and that there is no limit to what a million people working together can accomplish? But there is this vital distinction between a small group and the large town: in the small group there is an intimate personal touch and personal understanding between all the different members of the community, whereas the larger the community becomes, the more attenuated must be the amount of personal contact, until, at quite an early stage, the members must cease even to recognise one another at sight. Now in all large associations a definite scheme of organisation is introduced to meet this difficulty. Groups of individuals, large enough to become definite centres of influence, but not too large to permit a considerable degree of personal intercourse between the members, are formed. These groups, for purposes affecting the district, appoint representatives to put forward the group point of view at district meetings, and these district meetings again, if necessary, appoint a National Council to represent the whole movement, whatever it may be. In this way the whole movement is kept in touch, and its power can be focused upon any object. You have a similar type of organisation in the army, where the soldiers are grouped in companies of 100 with their immediate officers through whom they are kept in proper relation with the other companies in the regiment. The group of companies forming the regiment again have their regimental officers through whom they are kept in proper relation with the general officer commanding the division; the generals of division are in immediate contact with the commander-in-chief and his staff; and so the whole force of the army, the
Page:Old Towns and New Needs.djvu/68
Appearance