Hammering It Home

Britain's Minister of Fuel, dour Emanuel Shinwell, balefully noted that some capitalists were lifting up their heads again. Austin Motors' Leonard P. Lord had charged that the Government's February auto production estimate of 10,000 was 2,000 more than the truth. Government estimators were under orders to "paint a rosy picture," said Lord. To the Leeds Labor Council Shinwell made an answer which was Labor's frankest public statement of its attitude toward nationalization of industry:

". . . Some motor manufacturer has been complaining about the Government and apparently the motor industry leaders are not prepared to play ball. We do not want to nationalize every industry in the country--at any rate, not at present, but they had better be warned. The people of this country are in no mood to stand any nonsense from private ownership. If they cannot deliver the goods the Government will do so. . . .

"Private property must be used for the benefit of the nation. The private owner can have his rake-off so long as the rake-off is not too expensive, but this attitude on the part of private enterprise that the Government must not come in and must leave it to private enterprise, is just plain nonsense and bunkum."

If manufacturers had not got the point before, they had it now. Any industry that refused to "cooperate" with the Labor Government's economic program might find itself nationalized.

Gone was the day when Manny Shinwell could generously tell a group of glum businessmen that after Labor was done with industry there would "still remain something like 80% and you can play around with that if you like." Now he roared that there was "no department of public activity, whether national or local, in which Labor hasn't got to have a finger in the pie." He thundered at .his hearers: "We must be in everything because we are the country."

British Chamber of Commerce Chairman John S. Dodd growled back: "If Mr. Shinwell will concentrate on producing more coal and refrain from spending time on threats and talk of 'bunkum,' there is a fairly good chance we shall produce our goods before he produces his."

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