The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1918-01-26
the new SOCIAL ORDER
(FrOm the Chicago Herald.)

Easy going gentlemen who imagine
that when the war ends all conflict
will cease are too sanguine by far. Let
them read the program of that COM
mittee of the British labor party. Let
them note the new and assured tone
in which it speaks of 1.-The new social
order" Then let them say whether
the prospect is for uninterrupted calm
or for a situation in which all patri-
otto men will need cool heads and
open hearts
1t is indeed "new social order'
that the committee outlines. The de-
mand for minimum wage of 80 shill-
ings a week for adults is not startling
But 60 further. The government must
not permit the great industries now
controlled in the public interest to re-
lapse into unfettered competition
leading to waste, inefficiency and pro-
fiteering! The land, mines, railways
and sources Of electrical power should
be nationalized! The liquor industry
should be taken from the control of
private interests To leave no doubt of
the general trend of thought, the
house of lords should be abolished.
AS first step in the discharge of
government duty in the light of these
conceptions the program demanded
that it prepare for the rehabilitation
period by all kinds of public works,
and that among these works the build
ing of millions of cottages suitable for
workers should be included. Work
for every discharged soldier and sailor,
as a matter of course. The scandal
that followed the Boer war, when
men who had fought for the empire
wandered the streets of London and
lanes Of rural England looking for a
job, must not be repeated. The COM
mittee rightly states that to permit
the brave defenders of liberty and de-
mocracy again to be reduced to straits
like that, even for a brief period,
would cause a wave of national indig-
nation that would sweep any ministry
abruptly out of office.
1t is worth noting that some points
in this program have been anticipated
by government action. A committee
on rehabilitation has been studying
the problem for the last two years.
Plans for better housing conditions
are assured. And the government un-
questionably shares fully the labor
committees view that the post-Boer
war scandal must at all hazards be
prevented. But no announced program
of business adjustment or social amel-
ioration that has come from any Off
cial even approaches in breadth that
which is embodied in the committees
recommendations. Lloyd George has
stated that Britain can never go back
to things as they were before the war.
But the details of the future that Of
ficialdom envisages naturally remain
to be supplied.
Here we have in brief compass what
British labor has in mind and much
of what a large part of the rest of the
British nation has in mind also. That
the movement for such a reconstruct
ton can fail to excite opposition, fric-
ton, clashes, is too much to believe.
But one thing is certain. Those who
think of post-bellum reconstruction
mainly as a quick and effective effort
to repair the waste Of wealth of the
past few years are overlooking the
main point. 1t should mean in the
ton, which is to- be more effective
than ever before by reason of the in
fluence of the demobilized soldiers and
sailors, a practical remodeling of the
entire social order.
When the last gun is fired on the
battlefield the first shot will thus be
fired in an even vaster engagement.
And every shot fired in any modern
country will reverberate throughout
the others. The British laboring mans
program Of reconstruction will be
heard in Germany and every other
nation. Even now the Russian agita-
ton is unquestionably crossing the
closely guarded frontiers of that re-
dictionary empire. Patriotism, clear
vision, freedom from stereotyped
modes of thought, and human under
standing will be absolutely necessary
in the leaders of all classes.