--Oh dear, Miss,
just to _think_ of it!"
Then, with a catch in her voice:
"But it's not the comin' home, Miss--it's _the goin' back again_! Yes,
I'll come to the cookin', Miss, if I _possibly_ can!"
There's the spirit of our country folk--patriotic, patient, true.
As to labour conditions generally. I spoke, perhaps, in my first letter
rather too confidently, for the moment, of the labour situation. There
has been one serious strike among the engineers since I began to write,
and a good many minor troubles. But neither the Tyne nor the Clyde was
involved, and though valuable time was lost, in the end the men were
brought back to work quite as much by the pressure of public opinion
among their own comrades, men and women, as by any Government action.
The Government have since taken an important step from which much is
hoped, by dividing up the country into districts and appointing local
commissioners to watch over and, if they can, remove the causes of
"unrest"--causes which are often connected with the inevitable friction
of a colossal transformation, and sometimes with the sheer fatigue of
the workers, whose achievement--munition-workers, ship-wrights,
engineers--during these three years has been nothing short of
marvellous.
Pages:
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259