[Cheers.] The average Briton is too shy to be a hero until he
is asked. The British temper is one of never wasting heroism on needless
display, but there is plenty of it for the need. There is nothing
Britishers would not give up for the honor of their country or for the
cause of freedom. Indulgences, comforts, even the necessities of life
they would willingly surrender. Why, there are two millions of them at
this hour who have willingly tendered their lives for their country.
What more could they do? If the absorption of all our engineering
resources is demanded, no British citizen will grudge his share of
inconvenience.
But what about those more immediately concerned in that kind of work?
Here I am approaching something which is very difficult to talk
about--I mean the employers and workmen. I must speak out quite plainly;
nothing else is of the slightest use. For one reason or another we are
not getting all the assistance we have the right to expect from our
workers. Disputes, industrial disputes, are inevitable; and when you
have a good deal of stress and strain, men's nerves are not at their
best. I think I can say I always preserve my temper in these days--I
hope my wife won't give me away--[laughter]--and I have no doubt that
the spirit of unrest creeps into the relations between employer and
workmen.
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