Lord Beaverbrook and Wage Cuts The broadside from Lord Bcaverbrook
in the Daily Express, demanding the maintenance, and in due course the improvement, of the present standard of living and the present Wage level, is an interesting portent. A new crusade for the maintenance of wages might be no bad thing and the spectacle of Lord Beaverbrook putting himself at the head of the trade union forces in such a campaign would be impressive. In Many industries there will be a hard fight for the standard of living, and it is significant that the co-operative societies, from whom Lord Beaverbrook specifically claims support, arc at present engaged in a conflict with their employees over proposed wage-cuts. The economics of Lord Beaver- brook's manifesto are a little crude. Standards of living and wage-levels are not necessarily the same thing, and there are such expedients as sliding scales which in some trades work quite satisfactorily. Lord Beaverbrook seems to take small account of these. Moreover, the hard fact has to be faced that too emphatic an insistence on high wages in export industries may simply lead to loss of trade and increased unemployment. But, broadly speaking, Lord Bcaverbrook is right, and it is satisfactory in such a matter to find him on the side of the angels. •
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