STOCK-TAKING 183 



peace if these farmers are bent on class orga- 

 nization?" Well, there are different qualities of 

 peace, and many treaties of peace have been 

 negotiated in the past, almost all of which 

 meant advantage to one party and suffering to 

 the other. One is reminded of the scriptural 

 quotation, "Ye go about saying peace, peace, 

 when there is no peace. ' ' A simple illustration may 

 help us to think more clearly on this situation. 



The writer remembers that in the days of his 

 attendance at public school there was a big boy 

 who had his own way in everything in the 

 school grounds during play hours. He was a 

 bully and "lorded it" over the others, for no 

 one dared to touch him because of his superior 

 strength. But years went on and one day a 

 new thing happened. One of his inferiors in 

 strength had rapidly overtaken him in size and 

 this day the two were led into a "fisticuff" in 

 which the erstwhile champion got the worst of it. 

 The effect upon him was revolutionary. His 

 haughtiness disappeared ; he had been forced to 

 respect another as his equal, and he instantly 

 manifested readiness to co-operate with his 

 playmates. 



The picture needs little application. In point 

 of influence, agriculture has been down; it was 

 not respected. The farmer has been the sport 

 of cartoonists and politicians, the object of 



