uly 29. tain is a power which has come to stay and increase, and there is no reason why the trades unions, if wisely guided and directed and working in a spirit "of understanding with the employers—which is the ideal of trades-unionism and not the antithesis as some of the extremists would have us believe—should not permanently constitute a means of ce-operative protection so far as the workers themselves are concerned, and a channel of mutual confidence and assistance between employer and man. Although it, cannot be denied that there is an unreasonable and—unreasoning extremist clement in some of the trades unions at Home, it is equally certain that the majority of our present-day trades-union leaders take a serious view of their positions and their responsibilities, not only to those they directly represent, but also to the community generally. Such a tone would appear to be Mr. F. Watts who, in his recent pre: sidential address to the National Foremen's Association; made a thoughtful and serious reference to the matter of the emigration of skilled workers to Ameri South Afviea and Austi Watts went so far as to say that, if the country knew, and if the higher management of the engineering firms fully' realized, what this emigration of highly skilled mechanics meant, the pre= sent uneasiness as to the future would be intensified. Me very appositely remarked that the very qualities of initiative and enter prise which marked these men from their fellows were the urging forces which sent them overseas, and asserted that the standard and quality of general engineering work done in Great Britain would suffer in conse quence, While it is much to be regretted that some of Britain's best eraftsmen are leaving the country, the situation would not seem to be so gloomy as Mr, Watts would a pear to imagine. Skilled workers have been emigrating from Great Britain for more than forty years, but others, equally skilled, have always arisen to take their places. It i natural evolution brought about by the apprentice ship system at Home, and there is no reason to believe that, the present-day apprentice is any Jess intelligent or less adaptable than his predecessor's who are now leaving. in large numbers for abroad—the British colonies themselves taking a large proportion. Asa matter of fact, the present emigration may prove to be something of an advantage.
Many of the men who have gone and are going abroad were speci~ ally skilled in armament work, which will never again reach its former dimensions (at least wwe hope), and for the performance of Which there are ample trained men left behind in. the United Kingdom. Since the armistice thousands of apprentices have been trained in British works, and when conditions improve and there is full scope for them all to be employed, it is extremely improbable that they will fail to justify their training or to uphold the reputation of the British mechanic for quality and reliability.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.