THE CIVIL SERVICE 77

may send the points in dispute to be decided by three arbitrators:
two of these represent the parties to the dispute, and the third
represents industry; his presence is a reminder of the fact that
all Government expenditure comes in the end out of the wealth
that industry produces.

INFLUENCE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE.

So the Civil Service is a trained body of .experts on whose
help every Government must rely. As long as they do the work
required of them they cannot be dismissed, they cannot be
publicly criticised, they will not be blamed if the results of
their work are not to the country's liking. All these misfortunes
are the lot of politicians, not Civil Servants. Being in so strong
a position they cannot help influencing Government policy;
and it is often said that die Civil Servants really rule the
country. Two facts strengthen this belief in the mind of the
ordinary citizen. When the Government takes any action that
affects him personally, it is usually a Civil Servant with whom
he comes in contact; When he argues about his Income Tax, or
his right to a Pension, he will argue with a Civil Servant.
Further, the voter notices that, despite the fury with which
parties attack one another at elections, no tremendous changes
occur in men's lives, as far as he can remember. What truth,
then, is there in the charge that the British form of Government
is "bureaucracy"—rule by officials?

Civil Servants may discourage a Minister who is trying to
start a new policy by drawing his attention to the difficulties.
A President of the Board of Education, for example, may wish
to raise the school-leaving age to 15. It is pointed out to him
that this will mean more schools and more teachers; that the
need will be particularly great in districts where the population
is growing rapidly; that different arrangements will be needed
in the districts where it is shrinking; that certain industries will
be specially inconvenienced by the withdrawal of the 14 year
old workers. Again, many parents will suffer loss if their children