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THE STATE VIEW

(a) NATIONAL

HON. SIR JOHN COCKBURN, K.C.M.G.

(6) IMPERIAL

P. H. KERR

(c) INTERNATIONAL

SIR GRAHAM JOHN BOWER, K.C.M.G.

R. W. SETON-WATSON

A

CALIFORNIA

INDUSTRIAL
RECONSTRUCTION

(a) NATIONAL

HON. SIR JOHN COCKBURN, K.C.M.G.

There is every probability that the enmity which so often exists between Capital and Labour will be lessened by the War. The vast majority of men and women in all classes are right-minded and well-disposed. They readily arrive at a mutual understanding when brought into contact with one another. It is ignorance of the conditions under which our fellow-mortals live which is the most frequent cause of estrangement, for, as the French proverb puts it, “To know all is to pardon everything." The sympathy engendered by a collective effort against a common foe has made the whole nation, and, indeed, the Empire, kin. Young bloods from Eton are working in munition factories alongside of artisans. Ladies of high rank deem it an honour to perform duties, however humble, in the service of the State. The lady of the manor in our neighbourhood takes her share of what would otherwise be regarded as menial tasks at the local military hospital, and sometimes acts as kitchen-maid to her

own cook, There is no cement like that of kindred blood poured out in common cause. The trenches and the battlefield are wonderful assimilators. It is but reasonable to suppose that the camaraderie of mutual sacrifices and dangers will yield a harvest of kindliness which will not be without influence in reconciling Capital and Labour. When, after the War, international rivalry again takes the normal form of competition in trade and industry, it will be recognised as never before that internecine strife in the industrial world is equivalent to a subsidy to the enemy. The natural law of a successful social organism demands co-operation within as a means towards effective competition with outside bodies.

Two problems in particular confront the nation as an industrial unit. When the anticipated peace arrives :-(1). The absorption in industry and commerce of our returning heroes; (2) the permanent employment of the women whom the War has called to active service. To these ends every industry which can be profitably carried on in this country must be encouraged. The old problem in the industrial world used to be: What is to be done with our boys? It will then be: What is to be done with our men and our women? Agriculture, the foundation industry, must at last receive fair play. Small holdings should be everywhere available, under the stimulus of a freehold. Deer forests on agricultural land will be unthinkable. The ancient prophetic denunciation of those who join house to house and land to land, till they dwell alone in the midst of the land, must be rescued from oblivion and given a practical application. Trade must, whenever possible, be kept in the

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