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Liberalism and the Social Problem by Sir Winston S. Churchill
page 128 of 275 (46%)
made for his wear-and-tear, of which he is himself rather careless.
Further, very little account is taken of the evil effects of the
overwork of men on the well-being of the next generation.... When the
hours and the general conditions of labour are such as to cause great
wear-and-tear of body or mind or both, and to lead to a low standard
of living; when there has been a want of that leisure, rest, and
repose which are among the necessaries for efficiency, then the labour
has been extravagant from the point of view of society at large....
And, since material wealth exists for the sake of man, and not man for
the sake of material wealth, the replacement of inefficient and
stunted human lives by more efficient and fuller lives would be a gain
of a higher order than any temporary material loss that might have
been occasioned on the way."

If it be said that these arguments are general, is it not true that
special circumstances differentiate the case of coal-miners from that
of many other industries in this country? Others have spoken of the
heat of the mine, the danger of fire-damp, of the cramped position, of
the muscular exertions of the miner, at work in moist galleries
perhaps a mile under the ground. I select the single fact of
deprivation of natural light. That alone is enough to justify
Parliament in directing upon the industry of coal-mining a specially
severe scrutiny and introducing regulations of a different character
from those elsewhere.

The hon. Member for Windsor[10] who moved the rejection of this Bill
described it as a reckless and foolhardy experiment. I see the miner
emerging from the pit after eight hours' work with the assertion on
his lips that he, at any rate, has paid his daily debt to his fellow
men. Is the House of Commons now going to say to him, "You have no
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