Britain against acceptance of the reduced earnings which short time means is only one part of a larger question—whether Labour can hold en to its present wages in view of the depression in industry and the ever increasing competition from abroad. Apart altogether from variations in currency British workmen are more highly paid than any others in Europe, and it is only by a continuance of trade prosperity that the country can afford to give them these wages. As far back as October Lord Weir struck a warning note when he said:
The maintenance of to-day's standard of living is impossible under to-day's conditions of volume and efficiency production. No improvement in the standard of living of our people will be possible until our productivity is not only enormously increased, but is much more efficiently secured.
That was before the present unemployment situation had developed, and it is doubtful whether Lord Weir could put it as mildly to-day. For not only is the standard of living jeopardized but the whole question of any wages whatsoever is at stake for continually increasing numbers. When our produce—coal for instance—is no longer saleable, owing to its cost, there must be a shrinkage in the amount of money coming to somebody, and if shareholders bear their proportion, it seems more than probable that Labour as a whole will be unable to withstand the pressure towards lower wages.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.