PRODIGIOUS TASK

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 100, 25 October 1916, Page 7

PRODIGIOUS TASK

RECONSTRUCTION AFTER

THE WAR

LEADERS' THOUGHTS

(PROM OUR BWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 12th September.

Mr. Balfour, after inspecting tho ship' yards and naval works on the Clyde :

"It is splendid; it is magnificent; and I am here to tell you that, splendid and magnificent though it be, we at the Admiralty call for move. We Started the war more powerful than any of our • enemies; indeed, more powerful than all our enemies combined. Since the war broke out that Fleet has not only increased absolutely in number, in power, and in efficiency, but, to the best of my belief, it has increased relatively also. You may be inclined to ask why, in these circumstances, I ask you to make oven greater efforts, but the question is capable of satisfactory answer. The enemy, by actions appropriate to a weaker party which is completely unscrupulous, is ready to adopt methods of submarine warfare by which they hope to bring between their fleet and ours something in the nature of equality. That being so, we have been compelled to increase all the machinery at our disposal in meeting this new and insidious form of attack. We have not been unsuccessful, but the increase in the number of our smaller craft, inevitably consequent upon this changed condition of warfare, lias thrown upon our yards a strain wholly unexpected before the commencement of the war. When the war broke out the number of vessels calculated to deal effectively with the submarine menace could be counted by hundreds, from the destroyers downwards to the paddle, mine-sweepers. They can be now counted by thousands. The justification for the vast expenditure which the creation of that huge fleet has caused, for the dangers run, for the triumphs obtained, for the men in manning it, is the protection of our mercantile marine. A war like the present requires many things for its successful conduc-. Men are necessary, shells and guns are necessary, but the fundamental necessity underlying all these, and without which the most ample supply of all the other necessaries would be absolutely empty and useless, is the necessity to maintain that practical command of the seas, which the British fighting ships and the British mercantile marine, acting in collaboration and cooperatipn for so many glorious generations of our history, have been a-ble to maintain. (Cheers.) That is the fundamental thing. It would be utterly vain for our Allies to show the heroic bravery they have shown on the plains of Galicia, in Italy,, and in France if there were not. in the background sea, power and the capacity for using it, upon which fche whole fabric of the Allied cause ultimately depends." (Cheers.) RECONSTRUCTION BY WORK. Lord Sydenham, to The Times : " We have relegated political economy to Saturn, and we are in danger of forgetting that although the professors may disagree the dismal science is not destitute of fundamental truths which cannot be disregarded with impunity. The prosperity of a nation always has depended, and always must depend ultimately, upon trained brain-power in direction and conscientious work in execution. Legislative and administrative measures do not account for the amazing advance of German industrialism, winch was plainly due to energy, thoroughness, and the painstaking application of scientific methods to business of all kinds. German trade can be captured and held only by similar means. The rebuilding of our financial position will be impossible unless the relations between employers and employed can be made to rest on mutual trust and co-operation for common objects. There have been great faults on both sides, aggravated by hostility fostered for political purposes. 'The company system has tended to substitute a- machine for the personal touch which is invaluable 'in all dealings between • men and men, and has sometimes led to a certain harshness of attitude which directors as a body would not for a moment intend. On the other hand many employers liave earnestly endeavoured to provide for the welfare of employees, and have perfectly recognised that to guard their health, recreation, and contentment is a plain duty. What is done in one case cannot be impossible in others, and the common sacrifices and sorrows which have drawn all classes together during the war should smooth the way to fuller mutual understanding. Employers, on their side, must forget some past experiences and seek to establish more direct relations with their employees, treating them with greater frankness and enabling them to share in profits, which depend ou the good work of both. To admit manual labour to some share in counsels, as Mr. Gosling suggests, would not be impracticable if the employer could feel that he was dealing with free men and not with members of an army receiving orders from distant commanders not acquainted with the necessities of individual concerns. Straight before us lies the stern necessity of work for all classes alike—work which, whether mannal or of tho brain alone, honours the worker equally. Of the many questions which now demand careful thought, none is morie vitally important than the reorganisation of industrial conditions, and the solution can only be attained by the general good will which is the gauge of true patriotism. The Empire has been saved by the inherent fighting power and endurance of the British people. Its prosperity can be rebuilt on a, lasting foundation only by effort in which all must share. There will be no place for idlers or for self-indulgence in any class, and the self-sacrifice of our supremely gallant soldiers and sailors which is overcoming the most formidable obstacles is a shining example of the spirit in whicbi great difficulties of another kind must be met and conquered."

ANOTHER STANDPOINT.

The Bey. W. Temple, president of the Education Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science :

"The present interest of Englishmen ill education is partly due to the fact tJiat they are impressed by German thoroughness. Now let there be no mistake. The war has shown the effectiveness of German education in certain departments of life, but it has shown not only its ineffectiveness, but its grotesque absurdity in regard to other departments of life, and those the departments which are, even in a political sense, the most important. In the organisation of material resources Germany has won wellmerited admiration, but in regard to moral conduct and in regard to all that art of dealing with other men and other nations which is closely allied to moral conduct, she has won for himself the horror of the civilised world. If you take the whole result, and ask whether we prefer German or English education, I-at any rate should not hesitate in my reply. With all its faults, English education is a thing generically superior to the German. A general education nnist inchule : if it is to be truly general, the training of .nil the facilities, and (Ms plainly cover? manual witc as vveil as mental" work. STechmcal iastwioUon

may be of commercial value, but it has nothing to do with education, and''we, as interested in education, have nothing to do with it, except that we protest against such early specialisation as may develop the Wealth-producing capacities at the cost of dwarfing the human nature as a whole. Ediioattion is very vitally concerned to see that the physical conditions are such as may he the basis for tlie^ intellectual and literal life. For the spiritual development of the rising generation we urgently need that corporate life in schools which the so-called public schools possess in so large aj measure. The aim of education is primarily spiritual, md there are three,, and only three, primary aims of the spiritual life. These are Goodness, Truth, and Beauty."