The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

Friday, October 13th, 1916. NEW PROBLEMS. LORD Rhondda, president of the Cardiff Business Club, occupied the chair at the inaugural meeting of that body at Cardiff on Thursday, last week, when Mr. C. B. Stanton, junior member for the Merthyr Boroughs, spoke to a large gathering of the city's business men on "The Great Awakening." Lord Rhondda is an individualist to the tips of his fiii-ers Mr. Stanton is a Socialist. 1 hat two such avowed champions of Individualism and Socialism should occupy the same I platform on a question of commerce and industry is a symptom and a proof of the unity produced by the war. lit is not to be expected that this unity will prevail when the sword is sheathed and the thunder of the guns is heard no more. Mr. Stanton advocated the burial of organisations with which the country had been afflicted in the past in order that the nation might concen- trate its attention on the building up of a great business empire for the future. Lord Rhondda, with truer political instinct, said we- must not deceive ourselves, but must realise that, human nature being what it is, there would still be a party system in politics. hoping, at the same time, that the party system would not again be carr:<ed to extremes, as had been the case in the past. Nor did his lordship feel very sanguine about the part business men would be called upon to piay in Parliament and in the Govern- ment, because, after all, it was the lawyers and the people who could talk who would stiil sway the crowd and win votes in a democratic country like ours. What they ought to do was to exercise influence as business men on the Cabinet and see that they behaved in a businesslike way. Whatever may be the lines of party development in the future, it is certain that in Wales at least the old party boundaries will appear no more. Nor, it is to be feared, shall we see the same political unanimity which has been the outstanding feature of the parlia- mentary representation of Wales for nearly half a century. The question of Disestablishment and Disendow- ment, which hitherto has welded churches and denominations in one im- pregnable phalanx, will have been removed beyond the pale of contro- versy. That measure may yet undergo modification but that it will ever again decide a parliamentary election is a remote possibility. The question of Free Trade will also have to be rp- opened and discussed in the light of new conditions revealed or produced by the war. Lord Rhondda, himself an ardent Free Trader, said that all possible precautions must be taken to prevent the Germans repeating their dumping methods. As has already been pointed out in these columns, Free Traders generally will demand an open i mind on the question. Meanwhile, j new questions will arise to stir the passions of men. It is obvious that one of these questions will be the measure of interference with in- dividual, labour, and commercial free- dom, ",h:ch will be allowed to the State. The National Insurance Act inaugurated a policy the fundamental principle of which is that the State owns the individual and is responsible ior his social welfare. The principle has been elaborated a hundredfold since the commencement of the war. The State, in the grim necessities of the hour, has demanded, not only the surrender of individual liberty, but also that commerce and industry shall be made subservient to the nation's needs. The State demands that trade shall be organised on such an economic basis and commerce directed into such channels as will best serve the interests of the State and not of the individual. The logical result of the application of this principle will be unadulterated socialism. What about Wales ? The dis- appearance of the disestabhshment question will shatter the bonds which have hitherto united Nonconformists. Henceforth new combinations will be formed in which reiigious creed and prejudice will have no part and it is for the leaders of thought amongst us to seek a common ground of action. We must have a national system of education; and, above all, some means must be found to nationalise the virile and aggressive labour organisations of South Wales. The nation has little faith in its present representatives. Those who claim to be national are, the majority of them. either sycophants or im-ertebrates, with the result that the most intelligent and well-informed among the electors are being driven into the ranks of the Independent Labour Fartv where the national interests of '1" waies are only of secondary import- ance. They have ceased to be—if ever they were—a national democratic party; and Wales cannot afford to be merged entirely m the general interests o Britain without sacrificino- what is best in her history and tradi-j t'ons.

RURAL HEALTH AND HOUSING. THE reports submitted by the medical officers (Dr. J. Arthur Rees and Dr. John James) to the Rural District Council oi Aberystwyth Union deserve much more serious attention than appears to have been given to them by that body. In the southern district the Medial Officer reports the births at 75 an annual birth-rate of 13. s per 1.000. in comparison with the year 1905 the birth-rate shows a decrease of hfty per cent., a grave fact in itself, which is accounted for by the compiler by the tendency of young people to drift to the industrial districts. Dr. Rees has also to record a death-rate of 20.6 per 1,000 as against 17.7 and 16 per 1,000 °r Je years 1914 and 1913, this being he highest death-rate vet recorded for the district. The increase is at tb. c.I.I. I extremes of F.fe-hdow 25 years and above 65 years. The mortality of infants under one year is at the rate ot 120 per 1,000, and this compares unfavourably with the great centres of population. The rates for the previous years were 53.3 and 98.7 per 1,000. Tuberculosis in its various forms wq, -a..J (A.:J responsible for 19 deaths as against i or I9I4• As the doctor remarks "It lST u,t:rr|ate aim of the Welsh i ational Memorial to exterminate the deadly scourge, and doubtless its officials are striving their utmost to t', attain that end. Unfortunately thn™ are many obstacles in the way, and one ol the most important and glaring is the sanitary state of the houses in which the patients are compelled to Jive. It behoves us therefore as a sanitary authority to do all we can to remove, or at least to mitigate, this evil and thus playa not unimportant part in combating the white plague." One of the means by which infection is spread was pointed out at the meeting by the Sanitary Inspector, Mr. James Hughes, who said thnt children and adults from infected houses mix with their fellows in public meetings, schools, etc. There were also ten deaths from cancer during the year. The number of deaths from this cause are yearly increasing. The Medical Officer emphasises the great need for the pro- vision of sanitary workmen's dwellings ion several districts where the houses are now deficient and overcrowded. Dr. James, in outspoken remarks, says A waiting policy in sanitation is dis- astrous. The war is made an excuse lor delaying sanitary work. It may be to start b:g house-, building schemes at the present time, but mat is not so in the case of repairs and improvements of cottages. A rent or two would in many instances sufhce to pay fOb the/ necessary im- provements. No one has a right to receive rent for a house that is a danger to the lives of- the inhabitants. Insanitary dwellings are fatal. Water supplies should not be neglected." There is sturdy commonsense in the foregoing remarks of an official wno is noted for his fearlessness. He further says "A committee was appointed to deal with the housing t, question. It started work with enthusasm. Several places were visiLed and sites inspected and selected for the erection of work- men's cottages, but no progress has been made owing to the war." Surely a country which can afford to spend six million pounds per day on implements of destruction to kill Ger- mans should be able to afford some- thing substantial to preserve the lives of its own people at home, or as Dr. james puts ;t, j he terrible death-roll or this war should not be increased by L the neglect of sanitation." Every latepayer and the head of every house- hc-Id in the union shouid have a copy of these outspoken reports to study at ieisure. J heir wide distribution would excite a virile public opinion which would act as a mach-necded driving force upon the local public bodies, who are far too inclined to make the war an excuse for their own inactivity. The Aberystwyth Rural District Coun- bodiP, n°p .than other similar osslbl>' 't is better in some 1 expects than others; but the reports presented and the facts disclosed demand from a body of thinking men ■-areiul and serious attention. "There is no wealth but life, and bad housino- is lobbing Britain of the only true uea 1th it possesses. This is a serious •s urgent 1°Cal ""ho*

EDITORIAL NOTES. The Rev. R. J. Campbell wants to know why the members of the niuitituuP of churches cannot unite together in one church. The -eason lies on the surface. It is because the members of -he various churches have not been blessed with minds ideals, and aspirations of as flexible and inconsistent a character as that possessed by the Rev. R. J. Campbell, who has been consistent in nothing but his bewilderng inconsistency. .A temperance conference and series ot public meetings were held at Barmouth last week. It is a moot point whether such conferences and meetings tend to secure the object they are supposed to attain and whether the practical outcome is commen- surate with the labour and expense in- volved in their oganisation. There is,. a variety of opinions on the question. The delegate who regards attendance at such gatherings as a pleasant holiday at small cost and delights in listening to perfervid eloquence and intellectual fireworks would answer the question in the affirmative; but the man who judges things by the fruits that they bear might have his doubts. As educational factors gatherings uf the kind play an important part. Dr. Richard Jones, at the special meet- ing of Merioneth County Council held last week, declared that in three important respects the county was one of the blackest spots in Wales in respect of infant mor- tality and deaths of mothers in childbirth and also in the direction of the medical attention of school children. If the state- ments of Dr. Jones are founded in fact, as no doubt they are, it is high time that the county bestirred itself to find a speedy 1 emedj, as with a dwindling population, fiom industrial causes, the county cannot afford to lose precious lives, even putting the matter on the lowest grounds of self- interest. It was admitted, as has been pointed out repeatedly by Dr. R. T. Jidwards, that his reports, compiled with infinite care relative to the health of I school children, have been allowed +0 ro. main dead letters and his recommendations have been ignored. Merioneth owes it to I itself and to the future of its citizens that some drastic steps must be taken without I delay to provide a remedy for the serious state of affairs disclosed in the Medical Officer's reports. Esperantists are actively engaged at the present time in offering their universal language for general use for trade pur- poses after the war and classes are being held to teach Esperanto not only in Great Britain but in the towns and cities of Russia, Spain, France, Norway, and Japan. It is claimed for Esperanto that it can be learnt in throe months, but it would take a. keen student from three to five years to learn Russian. It does not how long it would take an Englishman to learn Welsh or to deal properly with the commutations; but no doubt it would tab longer than to earn Esperanto which has no commutations or irregular verbs and has none of ihe eccentricies of English pronunciation. Messrs. Thomas Cook find Son, the London tourist agents, have inaugurated Esperanto classes which the London Chamber of Commerce are en- 1 couraging and Messrs. Cooks' Secretary, in welcoming the students, stated that his firm had for years used Esperanto in communicating with every part of the world. West Wales has several enthusi- astic Esoerantists. 1 Festiniog Guardians have at last asserted themselves as guardians of the poor in deed as well as name. Not all possessed of dairy cows themselves, they refuse to put the inmates on margarine, despite the fact that they were uiged to. do so. Some in the House are there through their own fault. The big mijot,-i.y because they did not possess dairy cows, or indeed cows of any sort when struggling for existence outside the doors of the House.- Festiniog Guardians are being carefully watched by the ratepayers who know the, difference between margarine and butter just as they do between guardians and. guardians. Evidence is increasing in all directions. that trie :s not satisfied with the- present >y tciii cf education in all its degrec-s and the feeling is growing in favour of lock, ^tcck, and barrel reforms. and the sweeping away of party and deno- minational hindrances and the oustino- Gf academic civnks and educational faddists. Yorkshire has inaugurated a novel scheme in establishing a training school for teachers who will be first taught how to develop their own individuality and then how to develop the individjality of their pupils. Poetry, art, music, and psychology are features of the curriculum. The teachers are to start purrls on the proper path of development- of individuality In Merioneth and other Welsh counties. exempted men have been told that they must join a volunteer training corps or their certificates of exemption will be can- celled. It is now realised that the en- forcement of that condition will work hardship in many cases and representations have been made to Mr. Long that it would not be in the national interest or fair to the exempted man to compel compliance. If a man is employed for long hours on work of national importance it would be unwise to force him to devote part of his leisure tune to some public service which will make further demands on his already taxed energies. There are many men en- gaged in sedentary occupations who would benefit physically by joining a volunteer corps. One can quite conceive that the Govern- ment is not particularly anxious to restrict the food puces. The greater the profits of the food and freight exploiters the greater the produce to national revenue. High price for food also is one way of compelling people to economise and to avoid extrava- gance in the use of food* stuffs. The diffi- culty is that it does not work fairly all round. With the high wages new pttid to some workers and the high interest paid to people who have spare capital to invest high food prices do not compel economy or prevent extravagance in the use of food, while high food priccs severely affects those whose wages are and have been sta- tionary and those whose earnings from businesses or professions have not been increased. At a recent Rhondda inquest the Cor- oner, referring to the way bov wit- jesses gave their evidence, remarked "r wished they would teach children in scho0L to. speak plamly. They do not speak, but gabble." Examining further boy wit- nesses, the Coroner added, "I have never come across a set of boys speaking more indistinctly." The faults of gabbling and indistinctness of utterance are common are not confined to boys. The utterances of public men nd even of learned judges and professors are often difficult to follow The art of public speaking may be summed up in the couplet "Speak slo.vly, and all he graces will follow in then- proper p aces It ls said by experts that a popn ai audience can only take in ideas at the 1 ate of sixty words a minute. Some speakers gabble out 200 words a minute wiS18, ""I™ is und«Modlj- faced "■th a difficulty m dealing wit), tmists and obtaining men for military ser It is as much to the interest, of cimers as of any other class of neople to carry on the war to a victorious inclu- sion and equally is it to the interests of all 'at as much food as possible should firc,cilic-,d at home. While farmeiS shouId not he hampered in their work by short- age of In hour they should also be IA-illing to do their part in the great struggle and, mstead of thwarting the Government in eij mo\e, fall in with arrangements for Powe? °per ihe present crisk- The Man- new'L Purposes taking before the ai a systematic survey of the situation m order to determine wl,at neW principles should be adopted i„ d„oidi^ voZs if TTpti?n by If tribunals are satisfied that r.n agricultural worW .1 h- for "e avauaoie i .,m htary service tribunals will be justified in refusing exemption and it appears that substitutes for such men -1 .9uch men taken will be found in men now -n X -1 my who are not up to the standard re- quired for general service The trade returns for September make I remarkable reading and are a testimonv £ remark a ble rcading and are a testimony to the vig:lance and USefullless of the British Fleet. The returns are also instructive in the matter of food production in thi country. For September illlnnrf. r"O JJun.u an increase of over seven millions is com- thiS +Ulth SnPt€m,,er' 1915> and of over thirty-two millions as compared with the mcntn m 1914, after the outbreak of Exports .have also, in spite of the war- perhaps also because of it-have a wax- 1 OTI, Urk oy over ten millions as compared with 1915 an eighteen millions as compared with September 1914 That n„ +i, c x. • *nat, on the face of it. s satIsfact°ry. Some of the details how- C?r7?re DOt S° satisfactory, for thev indi- TJj f i the leSSOns of national economy nd of the necessity for increased home ssrv.fo? +have not yet b-» fonH A • p 133her the value of ood drink, and tobacco imported made a total ot over thirty-six millions, or an in- crease of over three and a half millions, and the value of grain and flour and meai ncreased by over four millions. In f^t ere wj* imported into Great Britain' Iwt month £ 3,330,120 worth of meat more than was imported in September, 1914.