ditions in Eastern lands.[221] Nevertheless, so far as the
Near and Middle East is concerned, nothing like this has as yet
materialized. China, to be sure, may yet have unpleasant surprises in
store for the West,[222] but neither the Moslem world nor India have
developed factory labour with the skill, stamina, and assiduity
sufficient to undercut the industrial workers of Europe and America. In
India, for example, despite a swarming and poverty-stricken population,
the factories are unable to recruit an adequate or dependable
labour-supply. Says M. Metin: "With such long hours and low wages it
might be thought that Indian industry would be a formidable competitor
of the West. This is not so. The reason is the bad quality of the work.
The poorly paid coolies are so badly fed and so weak that it takes at
least three of them to do the work of one European. Also, the Indian
workers lack not only strength but also skill, attention, and liking for
their work.... An Indian of the people will do anything else in
preference to becoming a factory operative. The factories thus get only
the dregs of the working class. The workers come to the factories and
mines as a last resort; they leave as soon as they can return to their
prior occupations or find a more remunerative employment. Thus the
factories can never count on a regular labour-supply. Would higher wages
remedy this? Many employers say no--as soon as the workers got a little
ahead they would quit, either temporarily till their money was spent, or
permanently for some more congenial calling."[223] These statements are
fully confirmed by an Indian economic writer, who says: "One of the
greatest drawbacks to the establishment of large industries in India is
the scarcity and inefficiency of labour. Cheap labour, where there is no
physical stamina, mental discipline, and skill behind it, tends to be
costly in the end. The Indian labourer is mostly uneducated. He is not
in touch with his employers or with his work. The labouring population
of the towns is a flitting, dilettante population."[224]

Thus Indian industry, despite its very considerable growth, has not come
up to early expectations. As the official Year-Book very frankly states:
"India, in short, is a country rich in raw materials and in industrial
possibilities, but poor in manufacturing accomplishments."[225] In fact,
to some observers, India's industrial future seems far from bright. As a
competent English student of