Subsistence Production The reopening of the mines is not meditated
nor will the old activity be resumed at any foreseen date ; but here and there the surface begins to blossom as the rose and the worst attribute of depression to be absorbed. A really great experi- ment, in idea if not in present scope, advances to an assured success. Hope comes from the East. In the Eastern Valley is in being an essay in "Subsistence Production" that may prove a model for many districts. I spent a day and a night there last week and happened to meet Mr. George Lansbury. He lamented that the scheme was not Socialism, but he blessed it nevertheless and wholeheartedly. The root idea is now well known ; a number of men contribute their labour, receiving no money in return, as a man receives no money for cultivating his own garden. Some are weaving, some tailoring, some making bread, some doing butchers' work, some making boots and a large number growing fruit, flowers and vegetables, keeping poultry and tending stock. *Others are engaged in distribution. In return for the labour, which varies greatly in amount, the workers receive tokens which give them the right to buy the produce—milk, bread, vegetables, clothes or what not—at cost price. All that is produced is distributed among the workers and their families. They can buy, for example, a good cockerel for sixpence or a well-tailored pair of trousers for five shillings.
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