The leaders of the British and American Missions to Soviet Russia returned to London on October 9. On October 12 Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Supply and head of the British delegation, was able to announce that already Soviet Russia is being supplied witn all that Britain and the United States can give her, and that already the tanks and aircraft that Stalin asked for in the month of October have been provided. In broadcasting this most remarkable feat, Lord Beaverbrook revealed that he and Mr. Averill Harriman, head of the American mission, had pledged the faith of the working men and women of Great Britain and the new world, and added: "But you must do the deed. Stalin puts his faith in our pledges. He thinks what we have promised we will perform. I think so too." "There can be no possible doubt that the pledges will be made good. Already the quota of tanks and planes for this month has been supplied, although the month is not yet half finished. Other promises remain to be fulfilled. There are guns and raw materials to be supplied—metals, rubber, jute, wool, phosphorous and diamonds. Most of these will have to come from the British Empire, at least during the early stages of the assistance to Russia, for geographical reasons. Doubtless the United States has already done its share in supplying aeroplanes and tanks, planes which had been sent to Britain under the Lease and Lend Act having been transferred to Russia even though the increase in the strength they would have meant to the Empire's forces would have been most welcome. How is it that the British Empire, which a year ago last June was facing the greatest crisis in its history, with munitions factories working overtime until men dropped down at their lathes to replace the equipment lost in the Battle of Flanders—how is it that the Empire can face this extra drain on its present resources without a quiver of apprehension?
The answer is greatly to the credit of those energetic statesmen who have been responsible for the reorganization of British production upon a war footing: to the credit fof employers who have realized that the factories they own are held during the emergency for the benefit of the state; and to the workers, who have welcomed legislation such as the Essential Works Order, which would have been condemned as worse than revolutionary three years ago. Mr. J. M. Keynes, the famous economist who has just been appointed a director of the Bank of England, unwittingly paid a great compliment to those responsible for this organization when a month ago he said that an increase in the unemployment figures in Great Britain was a sign that the Ministry of Labour was doing its job well, and that a fall in these figures was a similar sign that the Ministry of Supply was doing its job well also. Under the new system it has been the duty of the Minister of Labour to make. gute that workers are available when where they are wanted, and to this end a reserve of men and women has been formed which can be directed to any branch of the essential supply industries where the call is most urgent. "This task has been accomplished by the Ministry of Labour with the minimum of inconvenience to the workers, who have. in fact, welcomed the change In their destinies and have regarded it as a step in the right direction. The change has been brought about with as little interference with efficient plants as possible and through the ce-operation of the employers and the employed, though in both cases the switch over from unessential to essential production might easily have been attended by loss and hardship. The Ministry of Supply has had the duty of seeing that the essential factories have been kept busy. From the Ministry of Labour they have received all the labour they want. From other sources they have received the raw materials. Speaking on July 29 in the House of Commons, Mr. Ernest Bevin made a noteworthy statement in this connection. He said that the problem of raw materials for the factories had been solved, despite the Battle of the Atlantic. and that there was no factory idle for want of materials with which to work, unless there was some temporary and purely local hitch in transportation. That is a record to be proud of.
The criticism has been made that Britain has been long in making the change over from peacetime to wartime production, and to an extent the criticism has been justified. "Those responsible for the change over had. however, a long term plan in their minds. They were under no delusions about the prób-able length of the war, and their actions foresaw a steadily increasing crisis and demand for munitions as the months passed and the time for Britain to assume the offensive drew nearer. This long term plan was considerably interfered with by emergencies, notably that which occurred after the collapse of France. when the long term needs of the Empire had to be shelved in favour of the immediate replacement of the vast amount of equipment which had had to be left on the plains of Flanders. During three hectic months the losses were replaced, and British industry was able gradually to return to the slower process of transformation which had the long term objective in view. The country, the Empire, and now Soviet Russia are reaping the advantages of this patient and unhurried development. Britain can now afford' to help Russia without crippling her own forces. Sacrifices there will be; they are inevitable. But those who may fear that the Home country will be dangerously weakened by the sending of everything possible to the Soviets have no cause for worry. Britain's long term production policy is working. It is of working perfectly by any means, Unlike im the totalitarian states, it has been directive, not coercive. As Mr. Bevin stated in the House: "The policy has produced general satisfaction among the people of Britain. It has meant a great deal to the Russian masses and has countered the belief that this was an imperialist war. It has brought an amazing response in feeling and confidence from the working masses in the United States. It has brought hope to millions in Europe who see in the approach Britain has made to industrial problems that the British are not merely fighting to overthrow Hitler, but that Britain is going to take her place again in the vanguard of social and economic progress, that we are striving not merely to preserve liberty but to utilize all hat that means in laying the fundatie" 9 ola ton tage in the upward progress
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.