58 THE EMPLOYMENT OF CAPITAL 



sity for natural defence. The defence itself is 

 not, in the present condition of mankind, a waste 

 of resources, any more than a police force is a 

 waste of resources. But in this country defence 

 is wastefully provided for. When we find a 

 minister, as soon as he takes office, undoing the 

 work of his predecessor, when we hear him 

 continually explaining what the errors of his 

 predecessor were, we need not get behind the 

 curtain to learn that there is waste. Or when 

 we see that our neighbours get for ten shillings 

 what with us runs into pounds, we cannot but 

 feel that if we knew more we should know more 

 about waste. 



How, then, should these forms of waste be dealt 

 with ? To speak only of the first and worst 

 form— to take away by force from steady, indus- 

 trious artisans their dinner glass of beer would be 

 to inflict a hardship. To destroy a gigantic trade, 

 such as brewing has grown to be, would be to 

 inflict a far greater hardship, considering merely 

 that thus a whole host of honest workers would 

 be made wageless, a host containing numbers of 

 people who have never tasted alcoholic liquor. 

 But that is what always comes of superficial 

 remedies. 



What is wanted is to get at the real seat of 

 a national disease. How are we to do it? Only 

 by in some way altering the working and living 

 conditions of those who at present have not a 

 sufficient inducement to drink less intoxicating 

 liquor than they now do. 



