l66 



NATURE 



[October 23, 1919 



if we insist on having the article and refuse to pav 

 the cost. But this remedy is applicable only to some 

 small part of our total product. When we come to 

 such industries as those now talked of it is impossible. 

 We must make the industry self-contained. 



But it may be said that those most concerned are 

 not striving alone, or even chiefly, for higher wages, 

 but desire to participate in the management and to 

 bear their part in deciding the questions of policy 

 which up to now have been in the hands of the em- 

 ployers. To this no fundamental objection can be 

 raised. The more completely the men engaged in 

 any enterprise understand it, the better it will probably 

 be for the whole. But large questions of policv 

 require knowledge and appreciation of circumstances 

 which can with difficulty be acquired by persons whose 

 life is necessarily passed in quite other surroundings. 

 That the fullest information should be given to the 

 persons in question cannot be denied. The claim to 

 deal with matters of management lying quite bevond 

 their competence cannot be conceded. The final im- 

 pulse comes from one mind which cannot divest itself 

 of its responsibility or exercise it under such condi- 

 tions as those suggested would impose. 



.\ universal unrest pervades the world. This had 

 indeed already become apparent before 1914. The 

 war has exacerbated the svmptoms which were alreadv 

 sufficientlv menacing. Remedies bv legislation had 

 been applied here and elsewhere without success. In 

 the nineteenth century the political enianicipation of 

 the inhabitants of this countrv was graduallv effected. 

 Bv the end of it freedom had been nracticallv won. 

 The great changes which occurred in the political 

 condition of the country as it was before \%yi and 

 as it became bv the end of the centurv had been 

 brought about with relatively little trouble. Ft is not 

 surprising that this should have led to the conclusion 

 that economic changes could be effected with equal 

 ease. Perhaps the confusion which we continuallv 

 observe between a "law" imnosed bv the will of a 

 legislature and a "law of Nature," so called, is 

 resDonsible for this conclusion. 



leaving «ained political freedom comparativelv 

 easilv, oeople seem to have thought economic freedom 

 could be got with eoual facilitv. We have had 

 numerous instances of this on which it is unnecessary 

 to dwell. Concessions have been made bv which, 

 apparently, life was made much easier for certain 

 people. But the fund out of which these concessions 

 were to come has not been increased. Manv of them, 

 though not so intended, had the effect of positively 

 lessening that total. In a perfect world it ought not 

 to have had this effect, but, human nature being what 

 it is, it was easy to foresee the result. It could have 

 been foretold that a minimum wage established bv 

 law would sooner or later reduce the outnut of the 

 man naid by piece. It had that effect on the coal- 

 miners at a very early date after its enactment. 



The demand for higher wages without a corresponding 

 increased output was causing anxietv before the out- 

 break of war. The inordinate expenditure which the 

 war brought with it seemed to justify the contention 

 of the workmen that the claims thev had put forward 

 could easilv have been met in the past, and must 

 be conceded when things became normal a.rfain. It 

 was forgotten that all thought of economic production 

 had ceased. We were living, not on the earnings of 

 the vear, but on credit raised on our expectations of 

 the future. In the oast this course was also pursued, 

 but fas has alreadv been pointed out) in verv different 

 circumstances, for the capital thus created was cal- 

 culated to yield an adequate return to the persons 

 interested. 



None of the remedies propo.sed touches the difficulty. 



NO. 2608, VOL. 104.1 



We must obtain a larger product if we are to have 

 more to divide. Restrictions in output, whether pro- 

 duced by the act of the Legislature, the will of the 

 worker, or (let us add) the hindrance of a tarif), will 

 fail to effect this. None of the short cuts now' pro- 

 posed will lead us to our goal. Can we convince 

 those most deeply interested of the truth of this? 

 The task is not an easy one, for promises without end 

 are made to accomplish what is desired without pur- 

 suing the patient and laborious course which alone 

 can lead to a happy solution. For my part, I rely 

 on the common sense of my fellow-countrvmen. The 

 speedy abolition of all artificial prices bv which we 

 shall get to know the real cost of what we buy will 

 be a great help. We may hope that on this will follow 

 an earnest desire on the part of all to do their best 

 for the commonweal — convinced that on this intel- 

 ligent altruism we are best serving our own ends. .A 

 better division of industry would ensue. The net 

 result would be a happy and contented nation, in 

 which the efforts of each would be more guided bv 

 the common welfare than bv the selfish desire for 

 the advantage of the individual. 



None of these things can be accomplished bv .^cts 

 of Parliament. Statutory prices and statutory hours 

 offer no solution — rather increase the evil than lessen 

 it. There is no royal road by which we can travel 'o 

 a solution. We must, bv patience and mutual for- 

 bearance, seek to alter the present hostile attitude. 

 We mav frankly accept Prof. Cannan's opinion that 

 " the economic organisation of the nineteenth and early 

 twentieth centuries will not endure for ever, but will 

 be gradually replaced by something else more suitable 

 for its own dav and generation."' 



Let all parties in the State bend themselves to this 

 change, in which, again to quote Prof. Cannan, 

 " free associations of free men able to go out and 

 come in as each pleased would voluntarily give ser- 

 vice for service, irrespective of domicile ard 

 nationality." This is a change which we may agree 

 with hini in thinking more "desirable than arv 

 restoration of the feudal system basing economic 

 organisation on the territory of the lord, even if the 

 personal lord of the Middle -Ages is replaced by a 

 Parliament elected bv universal suffrage and propor- 

 tional representation."^ 



FORTHCOMING BOOKS OF SCIENCE. 



SINCE the appearance of the article on " Forth- 

 coming Books of Science " in N.ature of 

 October 16, some further lists of books likely to appear 

 in the near future have reached us. The Cambridge 

 University Press is to publish "The Transmutation of 

 Bacteria," Dr. S. Gurney-Dixon. and "Notes on Mag- 

 netism," C. G. Lamb. Messrs. C. Griffin and Co., 

 Ltd., announce "The Flow and Measurement of Air 

 and Gas," .\. B. Kason ; "The Practical Design of 

 Plate Girder Bridges," H. Bird, illustrated; "Marine 

 Diesel Engines : Maintenance and Running," J. Lamb, 

 illustrated; "Laboratory .\ids in Practical Mechanics," 

 G. S. Bowling; ".Airman's International Dictionary, 

 English-French-Italian-German," Lieut. M. M. 

 Dander; "A Treatise on Surveying and Levelling," 

 S. Threlfall, illustrated; "Modern Mine Valuation," 

 D. Penman, illustrated; "Peat Reference Book," 

 F. T. Gissing; "Coke-Oven and By-Products Works 

 Chemistry," T. B. Smith, illustrated ; " Coal Economy : 

 The Reduction of National Coal Consumption by 

 _w Million Tons a Vear," W. H. Casmey; ".Analytical 

 Chemistry as a Profession for Women," Emily .\. L. 

 Forster; "Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry." 



1 " Coal Nationalisation," p. 25. - //-iW. 



