New Britain herald., 1917-10-31
FOR DISABLED SOLDIERS.
One-Third Of Wounded May Never Be
Able to Compete With the Able
Bodied of Labor Arena
Must Be Cared For.

That Is problem which will become
the more urgent as peace draws near
err Ihe opportunity now offers of
thinking out plans for the future well
rare, so that we may not be taken I'M
aWares by the outbreak of peace as
we were by the opening Of war. 1t is
calculated that about two thirds of
the men disabled either at sea, in the
air, or on the battlefield will be suffi-
c1ently restored to normal health and
usefulness to allow of their returning
to their former occupations. But
what of the remaining third-an army
OF men who can never hope to COM
pete on equal terms with other work.
ers In the labor market? They will,
1t is true, have their pensions, ade-
quate for keeping body and soul to-
gether, but It would be mistaken kind
ness to leave them in idleness If by
treatment and training they can be
fitted to follow remunerative occupa-
tons
while the war continues there will
probably be little difficulty in finding
employment for most disabled men
who are reasonably efficient" After
the war, however, the supply of labor
Will increase, and it Is feared that en-
ployers, looking mainly to cash prof
Its, will be inclined to prefer able
bodied men. The Labor Ministry has
been collecting information as to pos
sible permanent avenues Of industry
which such discharged and disabled
men can enter with some hope of Sc
curing pleasant remunerative and
permanent employment. The atti-
tude of the men Is not unnatural; un-
NrlT t. @AP 4
they accept It, earning the present
high rates Of pay, rather than submit
themselves to period of training, the
value of which in future years they
hardly realize,
But the war will not last forever;
the labor reservoir will again fill up,
and the law of supply and demand
will become operative. What, then.
is to be the fate Of such ex-soldiers
and sailors, who are left severely
handicapped in the battle of life? Our
attention has been arrested by
monograph written by Mr.. Thomas
H. Mawson, in which he discusses the
matter; 1t is entitled IAN Imperial
Obligation" and contains a foreword
er. The opportunity now offers OF
advocates the creation Of industrial
villages" for these servants Of the
state who,i in opposing the foe, have
lost something of their economic
strength or capacity as soldiers OF the
peace army. He is not unconscious
of what is being done by the Lord
Roberts Memorial Workshops or OF
the fine record Of Sir Arthur Pearson
in his care for the blind, or of Mr..
Oswald Stoll's War Seal Foundation
scheme. His purpose Is Ito suggest
the means whereby, through the orea-
ton of an exceptionally favorable en-
vironment, the fruits Of the work OF
such organizations may be increased
a hundredfold; for If our mauled and
mut1lated mon are compelled to carry
on their work amid the evil conditions
so often existing in our towns, how
ever well-housed in home and work.
shop, instead of in villages, which 1t
is our desire and aim to see placed
at the disposal Of employers of
wounded soldiers we shall certainly
have failed, as nation and indi-
vidually, in our whole duty toward
them" Let it be said at once, that
there is no idea of collecting all these
men into one settlement or a few set
Elements, divorcing them from their
fellows. On the contrary, it is hoped,
Wn1le removing lIleIu 1IOIl CHe SIecoI
industrial centers where life runs
swiftly keenly and mercilessly, to fit
them into smaller communities in the
parts Of the country they may favor,
providing them with facilities to en-
able them to supplement their PEN
sions and encouraging them to draw
round them relations and friends.
Mr. Mawson has not occupied HIM
self with details. but his general idea
follows something on the lines of such
villages as Letchworth, Bournville,
Port Sunlight and Earswick. He does
not insist that new villages should be
created, but, after the manner of Mr..
Wemmick-"here's a church; let's
get married'-he would say. Here's
a charming village in Cumberland;
let's add to it a group Of cottages and
a factory so that soldiers and sailors
broken in the war may, with their
relatives gathered round them, make
pencils instead Of the lead being sent
to Austria to be worked up" The
same adaptable principle would apply
to Bedfordshire, with its straw plait-
ing industry; parts of Devonshire,
with clay suitable for pottery; Somer-
setshire with its districts famed for
gloves and lace.
Everyone whose heart has been
moved by the sight of mon who have
given arms. legs, eyesight or hearing
in their country's cause will sympa-
thize with Mr.. Mawson's conception.
It is not desirable that these men
should be left, like fotsam and jet
sam, to be driven here and there by
the imperious flow of the f1uctuating
labor market, in which they must
struggle under serious disadvantages.
The nation must do all in it's power to
sustain their self-respect. to make
them feel that they are citizens of a
country which owes them, at least, a