The March from Jarrow Everyone agrees that the condition of
Jarrow, like that of the depressed areas in general, demands immediate redress ; whether the demand is most wisely presented by the 200 marchers who on November 3rd will present .a petition to Parliament is more arguable. But whatever the march is it is, pace the Bishop of Durham, in no way a " revolutionary " act ; the title to petition Parliament is an ancient, a valuable, a well-recognised right. The march itself is to be welcoMed, like the-King's visit to South Wales, as a means-of concentrating public attention on a problem which should not for one moment be ignored until a solution for it has been found. It cannot be forgotten that some months ago a scheme which would have been of the greatest value to Jarrow, and was in itself economically justified, was defeated by a combina- tion of private interests over which the Government has Considerable influence ; when that opportunity was lost, it might well seem that somewhat dramatic gestures were necessary to call attention to the needs of Jarrow. Miss Ellen Wilkinson has quoted a statement of the President of the Board of Trade that " Jarrow must work out its own salvation." That statement exemplifies an attitude which, rightly or wrongly, is widely believed to be that of the Government ; and it is this belief which inspires marches which are much more pathetic than revolutionary—and which, let it be added, will soon lose their force if frequently repeated.
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