"PLAY THE GAME"

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2958, 22 December 1916, Page 7

"PLAY THE GAME"

MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S APPEAL NATIONAL MOBILISATION EVERY MAN'S SERVICE NEEDED DEALING WITH THE FOOD PROBLEM London, December 20. During his speech in the House of Commons, referring to the seriousness of _ the food problem, Mr. Lloyd George said: "The problem is a double one, namely, distribution and production.' llespeoting both we must call upon, the people of the country to make Teal sacrifices, hut it is essential that the sacrifices bo equal. . (Cheers.) Over-con-sumption hy the affluent must not be allowed to create a shortage for less well-to-do,"

He hoped he could appeal to the men and women of all ranks to play the game. (Cheers.) Without the help of the whole nation we could accomplish nothing. The whole natiun must assist and we must distribute the resources so that thero would be no man, woman, or child) who would suffer hunger because someone else was getting too much. (Cheers.) "You cannot have absolute equality of sacrifice unless the nation as a whole places its comforts, its luxuries, its indulgences, its elegances, its' men on the national altar which has heen ounseorated by such sacrifices as our heroes havo made. Let us proclaim during the war a national 1 Lent. The nation «ould be bettor and stronger lor it mentally, morally, physically. (Cheers.) Our armies might drive the enemy from the battered villages of .France, across the devastated plains of Belgium; they might hurl tliem across the Rhine in hattered disarray, but unloss the nation as a whole shoulders part of trie burden the victors may not profit hy the triumph, for it is not -what a nation gains, it is what a nation gives that makes it great." It would be intolerable for any_ section to be permitted to take exceptional profits out of these sacrifices. Much was done by the late Administration to arrest unfair private profiteering, but the Government had come to the conclusion not to ask the nation for more sacrifices without even more drastic steps yet heing taken.' After outlining what has already been done to meet the situation, Mr. Lloyd George stated: "Air. Bonar Law and others are now carefully examining the problem, and hoped to be able to make an announcement shortly of the course the Government intended to adopt. It was quite clear the nation must be asked to make further sacrifices in ordoi to win the war. The road! must be cleared hy action of this tind." Labour Reserve. ,

The Premier next turned to the question of the mobilisation of the labour reserves, "without which, let there be no mistake, we should not be able to pull through. This was a question not, of years, out months, perhaps weeks. Unless the labour of the country was used to the best advantage, and every man called upon to render such service to the State as he can best give, victory would be beyond our reach. The problem was a difficult one." ■ To complete what had already been done, he maintained the Government ought to have power to say every man not taken into the army, whatever his position, should be really employed on work of national importance. At present it was only the men who wore fit for military service, and who had not established a claim for exemption, upon whom the nation had a call.' The unfit man, the exempted man, _ surely was under the same moral obligation, but still the Government had no means of enforcing it. With this imperfect organisation of industrial man-power we are called! upon to confront an, enemy who not only exercised his full and undoubted right over his own population, hut introduced a practice hitherto unknown in civilised warfares that of removing civilian inhabitants of occupied territory to make good) the shortage of labour in his own factories. We must mako swift and effective answer to Germany's latest mood. War and Finance. As the months go by the cost of war increases. Our purchases in neutral countries become more difficult to finance, yet there are thousands of men occupied in industries which consume our wealth at home, but do nothing to strengthen our credit abroad. But we have no power to transfer them from employment where they are wasting their strength to employment where they could increase it. ,We have- not even the organisation necessary for utilising them as volunteers. These' powers we must take. This is the organisation which we must complete. (Cheers.) He pointed out in this connection the difficulty regarding agriculture for want of skilled men, despite the fact that.ho believed there were hundreds of thousands cf people who if they could be utilised to the best advantage could produce great quantities of food in this country. In this connection schemes of very great magnitude had 1 been formulated and were in course of being put into operation. They would involve great local organisation throughout the country, and he thought .Mr. Asquith would bo very satisfied when he saw them. Tho mattor had been considered by tho War Committee of the late Government, which unanimously decided that the time had come for tho adoption of tho principle of universal national service. The present Government and its War Cabinet had unanimously adopted this conclusion. He believed that the plans which had been niad'o would securo for every worker all he had a right to ask for. Director of National Service. In order to do this he proposed to appoint immediately a Direotor of National Service, who would be in charge of both the military and civil side of universal national service. The civil and military side of the directory would be entirely separate. There would bo a military and a Civil Director responsible to the Director of National Service. • The Military Director would be responsible for recruiting for the Army. It was not proposed to mako any change method of recruiting for the military service, but as regards the civilian service it was proposed that the Directory of National Service would proceed by a schedule of industries and of services according to their essential character during tho war.

Certain industries were regarded as indispensable, and the Departments concerned would indent upon the Director of National Service for the lahour required for those services; other services would he rationed in such matters as labour, raw material, and power. The labour that was set free from non-essential and rationed industries would be available to set free potential soldiers ■ who were at present exempted from military service, aud to increase,the available supßiy of labour for essential services. This . labour would he invited to enrol at once, and. be registered as war workers, on lines analogous, with similar provisions for rates of pay and separation allowances. , Hq had no doubt thai iriion it waa.'

realised how essential lo the life ot the nation .it was that the service o£ every man should bo put to the best use, we would securo au adequate sup* ply of those volunteers. The Govern* ment was taking immediate steps to secure by this means the men wanted. The classification of industries and the> invitation to enrol as volunteers would begin soon. It might be tliat it would be found impossible to get the numbers required, and the Government would not hesitate to come to Parliament and ask it to roleaso it _ from its pledge, given under other circumstances, and to obtain the necessary power for rendering our plane fully etfective. The nation is fighting for its life, and is entitled to the best services of all it? sons.

The Government bad induced the Lord Major of Birmingham to accept the position of Director-General under l ' this scheme. He would immediately proceed to organise this great new,,system' of enrolment for industrial- purposes* He hoped before Parliament resumed to report that they were able to mobilise the wholo labour strength of tho country for war purposes. The Irish Question. Turning to the Irish question, Mr/ Lloyd George said he wished it were possible- to remove the misunderstanding between Britain and Ireland. He would regard that ifii a great victory for the Allied' forces; as something that would give strength'to the armies and to the Allies, fie was convinced' now that it was a misunderstanding partly racial, partly religions". It was to the interest of both to have it removed, but it seemed that there had been some evil chance that frustrated every effort made for the achievement of better relations.

He had tried once, bnt had not succeeded. The fault was not entirely on one side. He had felt the whole time that we were moving in an atmosphere of nervous suspicion and distrust of everything and everybody. He was drencued with suspicion_ or lrihmen by Englishmen, and Englishmen by Irishmen; and worse and most fatal of all, suspicion of Irishmen by Irishmen. It was a quagmire of distrust which clogged the footsteps of progress that was the real enemy of Ireland.

If that could be slain he believed ha' could accomplish the act of reconcilia-' tion and make Ireland and Britain greater, make the United Kingdom, and the Empire, greater than ever they were before. Speaking for himself and his colleagues they would strive to produce that better feeling which waa essential to the solution of the Irish problem. He asked the men of all races, oreeds, and, faith to help the Government, not to solve the political question, but to help do something that would be a real contribution to •winning the war. Imperial Conference. After paying' a high tribute to the' enormous and incalculable services of the Navy, not merely to the Empire but to the whole Allied cause, Mr. Lloyd George came to the question of the Dominions. Ministers, he said, had repeatedly acknowledged ' the splendid assistance of the Dominions, given of their own free will, to the Old Country in its championship of the cause of humanity and great ideals. 1 National fair play and justice appealed to the Dominions just as'insislently as to Britain. The Dominions had recognised throughout that the fight was not a . selfish one, a. quarrel not , merely European, but that great world issues were involved, with which their children were as concerned &s ours. The new Government was as full of gratitude as the old for the super valour which our kinsmen have chown en so many stricken fields. But that was not why he introduced the subject. The reason was that the Government felt the time had come when the Dominions ought to be more formally consulted as to the progress and course of the war, and what steps ought to be taken to secure victory, and the best methods of governing. -In those fruits wo propose therefore at an. early date to summon an Imperial Conference and place the whole position before the Dominions; take counsel with them as to what further action they and we should take, together in order to achieve an early and complete triumph cf the ideals they and we have so superbly fought for. Relations of the Allies. Mr. Lloyd George then dealt with the relations of the Allies. We had,.he said, already achieved unity or aim, but when it came to the question of unity of action he still thought a gogd deal was left to be desired. _ Be tod only to refer to- the incident o£ Rumania, and each man could spell out for himself what it meant. The enemy tad ■two supreme advantages, and could act on internal lines, and there was one great dominant power that practically directed the enemy's forces. , We had neither 'of these advantages, and therefore must-achieve the same end by other means and advantage's the Allies possess. There were advantages which time would improve. No one' could say that we had made the .best of that time. There.had been taramess ; in decision and action. There n.ust be some means of arrivingat yuicker and; readier decisions, and'in carrying them. out. He believed it could be done. There must be more real' consultation between the. men .who had the direction of affairs, and less feeling that each country had only got its own front to look after. A policy of-a common front must be a reality. The enemy had realised this policy, and we must secure it more and more, instead or having overwhelming guns on one side* and bare breasts and gallant hearts on the other. That was essential for the Allies and for the curtailment of tbo period before victory' arrived.

Issues to be Kept in View. "These were the issues," the Prune Minister concluded, "that we want to keep in front of the nation, so that wo shall.not falter, nor faint in our resolves. 'There is a time in every proloured and fierce war when in- the passion of rage of conflict men forget the high purpose with which they, hare entered it. This struggle 13' for international right and international good faith, the chancel along which.peace, honour, and goodwill must flow amongst men. . "The embalmments laboriously built up by generations against barbarism have'been broken, and had not the might of Britain passed into the breach, Europe would have been inundated for good in the flood of savagery and unbridled lust 'of power. The plain 6ense of fair play amongst nations; the growth of the international conscience; the protection of the weak against the strong by the stronger; the consciousness that justice has a moro powerful backing in the world than greed; the knowledge that any outrage upon fair dealing between the nations, great or small, will meet with prompt and merited chastisement —these' constitute the causeway along which humanity is progressing slowly to higher things. "The triumph of Prussia would sweep all away and leave man to struggle in a helpless morass. That is why, since the war began, I have known but one political aim. For that I have fought with a single eye—that is, the rescue of mankind from the most overwhelming catastrophe that over menacecT its wellbeing." A Personal Note. The' Prime Minister said he would ' conclude with a personal note. He might say in all sincerity that, cue of the regrets of his life was to part from Mr. Asquith, and some of his, friends' knew how he strove to avert it. For years he served under _ Mr. Asquitb, jW never wag tbetfi a, kindlier, or. aoia^