ITS LESSONS AND ITS WARNINGS 101 



be made available men incapable of military 

 service, Belgian refugees, women, returned sol- 

 diers (wounded but not disabled), tramps, casuals 

 and German prisoners. 1 



The schools, too, should be emptied of all boys 

 of twelve years old and upwards, and of as many 

 teachers as can be spared. These boys would, 

 by contact with real life and by practical work 

 in the fields, get a far better education than 

 they are now getting in the schools. This form 

 of labour is no doubt of a motley and an emergency 

 kind, and there are difficulties connected with 

 it ; but the difficulties could be overcome. 

 The first requisite is to have a competent 

 Belgian or English agriculturist as a director 

 in each colony of workers. These directors are 

 not difficult to find, and with a few able assistants 

 they would soon bring the colonies into order 

 and usefulness. The housing difficulty could 



1 It is estimated that at the beginning of June last 

 there were about 211,000 Belgian refugees men, women, 

 and children in the country. The number of peasants 

 among them may be comparatively small, but Belgian 

 workmen, almost to a man, had some interest in the soil of 

 their country and are familiar with the Belgian methods 

 of cultivation. 



