Where Oxford Leads The whole credit does not, of course,
belong to Oxford, though Oxford has gone rather further and more practically into details of organization than anyone else. Accounts . of the first year's achievements give satisfactory evidence of the actual sales secured at various shows. Fortunately this year the Bath and West Agricultural Show, which is always one of the best, is to be held (on a lovely site) in Oxford itself, and it will offer an excellent opportunity for exhibiting the work of the Guild. Help, and indeed in some measure leadership, has come from the Central Industries Bureau in London. The bureau is, for example, sending down its expert in design in wrought iron work, and his services are offered to any craftsman, whether or no he belongs to the Guild. Working drawings and designs from the central bureau have greatly helped many craftsmen and resulted in orders. Any bona fide craftsman is eligible for membership and may secure it by applying to the secretary of the Guild at Barnett House, Oxford. That the rural craftsman cannot compete with the factory is a common and very superficial argument. He does not try to compete with the factory, because he can produce a quality of work that is quite beyond the reach of the factory. Woodwork, iron Work, leather ,work, stone work or what not is as truly art as the painting of a picture or the cutting of a statue ; and a good many people demand it and are glad to pay for it.
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