At the present moment we seem to have reached one
of those blocks in the traffic so fat as industrial progress is concerned, and it is not surprising that.- continued unemployment and unsatisfactory foreign trade figures should ;be occasions_ for great anxiety. A few months ago when there was relief at. the. passing of the Dawes plan and when America was showing renewed confidence in Europe it looked as though some_ progress might be coming, but the movement was slow, and while there has been firmness in securities, and favourable move- ' ments in the exchanges showing increasing confidence in this country as a financial centre where money can safely be deposited, there seems to have been little or no improvement in the industrial position. Nor, I am afraid, will there be much in this short._ article to 'iudicaie whether a radical change -Ka. the -better is at hand, but inasmuch as something at all events is gained by a clearer recognition of the facts of the case I propose to suggest some of the main causes of the present " block " and the obscure outlook and then to mention one or two directions where, I think, it may fairly be said that there are not wanting some signs of a change for the better.
Previous page
