South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-01-18

'The Army and Religion
/ With p preface by the Bishop
OF Winchester.
Mr. Lloyd George has lately been
!. cry eloquent about tho new world
hat is coming. Just where 81 Is com
|rg from he does not tell us very
Explicitly. says The Nation. adding.
Well, what are We going 90 make
'our new world with ," IL is far too
EASILY assumed that all we need is a
set OF large political and economic
Establishments. and FAR too rarely
remembered that the core OF our
problem has 10 do with she human
quality Of the men and women who
constitute the actual world % fact
Ind who will people the new world
.of our dreams. In our pr0Occupatlon
With schemes and plans we are i'm
danger OF overlooking the primary
factor I'm our task-the human ma
icrial with which We have 10 build.
The chief value OF the volumes be
fore Us Is that they register the re-
suits Of two independent Inquiries
lcctual state OF the English worker.
The Army and Religion" deals pri-
mariIy with the soldier; but the sol
der Is only the worker I'm another
setting. The two inquiries have to do
with the same human mass; and be
tween them they give US a very i'm
structive. If disturbing, survey. How
far the results of a survey Of the
same kind undertaken I'm America
would yield similar results il would
be vain TO speculate: but there are
good grounds for supposing that the
results would differ in detail rather
than in substance.
There have already been exhaus-
tive surveys Of the physical and
economic condition of the workers;
and thu findings OF Booth and Rown-
tree have almost become classical.
1t was plainly necessary. however.
10 have these surveys supplemented
by an inquiry far more inward and
intimate into the mind and the out
look OF the workers. What are they
thinking? What are they living for?
DO they read2 II so. WHAT The
Equipment or the Workers" gives us
the answer 10 these and the like
questions. and IL is an important first
instalment OF light upon a difficult
subject. The inquiry was planned
and carried out by a group of work
ers az a Y. n G. A settlement in
sheffield: and il deals exclusively
with Sheffield conditions. But that
the results are typical for all the
great manufacturing centers there
can be no doubt. Very summarily.
the finding of the group is that %
percent OF the workers are well
equipped. 60 percent inadequately
equipped. and 10 percent i'll equip
ped The body OF the book consists
OF "a detailed record OF the results
ef the inquiry in 4OS typical cases.
The principle Of classification is of
some interest. The equipment into
che quality OF which the inquiry was
made is equipment for social contri-
button. embracing the economic,
spiritual. moral, and Intellectual
elements OF social efficiency. From
the nature OF the case the classified
ZION has 20 be somewhat rough, for
the dividing line between good and
inadequate equipment is peculiarly
difficult 20 draw But I'm the main
The tests applied and the judgment
passed upon the reaction OF the in
vestigated persons TO the tests seem
sound. Consequently we have in this
volume an important datum for our
thought upon reconstruction and the
81
'The Army and Religion is diff
fereEt FL method and narrow i'm
scope. The sheffield workers made
their Investigations at first hand.
The compilers OF this book have
sathered their evidence I'm the main
from chaplains and y NJ c. A.
workers. though some of IT. comes