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Show PHI PLEADS FDR SUPPORT OF WORLDJ.EAGUE Declares Covenant Worthless Worth-less if Nations Do Not Discard Big Armaments. Lloyd George Scans British Domestic Needs; Promises Industrial-Social Reforms. LONDON', Aug. IS. CBy the Associated" Press.) In a three hours' speech in the house of commons, in which he dealt with Great Britain's domestic affairs generally. Premier Lloyd George today disclosed three important decisions of the government. Two of these had been widely wide-ly discussed and the government's purpose pur-pose with regard to them was anxiously awaited. One of the decisions was that the postwar post-war plan of ultraprotection, under which imports were limited to those granted special licenses by the board of trade, will be abandoned September 1, and the putting into effect of measures to pre-,vent pre-,vent "dumping." 1 The second was the rejection of the majority report of Justice Sankey's coal commission, which provided for the gradual grad-ual nationalization of coal mines, and in its stead launching a plan for partial government control, by which the government gov-ernment will buy out the owners of coal lands who receive royalties from mining companies, give the miners a share in the control of the mines, organize the mines into districts and establish a fund for improving the living conditions of miners. Joint Council Proposed. Under the third decision the government govern-ment will embody in a bill recommendations recommenda-tions for a joint industrial council of employers and employees and a forty-eight-hour week and a living wage ap-plving ap-plving to nearly all Industries. The premier placed responsibility for the delay in making peace with Turkey upon the United Slates. Great Britain, he said, desired to know how far the United States was prepared to assume her share in guaranteeing the protection of people under the former Turkish yoke, and while awaiting this information Great Britain had occupied Turkish territory. ter-ritory. Mr. Llovd George used strong words in dealing with the necessity for the promoters pro-moters of the league of nations to show good faith by reducing armaments. He said that those who believed most in the league of nations must trust it most, and the rest would follow them. Great Britain Brit-ain was ready to reduce armaments as a first condition of real economy in world armaments, and if all other countries also were ready economy would result. If the nations increased their amaments, the premier declared, the league of nations na-tions would be a mere sham and a scrap of paper. Touches Economic Situation. The premier dwelt at length on the economic eco-nomic situation. The war. he said, had cost Great Britain 40,000,000,000 pounds and an outstanding fact of the present situation situa-tion was an alarming adverse trade balance bal-ance of SOO.000,000 pounds. The national debt he pointed out, had grown from 641 0(10.000 pounds to 7.800,000,000. "We cannot prosper," said Lloyd George "we cannot even exist without recovering and maintaining our international interna-tional trade. We must bring up the trade balance, adding to our exports and lessening lessen-ing our Imports. In every direction di-rection we are spending more and earn-1,, earn-1,, CS We are consuming more and we' are producing less. These are facts. It cannot last." The premier declared that Great Britain Brit-ain would never improve economic matters mat-ters until there came an increase in production pro-duction "There Is no other alternative, he exclaimed, "except quitting the country coun-try for which we fought for four years. Summer Session Ended. The occasion of the speech of the premier pre-mier was the closing of the summer session ses-sion of the house of commons. VV nlle Mr Lloyd George spoke with his old-tlm'o old-tlm'o fire, held the attention of the house and frequently gained Its npplause, he really was speaking on the defensive, for his government is under a remarkable bombardment from a large majority of the newspapers, which are charging It with enormous extravagance under headlines head-lines such as "The Road to Ruin. Lord Robert Cecil, Great Britain s sponsor for the league of nations. followed Mr. Lloyd George, spoke with emotion regarding the league. "It would be bettor to scrap it altogether" alto-gether" said Lord Robert, "unless the government means to work it as a reality. T am not satisfied with the attitude of some of the officials and the spirit of the bureaucracy toward it." The need for assisting Armenia, he continued, was overwhelming. Condemn to Extinction. "To take away the British troops." he said "means to condemn these unhappy people m extinction; the remnants of them will be slaughtered almost to the 'nit woman and child. If there is any competition between help for TVnskine (l he antl-Bnlshevtki commander In southern Russia) and help for Armenia. Armenia surely has the first claim." The laborltes sharply criticised the government's gov-ernment's coal mining proposal and its failure to nationalize coal mines. William Wil-liam Brace, labor member for Pouth Glamorgan and president of the South Wales Miners' Federation, described the (Contiiiued on Page 2, Column 6.) PREMIER" PLEADS" FDR COM! (Continued from Page One.) government's plan as "the establishment of a Rlorified combine." In discussing tile financial nnrt Industrial Indus-trial situation the premier said that there was an alarming trade baianco against the United Kingdom of SO0,000,0t'0. which threatened to increase. lie announced an-nounced hat Import restrictions would be removed September 1. The premier was pessimistic concerning the financial future of the country unless consumption was decreased and production produc-tion increased. Under present conditions, he said, H was Impossible to compete with American imports In Kngland. He said the government could not accept ac-cept Justice Sankey's scheme for the state purchase of mines, but had accepted in principle his plan for the unification and reorganization of the coal Industry. The war cost forty billion pounds, Premier Pre-mier Lovld George declared. Most of this sum was spent for purposes) of destruction. destruc-tion. Would Take Long Time. lie asserted that tho chango from war to peace conditions would take just as Ions as the change from peace to war. The first outstanding fact of the present situation was the alarming adverse trade balance, he said. The Import restrictions -which will terminate ter-minate September 1, he continued, had given British manufacturers an opportunity oppor-tunity of making a dealing in goods which otherwise would have been hurried here from foreign countries. The national debt, he declared, had grown from 641,000,000 pounds to 7,800,000,-000 7,800,000,-000 pounds. "We have advanced some four bllllion pounds to the world, from which we are getting something like 200,000,000 pounds yearly in interest. We have sold 1.000,-000,000 1.000,-000,000 pounds of foreign securities to pay for war material for ourselves and our allies. We have borrowed 1.200,000,000 pounds from America and Canada for the same purpose. Our allies, including Russia, Rus-sia, owe us 1,800.000,000 pounds. "At the present moment our adverse trade balance Is 800,000,000 pounds. Must Bridge Chasm. "We must bridge that chasm or at the bottom of it is ruin. We tire building a temporary bridge by borrowing, not only state borrowing, but traders borrowing for raw material, food, and so forth. That will only add to the catastrophe "In every direction we are spending more. We are earning less. We aro consuming con-suming more and we are producing less. These aro facts. It cannot last." Tho production of coal this year, the premier continued, would be 2 0 0,000,0 0 0 tons, compared with 2S7,O00,0OO before the war, although 30,000 more miners are employed em-ployed at present than In 1914. A ton of coal which cost 10 shillings in 1018 now costs 26 shillings. He declared that coal was the chief factor in the industrial situation. He said that the outlook was indeed dark, unless the conditions which he stated were changed. He continued: "In America the wages aro higher, hours of labor are no longer and the labor cost In proportion to the articles produced is less. This being the case, competition Is Impossible, and no tariff will remedy this." Premier Lloyd George's expected declaration dec-laration on labor and economic questions attracted crowds to the house of commons com-mons today. Virtually every member was in his seat. Lobbies, galleries and outside out-side courts were crowded. |