222 RURAL DENMARK 



tact with thousands of waste mankind the human 

 refuse of the towns. 



Speaking generally, in the villages such folk 

 scarcely exist. But in the cities, whither so many 

 flock in faith and hope, they are manufactured by the 

 hundred. For most of these the competition is too 

 fierce. They are incompetent to cope with the diffi- 

 culties of what is called high civilisation. At the first 

 touch of misfortune, of temptation, of sickness, they 

 go down, and but too often fall, like Lucifer, to rise no 

 more. The shelters, the jails, the hospitals, the work- 

 houses, the Poor Law returns, all tell the same story. 

 Moreover, what class of people are bred in the slums 

 of Glasgow or of London ? Yes, in Glasgow, where 

 I was informed not long ago that one out of every 

 twelve of the inhabitants has no home, but sleeps at 

 night in some refuge or common lodging-house. 



In Denmark they understand these evils, and do 

 their best to remedy them ; nor do they strive in vain, 

 for whereas in 1880 it numbered a rural population of 

 1,417,071, in 1 90 1 that rural population had risen to 

 1,512,975. Moreover, the oversea emigration has 

 decreased largely from 8516 in 1906 104558 in 1908, 

 which are the latest figures available. I forget 

 what the statistics for Great Britain as to the rural 

 population and emigration are for the corresponding 

 periods, but I should be surprised if they do not show 

 very different proportional results. 



It may be argued that our country folk stop on 

 the land, if not as small-holders, of whom there are 

 comparatively few in England, then as agricultural 

 labourers. But this is just what they do not do ; it 

 would be scarcely too much to say that most of the 

 young men and women try their best to escape from 



