74 THE STATE AS FARMER 



line, and only sufficient houses in this squalid 

 town. I firmly believe that railways are made 

 for England, not England for railways ; and 

 I take it for granted that the State, as soon 

 as it is really wide awake, will carry its 

 necessary trains from any convenient centre 

 and insist upon due organisation, just as if 

 troops rather than milk, eggs, and strawberries, 

 were on the line. 



The need for suitable houses, too, must be 

 recognised in every concerted effort such as 

 this which we are making. But I shall 

 venture to devote a few pages to this subject 

 later. All I will again emphasise here is that 

 to a State the conditions of the worker in a 

 trade are as important as the usefulness of that 

 trade to its customers. And if this objection- 

 able doctrine is the cause, or one of the causes, 

 of hostility to a movement such as I am 

 considering, I wish that the objection could 

 be stated clearly by those who entertain it, 

 so that we may see where we are. Lord 

 Midleton's attack upon education affords a 

 precedent for the honest treatment I crave. 

 If certain sections of our people yearn for 

 ignorance and squalor in order that they may 



