MODERN PROBLEMS.*

in OLIVER LODGE'S new book, Modern Problems, covers a very wide ground. He writes of M. Bergson's philosophy and -of Mr. Balfour's criticism thereon, of the "Irrationality of War," of the "Functions of Money," and of "Social Reform," -of "Competition v. Co-operation," and of a dozen other subjects. The more popular of the papers are exeellent read- ing, provocative of both thought and amusement. The two or three first chapters—only two or three out of twenty-one— a& rather technical, and will, we fear, bore the very readers who will take most delight in the others. We would warn such readers not to be put off the book by the first few pages. In the eyes of the majority they may seem heavy, but they are easily turned over, and are followed by many chapters which cannot fail to give them pleasure. "Competition a. Co-operation," for instance, is a rollicking and only half- serious indictment of modern trade methods. Sir Oliver tells us in a note that it was originally a paper read at a private discussion society, "and for that purpose was worded strongly and one-sideclly." By its main thesis, how- -ever, he still stands, and, as a matter of fact, several of the other papers echo its conclusions. "I wish to maintain," he writes, "that many kinds of competition, so far from benefitting us or increasing our wealth, are among the -curses of civilization, and that substantial progress will be, impossible till they are got rid of." Sir Oliver goes on to give a vivid description of the present advertising system, for whicsh, as he justly observes, the consumer pays. "A letter can, thbwever, be profitably carried from here to Aberdeen, b:rid de- livered with regularity and promptitude. Row could that be done if we had a ?Amber of rival carriers all touting for oustoin, if different patterns of postage stamps had to be advertised, and if the price of them were liable to jump rip and down Modern Problems. By Sir Oliver Lodge, F.B.S. London: Methuen and On. De. net..]

according to some fantastic law of supply and demand ?" To the obvious retort that monopoly is worse than competition he makes a fierce answer: "When an abuse has only one neck it is not difficult to deal with." Here is his notion of a great industrial undertaking carried on as it ought to be.

"Suppose the firms making soap were really a social com- munity, with no private end: to serve or fortune to make, but managed the concern as a postmaster manages his department ; and suppose the soap were not felt to be quite up to the mark, what should the nation do? Why should it not pay a competent chemist, and provide him with suitable appliances, to make experiments and devise a better material ? Why should it not, if he succeeded, give him a peerage ? "

Competition," he finally declares—and really the sentence if not true is very witty—" is the wrangling of savages round a table at which they might sit at peace and pass each other victuals."

Our author is immensely impressed with the misery caused by the incessant grind of dull labour. "Leisure—time at our own disposal, time to live and do something worth doing wholly for its own sake—is the most valuable asset in life." It is a redistribution of leisure rather than a redistribution of wealth which he desires. All the same, he declares with indignation in the essay entitled The Function of Money," that "the latest of the functions of money is to rule the modern world." We quote at length his suggestions for the amelioration of this evil.

"1. That human labour is the ultimate standard of value, and that coins might instructively be inscribed in terms of labour.

2. That by the institution of banks, stocks and shares, and of inheritance, the original exchange po*er of money has become subordinate to its secondary and accidental but now supreme and unlimited storage power.

3. That the possession of money means the control of one transfer of it ; i.e., the determining of when and how it shall become active and influential on life.

4. That since wealth is the power of determining the direction of human activity, the personality of the owner is a vitally important factor.

5. That large fortunes are a menace to society by reason of the contrasts they emphasize, the power they confer, and the uncertain character of their owners.

• 6. That the present frequency of large fortunes is due to artificial social arrangements, which may be altered ; and that it is desirable to reconsider and modify the law of inheritance.

7. That steady industry and moderate income are wholesomer, both for a nation and for an individual, than feverish activity and rapid acquisition. 8. That financial interests play a greater part in national and international politics than is desirable."

So far as we understand him, he objects to any surplus which may exist at the end of the political year being used to lessen taxation. It should, he thinks, be "expended on enlightened objects," such as secondary education.

"The discovery of a mode of increasing the fertility of our soil until It Can compete with virgin soils elsewhere and feed the inhabitants in case of need—all these problems are awaiting greater scientific knowledge ; they are well within the scope of research, and there are trained men who would undertake the research for a pittance, if they had the material appliances ; but nothing is done, save where some enlightened individual expends his private fortune, as well as his personal effort, in making some attempt to examine into the causes of things."

Sir Oliver Lodge differs from most drastic and viewy reformers in one very vital point. He is not unfair to the world as it is—he makes out no great case against the present.

"This I will say, that never was the outlook so hopeful. Never were all classes so permeated by the spirit, not the phrases but the essential spirit, of brotherhood and co-operation; never was there such universal recognition of the beauty of the spirit of real and vital Christianity, far above the differences and dogmas of the sects."