October 18, 1917 
LAND & WATER 
LAND & WATER 
OLD SERJEANTS' INN. LONDON, W.C. 
Telephone HOLBORN 2828. 
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917 
CONTENTS 
PAGE 
The Friendly Neutral. By Louis- Raemaekers i 
r'ermcnt of Keformation. (Leader) 3 
Riga and the Western Front. By Hilaire Belloc 4 
" Bagdad at Any Cost." By Lewis R. Freeman S 
What is Reconstruction? By Jason lo 
Shopping in Eastern Ports. By William McF<:e 12 
The place where the Elephants Die. By Owen Letcher 13 
Life and Letters. Bv J. C Squire i5 
Books of the Week ' it) 
The New Movement in Art. By Charles Marriott 19 
Domestic Economy 22 
Kit and Equipment 25 
FERMENT OF REFORMATION 
EARLIER in the year there were placed before the 
readers of L.\SD & Water a series of articles by a 
writer who signs himself "Jason," dealing with in- 
dustrial problems. Writing on this subject a couple 
of months ago, we expressed the belief that " with tact and 
good sense on both sides, to say nothing of patriotism and 
discipline, all the outstanding labour difficulties can be over- 
come." Nothing has occurred since to induce us to alter 
this opinion. To-day we resume these " Jason " articles, 
and in the present issue, th'is writer, who has an intimate 
knowledge of the factors that lie behind labour unrest, 
defines the meaning of 'reconstruction from the working- 
class point of view. This is the view which is to-day of the 
greatest interest to everybody, for it is recognised that the 
balance of power lies in the hands of working men. They 
are educated ; they are — the majority of them — intensely 
patriotic ; as a class they are distinguished by common 
sense and levelheadedness, but at the same time they 
include a type of impetuous idealists who believe 
that the millennium can be inaugurated by one daring 
stroke, and are prepared to risk everything on the off-chance 
of securing some greater measure of freedom and happiness, 
in the sense that they understand these terms. It is 
just as well to mention that this minority is not peculiar 
to England. It declared itself in Northern Italy only a few 
weeks ago. Socialists, to, use the common phrase, promoted 
certain riots in Genoa, Tufin, and other cities ; they were 
quickly suppressed, but with bloodshed. When the death- 
roll was prepared, it was found that the name of not one 
'leading Socialist appeared on it. These men fomented 
the trouble, but took care to save their skins. This single 
incident has largely discredited Socialism among the working- 
classes of Northern Italy. It is an old story that saviours 
of the world are always available provided they are per- 
mitted to find substitutes for Calvary. 
Now we df) not believe that this type of mind is common 
in the United Kingdom, though it undoubtedly exists. A 
Sf-ries of articles lias recently appeared in the 'I'i'mca under 
the title The Ferment of Revolution, whose cumulative effect 
has ly^eli to leave in the public mind the suggestion that 
the country is on the verge of revolution. A careful jx^rusal 
of the articles show that the author did not intend to convoy 
this impression ; it is rather obvious that he has argued from 
the particular to the general, and the idea is conveyed that 
in writing these articles he had at the back of his mind certain 
disquieting symptoms which have declared themselves in a 
few Cambrian mining districts. He himself in a letter to 
the Times this week has summarised his remarks thus : 
labour has so far yielded itself to revolutionary guidance 
that many of its most important sectional organisations are 
hindering recruiting, resisting fca.sonable industrial discipline, 
and demanding increases of- wages wliich are inconsistent with 
the economic stability of the nation ; and the Government 
Oncluding its Labour members) has, in spite of its own 
expressed convictions, oftcu given way to such uiuvementii. 
There is truth in those two contentions provided it is recog- 
nised that it is not the whole truth. Labour has in certain 
directions, and latterly, hindered recruiting, but what would 
our position be if Labour had not thrown its full weight 
at the earlier stages of the war into recruiting and so pro- 
vided the men who now constitute the unconquerable army of ' 
Great Britain ? It is not fair to emphasise the defects of either 
individual or party without giving due credit for their virtues. 
This is where the Times writer failed. In the same way as 
regards strikes. Frequently there would have been neither 
strikes nor threatenings of strikes if the Government, or the 
representatives of Government, had dealt with reasonable 
grievances at the outset in a sensible manner. It is futile 
at this late liour to attempt to defend Government officials 
from dilatoriness and delay. To ordinary men of all 
shades and classes, the extraordinary maze of formalities in 
official proceedings and the waste of time and temper which 
these engender have been a revelation. Business men, who 
have become familiar through patriotic self-denial with these 
conditions, deem it inconceivable how any successful business 
can be conducted under the nornial conditions prevailing in 
Government departments. There has been some slight 
improvement, but the fact remains that working men in 
Government-controlled concerns who have gone out on strike 
have been more often sinned against than sinning. This, 
unfortunately, taught them the power which they possess, 
and it is quite possible that this power, since then, has 
been used or threatened to be used unfairly under the 
present war conditions on more than one occasion. 
It is well to keep two facts in mind : the first that a Briton 
remains a Briton irrespective of class or caste ; the second, 
which " Jason " brings out clearly in his article to-day, that 
for years following the industrial revolution, the idea pre- 
vailed " that society existed for the creation of wealth." 
It therefore follows that if among Labour representatives 
certain minds still cling to the nineteenth-century fallacy and 
devote their energies to diverting wealth to their own class 
they are not necessarily Revolutionaries, but merely 
lawful Britons who are carrying into effect the gospel 
which has been preached and practised in other strata of 
society for several generations. The trouble is once apeople 
bows the knee to the Golden Calf, it never knows into what 
divagations the idolatry may lead it. ■ For ourselves we are 
of the opinion that the working-classes have \)een on the whole 
singularly free from this fallacy of wealth ; they realise that 
money goes a small way towards the creation of a healthy 
and happy life, once life's necessities are provided for, and 
we believe, for reasons which " Jason" explains, that the war 
tends to promote and strengthen this idea. 
But the nation and the Government have to see that more 
opportunities are given to the working-classes to develop their 
lives on right lines ; we have to introduce into this land, 
overburdened with so many false social traditions, to say 
nothing of mean streets and meaner habitations, an entirely 
new standard of li\dng. This will be no easy task, but the 
people which has faced boldly the impossibilities of the last 
three years and has overcome them, should not be daunted 
by this internal reformation, for in truth it is the ferment 
of reformation rather than the ferment of revolution which 
is stirring to-day. The Times has done good service in 
lending its columns to this exposition and discussion, for 
it is a question that cannot be pushed into the background. 
A good beginning is to be made in Mr. Fisher's Education 
Bill, which will be considered in Parliament this session. 
Hitherto education h;is been a subject which has failed to 
focus the interest and attention of M.P.'s but it is to be 
hoped they will approach it from a different side than 
formerly and recognise in the measure the Minister of 
Education places before them a start towards that reforma- 
tion of society which is inevitable. The purpose among 
all classes to recreate the whole fabric of social life is too 
widespread to permit the delusion to persist that when the war 
is over, we can go back to pre-war conditions. For many 
reasons, some obvious, others remote, it is impossible to 
declare exactly the directions these many changes will follow, so 
it is the more advisable to consider seriously the diftcrcnt 
ways which they might pursue if wise guidance and firm 
control were absent. 
