§ 57

What was the matter with England? Too rich! Too self-indulgent, growing idle and becoming dishonest! An enormous population of so-called Labour, led by ignorant, headstrong agitators. A weak Government, carrying on the tactics of promise and no performance, tactics of sops to agitators, of declining to face realities. A Government which was losing whatever respect it might have had, even from the Party in the Country which it had pampered and spoiled, and what for? To gain their votes at a general election. Tradesmen who could charge what they pleased, and a Government that one moment held them in check, the next gave way. Growing blindness to everything that makes a great nation, Honesty, Industry, Thrift and a high Ideal for the future welfare of their country, and entire apathy as to the judgment which history will pass upon the Tone of the People. In fact, something so like Anarchy as to be practically, if not theoretically, Anarchy.

Even if the Government saw the danger it did not face it. It dared not do so because its very existence depended upon a class, and that one the least provided with education sufficient to put it into a position of clear thinking and sound judgment. “The idle” rich were pointed at as the first offenders; Capital was destructive to Labour interests, was the foolish cry, as if a country could exist without Capital! The fact being that the higher wages the greater the capital will have to be to meet them. To achieve capital all must work!

In my dream just now I heard a workman say, “Never again will we cry out against Capital; we see now that without it we should be paupers! And who, after all, came forward in the extreme moments of stress during the War? Surely that part of Society dubbed ‘The Idle Rich.’ How was the cost of five millions a day met? By Capital, of course. How were we paid for making munitions? By Capital, of course. And (he went on to say), from our own point of view, in our own interests, indeed, discounting all others for the sake of argument, our enemies were not the rich or the refined and cultivated classes, they were the men who pretended to lead us, and, alas! they did so, almost to our undoing; but rid of them we are now, and will never again accept them.” New ideas, or old ones revived are catching, and if formed on the highest motives, will prevail as long as a good humour towards them is in favour. “The Lay Order,” which we have watched and found entirely sincere, is working a great change. Extending from villages to cities, from the fields to factories, from public to private life, the Lay Order finds respect from the peasant, the agricultural and the industrial classes. Its influence is felt in every form of social life, from the Lord Mayors to the humblest commoner. The peasant finds wisdom in these men! He saw them at the plough, he found them companions as well as leaders.

We hear him say, “What they teach they do.” At first they marvelled. “Why do gentlemen do this? We thought ‘gentlemen’ loved ease now we know that the real gentleman is a hard handed man with a gentle heart, and he knows more than we do, so we listen to him! The Order has done wonders in breaking down class distinction. Instead, fervent fraternity is taking root. “We have given up the fetish of equality; we know it is a broken reed that is quite untrustworthy, even to a drowning man.” We know, whatever station of life is ours, that we can dignify it or defile it.”