1917-08-24 — Page 7

THE GIGANTIC PROBLEM OF word.

RECONSTRUCTION.

WORK FOR EIGHT MILLION RELEASED TROOPS, SAILORS AND

MUNITION-WORKERS.

THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24cm, 1917.

At least five million of fightere have to be restored to civil employment and to be maintained until they are re- stared to it. At least three million more munition workers, male and female, must bo re-employed on munitions of peace. But the That is the human size of it, human size of it does not suggest the. stature and pressure of the whole prob lem. The nation which demobilises and reorganises quickest and best will have an immenso advantage. We can get it if we start the Ministerial preparation right Otherwise we could not hope to have it.

ΠΟΥ

DEMOBILISATION,

Recently, a Reuter's telegram announced the appointment of Dr. G. Addison Minister of Reconstruction. Before that the following article uppeared in London: -- Some ides of the gigantic task which awaits this country in its policy of Reconstruction after the War is given

"For just consider the relative condi- in the Observer by Mr. J. L, Garvin.

tions. Germany, in any case, can do. "The methods of industrial and social mobilise entirely by railway with extra transition after peace has broken out ordinary celerity; and all her available ure what will determine the conditions shipping will be free-unless the Allies of existence when the artificial stimulus take certain precautions, as in fairness of war loans has passed away," he says, and sanity they must to bring in rapid. The position of that immense and sily the things which the blockade cuts off. decisive question Reconstruction is be Railways on two land frontiers will help ginning to cause very real and just this process of supply, while Dutch, alarm to all thoughtful persons who are Danish, and Swedish agencies will be watching the way and at the same time employed to assist it as far as possible. are studying the social symptoms.

...

WHAT LABOUR FEARS.

First, labour is profoundly disturbed by doubt about the whole future. That is the deepest cause of the unrest, Labour fears that victory will leave it at the mercy of hazard and the employer. Thore is nothing bad or stupid about this feel ing. It springs from the utter uncer tainly which is the most trying of a conditions. It is natural. It is inevit able. It must be reasonably met.

A SOCIAL ARMAGEDDON ↑

That the problem cannot be post poned as long as was thought-no matter how much we may be pre-occupied with the war itself-has become quite clear and certain. Otherwise peace, or even the plai approach of peace, would only give the signal for a social Armageddon at sweeping down all dreams of an idyllic harmony between employers and workers or between Government and the

Inussos.

"Nothing whatever is more needed than to kindle the imagination and the faith of labour by a vision which shall be mighty, but at the same time true. Any programme of Reconstruction must be as definite, as vast, and as practical as audacious. The bolder the better. There can be no boldness or definiteness in any direction until a new Department of Government is definitely charged with the thorough preparation and ultimate management of this morneutous business,

TIME 18 GETTING ON.

"For two years Reconstruction has been talked and talked about. There is not a particle of doubt that original kernness has become bluated and original insight blurred, as often happens. We particularly notion that the House of Commons shows a tendency to slip back inta mere drifting commonplace and to lose all sense of the fact that nothing but heroic energy of conception, of initiative, and of execution will enable this country to hold its own in those years following the war which may well be more difficult and more eritical for our whole future than the war itself.

THE GERMAN RETREAT. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S DISPATCH.

PROSPECT OF OPEN FIGHTING VIEWED WITH GREAT CONFIDENCE,

After describing the operations of the British Armies in France from the middle of November last down to the opening of this year's offensive, which began so brilliantly on Easter Monday (April-0th) with the great victory of Arras, Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Hair, in a recently dispatch, says: ---

Certain outstanding features of the past five months' fighting call for brief comment before I close this report In spite of a season of unusual severity, a winter campaign has been conducted to a successful issue under most trying and arduous conditions.

Activity on our battle front has been maintained almost without a break from the conclusion of last year's

offensive to the commencement of the' present operations. The successful ac this part of our complishment of general plan has already enabled us to realise no inconsiderable instalment of the fruits of the Somme Battle, and has gone far to open the road to their full achievement. The courage and endur ance of our troops has carried them -riumphantly through a period of fighting of a particularly trying nature, in which they have been subjected to the maximum of personal hardship and physical strain. I cannot speak toc highly of the qualities displayed by all ranks of the Army.

"On the other hand, while the enemy's railway facilities will be much increased by the war, our shipping will be reduced, Yet we shall have to demobilise our armies abroad by means of that shipping, leaving us for a long time only an in- sufficient margin for importing the great stocks of raw material we shall require. Fortunately, there will be relief by two means. The new land policy by that time ought to be providing enough of our food to leave more tonnage for indus- trial re equipment. Also the Navy will

I desire also to place on record here be able to lend a hand for a peace pur-my appreciation of the great skill and poses. We can do it all well on condition energy displayed by the Army command thus the administrative machinery which

ers under whose immediate orders the will have to do is set op soon enough to

operations described above were carried give it a fair chance of making its plans out. The ability with which the troops in the Ancre prea were handled by complete.

General Sir Hubert Gought, and tho

our front from Le Next comes the gigantic problem of further south, on released troops, sailors, and readjusted Transley to Roye, by General Sir Henry workers, Note again that Rawlinson was in all respects admirabic, munition

The retreat to which the enemy was Germany can and will keep her repatriat- ed armies under military discipline, and driven by our continued success rein. set set them on civil work pending retroduced on the Western front conditions absorption into private employment. of warfare which had been absent from After more than two years of That is what she means to du. It is what that theatra since the opening months of

We shall have to make the war.

trench warfare considerable bodies of our troops have been engaged under condi tions approximating to open fighting, and to perform its special duties, cavalry has been given an opportunity

A CONSTRUCTIVE REVOLUTION.

we cannot do.

work for free workers. It is not enough to talk of indexing all firms, as well as all war workers and all troops, for the purposes of suel: work as will come by itself.

"We must have an enormous prograsa- me for building abips, for commercial aricraft, for railway improvements, for making canals, for building houses-it is said that at least 150,000 new houses will be required in town and country-for clearing slums, and what not. It is the only way to make the transition success. ful

The country, in consequence, will be the better and more prosperous for ever. The Channel Tunnel, the tunnel between Scotland and Ireland. the Mid- Scotland canal between the Forth and Clyde, and other of the ship canals to which England is more adapted than any country all these can be and must h

made.

Lion.

It will be the constructive revolu

GREAT TASKS WAITING.

Our operations south of Arras daring the latter half of March are, therefore, of peculiar interest, and the results nehieved by all arms have been most satisfactory. Although the deliberate nature of the enemy's withdrawal en abled bim to choose his own ground for resistance, and to employ every device to inflict losses on our troops, our casualties, which had been exceedingly moderate throughout the operations on the Ancre, during the period of the treat became exceptionalyy light. The prospect of a marc general resumption of open fighting can be regarded with great confidence.

AIR 'SIDE-SHOWS.”

[DY WAR PILOT.

Flying at the front is not, thank Heaven, exclusively composed

Archie (anti-aircraft gun) and fight- ing. It has its own peculiar humour too There was a case reported recently of pilot diving on a Hun staff-cur and chu

I have no doubt the pilot

HIGH

EXCHANGE.

We beg to announce that from to-day's

it to averturn. It just illustrates date an EXCHANGE REBATE will be chackled deeply.

Certainly it has been my part to chuckle put into operation. over the way a column of troops can dis perse to the tune of a nicely timed spray of bullets delivered from pilot's machine gun over the top of a wood!"

11

One pilot enabled a recent attack to ho system, without made on a certain treach the aid of a barrage. He crossed the lines and then descended behind the Fun trenches, doing extraordinary stunts"

The Rebate will be allowed upon every

complete sum of one dollar and will be and firing his gun and his Very lights. announced daily in one of our store

All the Huns manning those trenches turned round to watch or dodged for cover. Meanwhile the attack was made windows.

was entirely

frost

treaches and our successful.

To dive suddenly on the Hun trenches,

oil a fire

"drum" of ammunition, and swoop off again was quite a regular

al one time.

No Rebate will be allowed off Sale

There was one formation that had been Prices. patrolling at 10,000ft, and looking for trouble that being its particular job- for several days without any luck.

Buddenly the leader dived, down, down, WHITEAWAY, LAIDLAW

down, at 150 miles na hour. The others had no idea what was happening, but followed him down,

Then they saw his empty a "drum" at the Hun lines from the height of 800ft. and swerve off and up again.

The second pilot did the same, and the The Hua trenches appeared to lose al! others after him.

Then they began to life with a jerk. wake up again with a vengeance. What! was the other pilots' amazement to see the lender go hurtling down into it again. He had changed his dram" and was just setting out to "repeat the ment!

move

The second man noticed he had snapped wire in the dive and concluded that mere play was "off" for the moment.

The others followed the leader, and soon all. except the one, were back again at Reconnaissance work used to give many their original height. opportunities for providing similar sur- Nowadays it is the fighting pr

The story of une pilot's "side-show" machines that get the opportunities.

He was compelled to descend in a field far behind the Hun lines. His observer 50s right back to the bird, his model.

jumped out and ran across the field

Just as the keep watch on that side. pilot was ready to start off Hun soldiers came running up. They did not notice. the observer.

to

The pilot opened out his engine and sped across the field alone. He hoped" the intervening hedge and settled down in As his pursuers came the next field. running up he did the same again and When he had led them on again, led them far enough he came back, picked up the observer, and got home!

It was the partridge with the "broken" wing over again.

highest credit on the Transportation Service, of whose cliency and energy i acievement, The courage and endurance

desire to cannot speak to highly. acknowledge in the fullest manner the

debt that is owed to all who assisted in meeting a most difficult spauto, und especially Major-General Sir Eric Geddes, Director-General of Transporta-

The systematic destruction of roads, railways, and bridges in the evacuated aren maile unprecedented demands upon the Royal Engineers, already heavily Railways, shipping, mines will have burdened by the work entailed by the pre.

Onr remain under public control for parations for our spring offensive. to several years. Like it or not, there will steady progress, in the face of the great be no alternative. Some experts are con difficulties confronting us, is the best testimony to the energy and thoroughness

tion, to who great ability, organising vinced that for the early years of tran

with which those demands were met. sition the Government will have to be

The bridging of the Somme at Brie, to power, and energy the results achieved are primarily due. 1 am glad to take: more than over a food buyer and dis

if industrial and political which reference las already been made, tributor troubles are to be avoided. The organi- is an example of the nature of the obtis opportunity also to acknowledge the sation of a cheap food supply may be stacles with which our troops were met valuable assistance given to us by the equally a duty and necessity of Govern- and of the rapidity with which those Chemin de For du Nord. by which the In this instance work of the Transportation Service was ment. But, again, for the creative part obstacles were overcome. of the programme of reconstruction we six gaps bad to be bridged across the greatly facilitated. shall want to accumulate and assemble and before the end of the war so far as we can-stocks, mountainous stocks, of raw, half-manufactured and manufactur

"The thing we want our readers to grasp firmly is that we must be thoroughly rendy for Reconstruction long before the end of the war. If an early peace caught us in our present unprepared state it would be a social disaster. Our plans must be complete. The administrative machinery for dealing with them must be in full working order. The Government must be equipped and expanded for the most colossal and the most complex of all its tasks. The time-factor will be more severu. The country won't wait for efficient Reconstruction as it waits for the end of the war. Public criticism All national will be more formidable. forces will be more insistent. The Preseed material. will be unmuzzled. The platform will be free again.

WHEN THE MEN COME BACK,

"Millions of men who have fought will be the political pith and bone and marrow of the nation. After what they have seen and gone through, they will expect things. After the treaches they will not stand muddle and makeshift at home, much less positive hardship and every kind of disillusionment. If we are not

A FULLER EXISTENCE.

Yet all these things would still not be enough to solve the greatest question the triple problem which involves the future relations of labour, capital, and Government.

I wish also to place on record here the canal and river, some of them of con siderable width and over a swift flowing fact that the successful solution of the probler of railway transport would bave stream. The work was commenced on

been impossible had it not been for the the morning of March 18th, and was

patriotism of the railway companies at carried out night and day in three stages home and in Canada. They did not By ten p.m. on the same day footbridge hesitate to give up the locomotives and for infantry had been completed, as

and even to tear up, tracks in order to The already stated. Medium type bridges for rolling stock required to meet our needs, horse transport and cavalry were com

March 20th, and provide us with the necessary rails. plebed by 5 0,1 by 2 p.m. on March 28th, or four and thanks of the Army are due also to those In place of trade union restrictions and a half days after they had been begun, who have accepted so cheerfully the in strike methods as known before Armaged. heavy bridges capable of taking all forms convenience caused by the consequent don the millions returned from the of traffic, had taken the place of the diminution of the railway facilities avail

Medium type deviation eble for evil traffic. and the whole democracy must have the lighter type.

bridges were constructed as the heavy assurance of a fuller and happier exist bridges ware begun, so that from the prepared for their recrption and re- "They must mave better housing, better time the first bridges were thrown across absorption, for their maintenance and health. better training, physical and the river trallie was practically conting employment, for giving them sure promise mental, a better chance of advancement TN. of unmistakably better life and future in their vigour and prime, à better than they had before the war, they will prospect for old age, as well as better want to know the reason why.

wagis and a more intelligent association with capital in return for higher produc tion. We shall never get the willingness and meal for higher production or the industrial peace essential to all other purposes without the inducements we have mentioned.

A MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION.

"If the war lasted two years longer taking the present outside estimate that period would not be too long to settle plans and marshal resources. But take another contingency. If peaco came a twelve-month hence, again supposing that' A Ministry of Reconstruction could be started next week, the work of domestic reorganization would be rushed and bur ried, while in international competition we would and ourselves under the most verious disadvantages.

ence.

TR18 NEW VISION.

"But with a work in view at once so

colossal and so complex as we have said, these expectations cannot be realised un- less we begin from now to get ready to win the peace by adding to the National Government, a new side composed of men not burthened and engrossed by current affairs, but able to give their whole thought and energies to the very dif ferent, though not less vital, task of ensuring the future.

"We see, then, that an effective begin- ning in this business can only be made by someone who has the position and authe vity of a Minister apecially charged with the work Nothing would do more than

"The whole nation, as well as labour, such as appointment to fortify the Grov must be convinced, as soon as possible, ernment and to help in all ways.

that this New Vision is coming true, and Reconstrction will dominate everything, that the project of reconstruction is about and perhaps sooner than we think. There to pass beyond the present stage of is not an hour to lose in beginning to general verbiage, non-responsible ideas, create the basis and machinery for it if and pious hope" we mean to succeed; and unless we do succeed, surely and triumphantly, with Reconstruction we shall have fought this war is rais, and our last state by com-I parison with Germany and in every way. will be worse than our first.

THE URGENT PACTON,

HULL'S FINE RECORD.

Seventy thousand men, or something like 25 per cent, of the pounlation, is contribution which few big towns an A Full magistrate the Take the factor of chief urgency- even auproneh. the thing with regard to which immediate other day said that it could be said that preparation by a responsible Ministry of women were running the town." and Reconstruction is most requisite. We every fit man wag either in the fighting mean, of course, Demobilisation, colossal forces or doing essential war work.

ROAD AND RAILWAYS,

The various other special services, to

the excellence of whose work I was glad to call attention in my last despatch, with the same energy and efficiency dis have continued to discharge their duties played by them during the Bomme battle, and have rendere most valuable assist Throughout the past winter the quesance to our artillery and infantry,

desire also to repent the well-merited tion of transport, in all its forms, has presented problems of a most serious tribute paid in my last despatch to the nature, both in the battle area and behind different administrative services and do

The work entailed by the! the lines. On the rapid solution of these partments. problems the success or failure of our double task of meeting the requirements operations necessarily largely depended. of our winter operations and preparing At the close of the campaign of 1016 for our next offensive was very heavy, the steady growth of our armies and the demanding unremitting labour and the rapid expansion of our material resources closest attention to detail. had already taxed to the utmost, the The fighting on the Anore and subse capacity of the roads and railways thenquent advance made large demands upon at our disposal. Existing broad and the devotion of our medical services narrow gauge railways were insufficient The health of the troops during the to deal with the increasing volume of period covered by this despatch has been traffic, an undue proportion of which was satisfactory, notwithstanding the discom.

fort and exposure to which they were! thrown upon the roads, As winter con ditions set in these rapidly deteriorated subjected during the extreme cold of the and the difficulties of maintenance and winter, especially in the areas taken over

An from the enemy. repair became almost overwhelming. increase of railway facilities of every The loyal co-operation and complete type and on a large scale, was therefore mutual understanding that prevailed be imperatively and urgently necessary to tween our Allies and ourselves throughout. relieve the roads. For this purpose rails the Somme battle have been continued and and rolling stock were required im strengthened by the events of the past mediately in great quantities, while at winter, and in particular by the circum. a later date our wants in these respects stances attending the enemy's with were considerably augmented by a large drawal. During the latter part of the programme of new construction in the period under review a very considerable area of the enemy's withdrawal.

tract of country has been won back to The task of obtaining the amount of France by the combined efforts of the railway material required to meet the Allied troops. This result is regarded demands of our Armies, and of carrying with lively satisfaction by all ranks of out the work of construction, at the rate the British Armies in France At the rendered necessary by our plans, in ad-

same time I wish to give expression to the dition to providing labour and material feelings of deep sympathy and profound for the necessary repair of roads, was regnet provoked among us by the sight one of the very greatest difficulty. Ite of the destruction that war has wrought successful accomplishment reflects the in a once fair and prosperous country.

(Continued at foot of next column.)

side,

& CO., LTD.,

20, DES VEUX ROAD. HONGKONG.

August 20th, 1917.

[269

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But you don't need to be told this. You know it yourself. You know you are gaining weight, feeling more &t than you have felt for years.

A. S. WATSON & Co., LTD.,

T PHARMACY, VICTORIA DISPENSARY,

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