Helped by wireless (a revolutionary agent in village life), women's
institutes and other societies, these councils have a great opportunity ; but they will miss it, if they do not harness their energies and, if one may say so, put on blinkers. One would like to see all of them and all their secretaries concentrate wholly for the moment on forming Village Community Councils. In the village the blacksmith and the Lord of Manor are friends in a sense true of very few rich men and poor men in any urban community ; and therefore the village offers an incomparable opportunity for forming a council of all the talents. If lively councils of this sort were established and kept in touch with others we should very soon see villages equipped with most of the communal possessions they need for social health ; with halls and equip- ment for local industries, and playing fields, and, not least, gardens. The subject is touched on in "Corporate Life of the Village," a 3d. pamphlet issued by the National Council of Social Service, from 33 Bloomsbury Square ; and it is to be sincerely wished that the Council will not let its emphasis shift for a moment from this cardinal point.
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