aim of control, he said, would be to keep purchasing power at the same level. But the orderly passage by successive stages to a sound normal economy will call for judiciCus effort from private industry no less than from the State. The country cannot become prosperous without a flourishing export trade, and to gain that 'our industrialists will have to study the needs of foreign markets not only under the exceptional circumstances of the year or two following the war, but under the conditions which are likely to prevail when the nations are beginning to settle down. The Government has to look ahead, and the individual also, in adjusting our own economy to that of foreign countries with whom arrangements have to be made.
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