SOCIAL REFORM IN ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 10, 7 October 1919, Page 2

SOCIAL REFORM IN ENGLAND

THE TENDENCY OF LEGISLATION

EFFECT OF LABOUR CRISIS

It was always one of the commonplnces of British social reformers that Britain's lead in tho industrial race of tlio nineteenth century was too dearly won at-the cost of tho well-being of the peoplo (writes tho London Parliamentary correspondent of the "Christian Science Monitor" in an interesting review of tho political aud industrial 'situation). Slums, intemperance, and other evils, are part of the price which wa are still paying, and the war has brought homo' to us with a new poignnnc.y the crucial nuturo of the whole problem. Social nilrest is' notably due to high prices', 801-. slievism, and those other caus&s which tho war has driven into prominence; it is tho inevitable, healthy reaction of humanity' against evil social conditions, and as such : it was a well-known phenomenon long before Lenin gave the reactionaries of Europe a new and wclcopie excUso for suppressing popular movement-;. But to-day it presents a Bjore urgent problem than ever: first, because everybody wants reform quickly •and'can't get it; second, because unrest is more widespread and goes deeper than, ever before; third, becauso oveu tho'.most orderly classes in society have lost some of their previous faith in the social and political institutions'which they once thought inviolable, and therefore tend to decry tho whole Parliamentary system, and with it tho conception of democracy. Under the Shadow. _ When Parliament roet in January'these factors were in,full blast in the:country; aud before tho winter was over they, had produced a very acute situation. Tho three great organisations known as tlio Triple Alliance —tho Miners' Federation,the National Uiiion of Eailwaymen, and tlio Transport Workers' Federation—suffered under a sharp sense cf -grievance on various grounds and, at tho same time,, published' an arfbitious programme of reforms in wages and conditions of labour. And the seriousness of the matter lay in the fact that war conditions .bad transferred tho control of mines and of railways tp the State, and that therefore tho -threatened quarrel would, liavo almost been a civil war. For about three weeks from March 1 the country;-..lived uneasily under the shadow of the coming trouble, anxiously speculating upon, tho outcome which was thus described (after the event) by tho "New' • Statesman' — a weekly Socialist review, an advocate of Labour policies conducted witli conspicuous ability and fairness: " "If the Miners' Federation .had rejected ' the terms offered by the .Government and had withdrawn, on. the expiry, of the strike notices, tho labour of their 800,000 members; if tho National Union .of Bailwaymen and the Associated [Society..of Locomotive Enginemen (ind Firemen had been equally recalcitrant' with,, regard; to their own quarrel. with tho ._ Government. and had drawn out their 500,000 members; if the Transport Workers' Federation. which had its own claims, had cast in its lot with the miners and railwnyrnen, as it was probably bound in honour to do.'Great Britain would have been nearer a social revolution than anyone hail previously thought possible. These organisations, united in what is called the Triple Alliance, comprise, with the families of - their members, something like 7,000,000 persons, -or one-sixth of the whole population of Great Britain. A istrugglc between them and the Government must havo been fierce and relentless. It must have been short, for the wholo country would have been, in .'a week or two, fireless, foodlesis,trainless,. and wageless. The Government woulo necessarily have stuck at nothing to suppress what would have been—lnwful as it was—essentially an act of civil war; with- j in twenty-four hours the wholo country j would have been in military occupation.

The Eiflht-Hoiir Day.. ■TJio crisis passed, leaving' certain valunblo results, behind it. It showed the general public the real causes of 1 unrest;, it warned the . reactionary' classes that their.day was finally over; and.it proved that tho vast bulk of British workingiuen were reasonable people if reasonably treated. Incidentally, it. gave a remarkable! opportunity for Mr. Thomas and Mr. Smillio to show the quality of their leadership. Tho, effect of the crisis upofl national policy was 6een ,at once. . The Government renewed. its promise to the. railwaymep of an eight-hour nay, and the old jingle was heard once more: "Eight hours to work, ' ; Eight hours to pln.v, Eight hours to sleep,' ■. And eight bob a day." Not an unreasonable programme,' And when the public realised that 50s. a week was really worth-about-255., it showed but little' tendency' to 'criticise the Labour unions. Besides, it had been educated by great industrialists like Lord Leverhulme (of "Sunlight Soap") and Mr. Ilichens (of Camniell Liurdj tko. great shipbuilders) to bolievo that a six-hour day was the best working period for master and . man alike. Thus it was ready for a bin reform programmo in tho industrial world. '• '

The Coal Commission lias carried the education of the public still- further, though sometimes its teachings have been' contradictory. As'-in the similar enso of the railways, publicity has revealed the fact that Ve are' no longer enjoying the inuch-vaunted benefits of individualism and free competition in industry; Competition is being cKrefully eliminated and combination has-takcu its place. This might seem to be a lesson in nationalisation. Why 'shotf.d tho community, not' benefit from tho results of combination rather than a few capitalists? The Question has been asked a thousand timSs during, the sittings of the (JoniV Commission,, and at first it was answered by the glib remark that "Parliament _ will nationalise tho coal mines next session." To-day tho prediction is not made" with tile siime confidence that it-was six weeks ago. Doubts are now creeping in; ' People' remember- the failures of Government management in . many departments during the war, and they are beginning to. be impressed by tho well-nigh-unanimous opposition of the commercial community io State ownership."- _ ■ The Socialist tiide ia therefore'[not flowing nearly ns strongly as it- did a ■fow months ago, partly-owing to : the ■ consideration mentioned above and partly owing to the failure of the Labour Party in Parliament. None the less the-legis-lative programme of the Government stands as proof that practical Socialism in several new and .different forms lias come to stay. In housing, in tho generation and control of electricity, in public health, and in aviation, the sphere of the State is being generously enlarged; and if! for instance, the promising beginning of oil-prospecting at Chesterfield Ifeads to substantial results. Hiere ; s littlo doubt that tho oil' wells will be' Government property. No oije but the peoplo as a whole has any right of possession ovor new sources of wealth to-day. ;