Darkest India / A Supplement to General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out"

by Frederick St. George De Lautour Booth-Tucker

This social problem is no doubt the "white elephant" of society. Cannot we devise a "kheddah" for capturing the entire herd wholesale? Perhaps after all we shall find it easier and quicker to catch and tame the herd, than to set snares and pitfalls for individual ones and twos. Ah, you say, many have tried and failed. That is because they have not studied the habits of the animal. Besides it is by means of failure that the grandest successes have ultimately been achieved. See how skilfully that "mahaut" manages his huge yet obedient servant. And cannot we point already in our own ranks to elephants more wonderful that have been tamed and mastered by the goad of love?

It is the successes of the past that encourage General Booth to face the problem in the spirit of hopefulness that breathes through every page of "Darkest England." And if the genius of man has been able to tame the strongest of animals, such as elephants,—the fiercest, such as lions,—the swiftest, such as horses, and the dullest, such as the ass,—why should we despair of reducing to order this chaotic mass of labor, and of turning that which at present constitutes a danger that threatens the very existence of society into a source of safety, of wealth and power? At any rate this is the object that will be kept steadily in view by our Labor Bureau.

All persons will be able to register names at our Bureau. If they are destitute and willing to go to our yards, they will be sent there and given work suitable to their caste, or profession. If on the other hand they are not in need of such assistance, being supported by their friends, we shall simply register their names and do our best to find suitable work for them, though it would of course be distinctly understood by them that we undertook no responsibility in regard to this. A small fee will be charged, in proportion to the nature of the case. This would serve to cover the expenses of the Bureau, which would I am sure meet a long felt want.

Employers of labour would benefit almost more even than the men employed, as we should always be able to supply them at a short notice with any description and number of "hands" that they might require, and they would be saved the expense, delay, and uncertainty of having to advertise.

For instance I know of millowners who complain that they cannot get labourers who will stay, and that their work suffers from the flotsam, jetsam character of those whom they employ working for a few weeks and then leaving. This we should be able to remedy.

Indeed after a short time we might reasonably expect that in recognising the great convenience thus afforded them, millowners and other great employers of labour, including very possibly the Government and the Railway Companies would refuse to employ any who had not registered themselves at our Bureau.

Again it would doubtless be a great satisfaction to employers in cases where a reduction of establishment became necessary, to feel that they could hand over to us those with whose services they were dispensing, knowing that every effort would be made to make suitable provision for them.

The labour register would contain columns in which would be entered the various kinds of employment for which the applicant was willing or suited, and the minimum pay which he was prepared to accept, so that we should be able to ascertain exactly how many out-of-works there were of each particular class. We should also enter in a separate register those who had accepted an inferior position, in the hopes of being able to better themselves subsequently.

In connection with our registers we should keep a character roll. Copies of certificates would be filed, and notes made in regard to unsatisfactory characters, so that in course of time we should be able to give some sort of a guarantee in regard to those whom we sent out. In the case of any one being reported to us as unsatisfactory, we should still, however, give him another chance by redrafting him into our Labour Yards, or by giving him some sort of inferior employment, more immediately under our own surveillance, till he had regained his character.

Among other things we might undertake to supply servants to European families. A register of such would be very useful both to masters and servants. For instance in the case of lost "chits" we could supply certified copies of the original.