Social and Political Views 



To Mr. E. Smedley 

 Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. December 26, 1910. 



Dear Mr. Smedley, — Thanks for your long and interest- 

 ing letter. . . . Man is, and has been, horribly cruel, and it 

 is indeed difacult to explain why. Yet that there is an 

 explanation, and that it does lead to good in the end, I 

 believe. Praying is evidently useless, and should be, as it 

 is almost always selfish — for owr benefit, or our families, or 

 our nation.— Yours very truly, Alfred E. Wallace. 



To Mr. W. G. Wallace 



Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. August 20, 1911. 



My dear Will, — . . . The railway strike surpasses the 

 Parliament Bill in excitement. On receipt of Friday's 

 paper, I sat down and composed and sent off to Lloyd 

 George a short but big letter, on large foolscap paper, 

 urging him and Asquith, as the two strong men of the 

 Government, to take over at once the management of the 

 railways of the entire country, by Koyal Proclamation — 

 on the ground of mismanagement for seventy years, and 

 having brought the country to the verge of starvation and 

 civil war; to grant an amnesty to all strikers (except for 

 acts of violence), also grant all the men's demands for one 

 year, and devote that time to a deliberate and impartial 

 inquiry and a complete scheme of reorganisation of the 

 railways in the interest, first of the public, then of the 

 men of all grades, lastly of the share and bond owners, 

 who will become guaranteed public creditors. ... It has 

 been admitted and proved again and again, that the men 

 are badly treated, that their grievances are real — their very 

 unanimity and standing by each other proves it. Their 

 demands are most moderate; and the cost in extra wages 



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