Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Síða 274

2Ó2
LE NORD
and the sanity of the body politic were menaced. They felt that
the problem of unemployment must be kept constantly before
the public eye; the general conscience must be kept awake.
When tackling a complicated problem such as this, there is
a considerable risk of losing oneself in generalities. But although
many members of the inner circle of the L. A. B. belong to the
“Oxford Group Movement,” and therefore are not likely to
forget individuality and psychology, they are not content with
preaching good-will. They want action — and action at once,
in order to prove that something can be done, not only by the
authorities, but by every one of us. They do not set their con-
science at rest with the assertion that you cannot do very much
anyhow — and therefore omit to do anything, although you
might very well do something! The L. A. B. is not afraid of
humble tasks with very limited results; it is their firm conviction
that if you start here and now and obtain immediate results,
however small, the lesson will quickly be learnt by many others,
and the cumulative effect may be very considerable.
The L. A. B. has no set programme and does not cherish
complicated or extensive reform plans, which at the best give
rise to long discussions and antagonize some people in advance.
It wishes to start here and now to do something on which every-
body — or almost everybody — can agree.
The call for united national action to promote a strong pri-
vate initiative in the fight against unemployment was, from the
very outset, heard in many quarters. The personal appeal of
the founder, Mr. Valdemar Hvidt, a barrister of the Danish
Supreme Court, and his friends, carried great weight; he succeeded
in bringing together people who had never before met in friendly
collaboration. Men and women from all political parties, workers
and employers, representatives of town and country, sat around
the same table and agreed in August 1939 to a common plan
of action and the setting up of a managing committee. The same
thing happened in dozens of places all over the count.ry, where
Mr. Hvidt and his collaborators spoke about their ideas and plans.
Very soon, within 6 months, there were local organizations in
all the principal towns in Denmark. At present, the L. A. B.
comprises xi6 local branches, most of them in towns, but also
some in country districts.
The organization is not considered as an aim in itself. Rules
and formalities are reduced to a minimum; it is a question of ob-