42 FIELDS, FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS. 



Sir William Armstrong in his Italian and Japanese 

 workshops communicates to Italians and Japanese those 

 capacities for managing huge iron masses which have 

 been nurtured on the Tyne ; the uproarious American 

 spirit of enterprise pervades the Old World ; the French 

 taste for harmony becomes European taste ; and Ger- 

 man pedagogy improved, I dare say is at home in 

 Russia. So, instead of trying to keep life in the old 

 channels, it would be better to see what the new condi- 

 tions are, what duties they impose on our generation. 



The characters of the new conditions are plain, and 

 their consequences are easy to understand. As the 

 manufacturing nations of West Europe are meeting 

 with steadily growing difficulties in selling their manu- 

 factured goods abroad, and getting food in exchange, 

 they will be compelled to grow their food at home ; 

 they will be bound to rely on home customers for their 

 manufactures, and on home producers for their food. 

 And the sooner they do so the better. 



Two great objections stand, however, in the way 

 against the general acceptance of such conclusions. We 

 have been taught, both by economists and politicians, 

 that the territories of the West European States are so 

 overcrowded with inhabitants that they cannot grow 

 all the food and raw produce which are necessary for 

 the maintenance of their steadily increasing populations. 

 Therefore the necessity of exporting manufactured goods 

 and of importing food. And we are told, moreover, 

 that even if it were possible to grow in Western Europe 

 all the food necessary for its inhabitants, there would 

 be no advantage in doing so as long as the same food 

 can be got cheaper from abroad. Such are the present 

 teachings and the ideas which are current in society at 

 large. And yet it is easy to prove that both are totally 

 erroneous : plenty of food could be grown on the terri- 

 tories of Western Europe for much more than their 

 present populations, and an immense benefit would be 



