The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1948-02-26
Conditions In England

Conditions In England
Those people in the United States who are inclined to scott
at the American way Of doing things, particularly the economic
should read carefully the words Of Sir William Y. Darling, a mem
Der Of the British Parliament, in a radio address in this country
and Canada regarding conditions in England.
There's an old saying that few people in the world learn
Perhaps if Americans, and there are few, who favor the
socialistic way of doing things rather than our private enterprise
system, would weigh very carefully the English officials words
they might not be so SURF that socialism is the answer to the
Sir William, it may be said, is a Conservative member Of
Parliament from Edinburgh. Scotland. He is a Scottish business
This distinguished member Of the a House &c Of Conn cSmmons s,s sale
Of meat a week, its declining standard Of life its business en-,
tangled" he wanted to tell the people Of the United States and
should not travel The experience is not worthwhile; It is q road
Government is a piece Of machinery said Sir William.
to say politicians sometimes, and I am a politician, exploit it for
their own good. BY and large, the record of government, through
In describing present conditions in England brought about
by the socialistic program Of the government in power and point.
gives a very clear picture of what is also happening in this coun-
try in the widespread effort being made today to discredit the
American businessman and big business.
From Sir Williams speech we quote:
There is widespread belief among those who are
Socialists, a deep-rooted conviction that, somehow, govern
selves. So our Socialist government in Britain is ATTEMPTING
it. ! can tell you the result very simply by quoting the re-
ark mace Dy one OF my electors. one is a WOudH II CulS
is what she said to me:
'This naturalization" she said, "is a very queer
thing. The more YOU own, it seems the less you have. We own
now the Bank of England in Britain, but l am no better off.
We own the coal mines, and | have less coal. We own the rail
roads, but / can't get a train for my holiday. This is social
ism. The more we own, apparently, the less we get"
All that my woman constituent said is true and
more. We discover that we are approaching a real Dictator
ship, because the British citizens have no choice but to ac-
cept what is offered to them; and even then, they have less
naturalization we have leas coal than even during the war.
We have a worse costly railway service. We have restrictions
on power to such an extent that in my own business / am
the load upon other factories working day shifts.
All these things, in my opinion, have arisen out of the
application of this theory that ownership by the state, or by
the community, carries with it some unique advantages to
the individual. One of the complications arises from the So
caists' failure to realize in my country, that Britain is a
handicraft country. 1t is not fooled for the economies of mass
basis what machineIusing communities can produce working
s days a week. The Socialists introduction of the 5day week
has been, quite frankly. disastrous. 1t may turn out better
in the future but it is disastrous today. Production has fallen
substantially in almost every industry to which it has been
applied.
Our housing is another example of governmental NAL
ladroltness. No houses have been built except under the direc-
ton of of the government. There are hundreds, and probab-
ly more than hundreds of houses in the United Kingdom
which stand roofless because the planning went wrong. And
would like to know If it is fallacy for I have submitted it to
hundreds or thousands of persons without being challenged.
All that I have told you makes a sad picture. 1t is
no pleasure for me to describe it. These evils are due to the
fact that for over half a century now, in the United King
dom and elsewhere, men of affairs, businessmen with ex-
perience and the know-how have been decried until thew have
been distrusted. Politicians and | am speaking as a pohti-
clan-don not seem to realize that when they deal in promises,
If these promises are to be fulfilled they must be fulfilled
not by the politicians but by the citizens themselves. The poll
ticians go on telling the people that businessmen cannot be
trusted to handle the affairs of the nation. That policy has
become a god which bureaucrats ignorantly worship.
They speak of social security. Where does it come
from! not from the government. 1t comes from taxing the
people. SO does the public housing which the politicians like
70 promise.