i:\tki-:n"{II .Mi'.xi' oi-- [XDi-srin-. ^^47 



dircctii,)!!. One may dam ii]) a river, or even chani^e its course, hut one 

 cannot (it is said) raise wa.ye^ above its unrei>ulated price, ahove tlie 

 level of a sum wliicli ,1 man will .iccepl rather than 1)l- starved. 



What, then, is Lalidiir's share? Labotir is tlic ^realesl 

 factor in all produce, hiit we lia\-e not yet (k'\ ised an effective 

 scheme of a])j)ortionnient. What we have so far arrived at is 

 — what ought never to have been forgotten as it was — that the 

 lahotirer is worthy of liis hire. .\ man shotild command a living 

 wage, it has taken a long time to wring tliat admission out of 

 the em])loyiiig class, htit the " lixing wage " is now one of the 

 accepted axioms of the age. However, that settles little or 

 nothing, unless we go further. What is a " living wage "? The 

 same wage which was a living one three years ago is so no 

 longer. The war has brought about a considerable increase in 

 the cost of living, but the ([uestion is, have wages gone up 

 proportionately? That is the f|uestioti that needs to be solved 

 i)efore we can get rid of the uncanny thitig called industrial 

 unrest, and so far there has not been devised a scientific method 

 of determining the bearing on wages of the rise in prices. In var- 

 ioits businesses a larger ratio of profit is now being earned (though 

 wtme have suffered a set-back) through the operation of increased 

 prices on account of the war, and, in the absence of any com- 

 })ulsion, those reaping such excess profits should give seriotis 

 consideration to the claims of their employees to a fair share in 

 the form of increased wages so as to counterbalance the higher 

 cost of living — that is. after suitable provision has been made 

 to safeguard the business from the prospect of diminished i)nitlts 

 in the future from the same cause. 



The public are very prone to look askance at high rates 

 of jjrofit, and have a suspicion that the law ought to inter\ene. 

 But profft is exactly w-hat we all need. It is the life-blood of 

 industrial jjrogress, of scientific research, of editcational ad- 

 vance, i^ven if the consumer had to pay more for everything 

 in order to sustain the profits of productive industries, he wottld 

 get much more in return than he gave. Except in the case of 

 articles for which there is a very limited demand, a slight in- 

 crease in the selling prfce will make all the difference between 

 an undertaking which merely " carries on " and one which is 

 able continuously to de\elo]), to s|)end money on improvements in 

 its works and in the conclitions of its workpeo]jle, to organise 

 research, to test and exploit new inventions, and to ])ush its 

 enterprise in fresh directions. 



Most of the accusatiotis brought against the British manti- 

 facturer may be traced to the meagreness or uncertainty of his 

 ])r()fits. The usual indictment is that he is slow to take up new 

 machinery or new processes ; that he neglects research ; that he 

 is indifferent to the value of high technical education; and that 

 he allows American or German ci:)mpetitors to outstri]) him in the 

 vigour and scope of their selling organisations, luich of the 

 counts in this indictment may be true; but in each case the 

 defence is that nothing can be done by any firm which does not 



