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TRAINING OF THE ABLE-BODIED
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lishments, we can easily see that the problem before us for the whole country is no light one.


The Organisation of the Labour Market.

In their proposals for the "organisation of the labour market," the Minority would, in fact, stretch it, bound hand and foot, upon a bed of Procrustes. The working man would be obliged to accept any job that is offered to him by the labour exchange, regardless of time and place, under the risk, if he refused, of being sent to a penal colony. He might be sent off by administrative order to any part of Great Britain (p. 1208), like the young man in Richter's "Pictures of the Socialistic Future." He would be cut off from all chances of a temporary job, which might be just what he wanted to tide him over a difficulty. If he was a railway, tram, or omnibus employee, his hours of labour would be limited, and he could no longer earn money by working overtime. The employer of labour would be debarred from giving a man a job except through the labour exchange. The whole labour market would be delivered over in fetters to a number of salaried officials.


Training.

We have next to see what is meant by "training." The Minority only tell us that "the technique of this subject is as yet in the making" (p. 1071). They can only offer suggestions, and these suggestions are that mental arithmetic, mechanical drawing, and drawing to scale, gardening, cooking, washing, might be tried. The men are to be medically examined and tested: and there are to be physical exercises and organised recreation (p. 1204). We may pause for the moment to think of the position of Local Authorities such as those in Liverpool, whose business it would be to set 5000 dock