Better

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Stafford Cripps last week gave a smile of welcome for his new granddaughter. He also had an unaccustomed smile, almost as warm, for British industry.

In 1947, he announced, steel production had passed the Cripps target of 14 million tons. Textile production was higher than at any time since war's end. Exports of engineering products such as machinery, vehicles and electrical goods were at twice the 1938 volume. Coal output fell only 300,000 tons short of the 200-million-ton target for 1947.

After bestowing this benign "Well done," Cripps wagged a grandfatherly finger. Even if British production reaches his target--140% of the prewar level--the trading deficit with the U.S. will be running at about $1 billion a year. Without Marshall Plan aid, he warned, Britain's dollars and expendable gold reserve will be exhausted by midsummer. Then Britain will "be driven back upon a policy of immediate self-preservation." Cripps meant that, without further U.S. aid, Britain would have to cut off U.S. food, raw material and machinery imports, fall back on barter pacts with other countries.

Cripps had another warning: "Many of our products are now beginning to meet competition. Hitherto we have been inclined to suppose that production was all that mattered, irrespective of costs. . . . This . . . can only lead eventually to.. . . inflation, and . . . ruin our trade. We must set about reducing costs as vigorously as we can."

This was as close as Cripps dared come to telling British workers (who last fortnight, through the Trades Union Congress, said that they would not accept wage ceilings) that they must not expect wage increases. "The Chancellor," said the Tory Daily Mail almost with relish, "is pretty good at these unpleasant jobs."

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