Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/843

 MUNICIPAL ACTIVITY IN BRITAIN 827

people on the neighboring hill sent their sons and daughters to boarding establishments for "young gentlemen" and "young ladies." It seemed to me that the American public school recog- nized everywhere as a general means of education, and willingly supported even by the least progressive communities, marked an advance in civilization the purport of which could hardly be exaggerated. England will have to get over being scandalized at attempts made to provide the best education for the children of the "poor," no matter what pockets are turned inside out to find the money.

The London County Council has just taken over the whole educational system of London; and since the schools are exces- sively numerous and greatly lacking in common standards, the task of unifying everything and bringing it into line with modern requirements is a gigantic one. It is too soon, as yet, to say much about results; but what is to be said in anticipation will be found in a little book by Mr. Sidney Webb, published. I think, last year.

The technical schools of the London County Council have been in operation for some time, and have met with considerable success. My brother, Mr. Douglas Cockerell, has charge of the bookbinding classes, and from him I was able to learn much about the aims and scope of the schools. In bookbinding, as in other trades, mechanical appliances are tending to take the place of hand-work, and while the production of books is thereby in- creased, the skilled worker is becoming gradually extinct. With the abandonment of the old system of apprentices, the worker ceases to obtain a broad knowledge of his trade, and the final outcome is, as William Morris stated, that even those who would have good things cannot get them at any price. In the county council workshops, however, an attempt is made to give a broader training, and to preserve the individuality of the worker. In this way it is hoped that the artistic crafts, and those requir- ing much individual initiative, will be preserved, and by degrees the public may be so educated as to prefer good quality and variety to cheapness and monotony. There is a fallacy in the doctrine that supply always follows demand: on the contrary.