454 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 



If the Armament Ring in this country had taken such a view when it was 

 found what an enormous supply of munitions was required, it is doubtful if 

 there would have been such a shortage as there has been. Hundreds of firms 

 were willing and anxious to help in the production of munitions, but when 

 they offered their services they were met in many cases with a blank refusal, 

 and in all cases with little encouragement. And when, under pressure from the 

 Government, the Ring accepted outside help, in many cases the conditions 

 imposed on the sub-contractors were unfair in the extreme, apparently the whole 

 idea of the Ring being to make all the profit they could out of the troubles of 

 the Empire. It has been just as difficult to persuade the Armament Ring to 

 give up what they thought was their monopoly and to bring in outside woxks 

 to help in the production of munitions as it has been to persuade the Trades 

 Unions to forgo trade customs and to enable outside sources of labour to be 

 employed, such as women and other unskilled labour. But both have had to 

 do it. In other words, ' Dilution of Works ' has been as diflficult to effect as 

 ' Dilution of Labour,' and the position of both the Armament Ring and of the 

 workman would have been very different if they had consented freely to it 

 when it became obviously necessary for the safety of the Empire. 



_ Combination among workmen is admittedly a necessity if they are to have 

 fair play, but combination among employers has come later and is equally a 

 necessity. 



At present most of the principal federations of employers deal only with 

 wages questions and questions affecting labour, but they require to be extended 

 so as to take in all branches of the business of engineering. Labour has long 

 seen the importance of federation ; it is now for Capital to do the same. One 

 of the great difficulties has been that certain firms would not join, and a very 

 small proportion acting thus weakens the whole to a much greater extent than 

 the actual ratio of this small proportion of the whole. It is easy to see how 

 alive Labour is to this by the constant trouble over the Non-Union question, and 

 this is well put in the notice addressed last March to the Transport Workers of 

 the Mersey district, ' To be outside a Union is to be disloyal not only to your 

 own class but to yourselves individually.' What applies to Labour also applies 

 to firms ; for a firm to be outside the Federation is to be disloyal, not only to 

 its fellow-firms but to itself. 



Such a state of affairs is not tolerated in some of the countries competing 

 with us, and it is questionable whether action by the Government is not 

 advisable. 



An example of the mischief done by a few who would not fall into line with 

 the many is seen by the necessity for the Act compelling the early closing of 

 shops one day a week. The great majority were ready to close, but the action 

 of a small minority prevented their doing so, and in the end compulsion had to 

 be used on the minority. Legislation has not been necessary to prevent ' black- 

 legging ' in the labour world since other methods have been used which have 

 been practically successful, but it is quite possible it may be necessary to use 

 compulsion to make firms toe the line. 



Such combinations are not only for labour questions but also for all other 

 subjects affecting the engineering industry at large, and more especially the 

 special industries in which any one firm deals. Thus they resolve themselves 

 into general federations of all engineering' industries and minor ones dealing 

 with particular trades. 



The former deal chiefly with labour questions and questions affecting the 

 industry as a whole, the latter with those affecting any particular trade. 



Among the questions coming up to be considered by the latter class is the 

 standardisation of specifications and conditions of contracts as well as in some 

 cases the adjusting of prices to avoid unfair competition and to put the whole 

 trade on a paying basis. Much has been done in this direction with most 

 advantageous results in certain cases, but much more remains to be done if this 

 country is going to hold its place in the world. 



The necessities of research work have already been dealt with, and by the 

 pooling of such research work enormous advantages in any one trade could be 

 obtained. Such pooling of information has been effected with most beneficial 

 results, especially hi the chemical trade abroad. Any workable scheme which 



