INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change

184 EXECUTIVE ltfANAGEMENT.
normal means of protecting a famine-stricken
population. Ther.e is no doubt that the agricul"
tural classes in many parts of India are in excess
of the number required for the cultivate\l
area, so that there need be no anxiety caused re
specting the amount of cultivation in the distrie:
whence the men were drafted.
So much for the indirect means which aifcC'"
the economy of relief-works. The direct measures
which promote economy are many, bUT
they are matters of detail, the right organistl
tion of which will depend' mainly on local cir
cumstances. It will be enough to enumerate soml
of them, with a few passing remarks thereon.
Of the various methods of employing Iabom
on relief-works, payment may be made according
to,-lst, daily labour; 2d, task-work; and
3d, contract. And again, the actual wages rna}
be given in money or in grain; and the latte!
may either be cooked or raw. The choice thm
afforded is a fruitful element of discussion:
there may easily be as many different opinions
as changes can be rung on the number of t~rms.
In daily labour, demoralisation is the bugbear.
It may be said to be only one step, although DO