" The "Star,"
founded in 1888, was promptly "collared," according to Bernard Shaw,[27]
who was its musical critic, and who wrote in it, so it was said, on
every subject under the sun except music! Mr. H.W. Massingham, assistant
editor of the "Star," was elected to the Society and its Executive
simultaneously in March, 1891, and in 1892 he became assistant editor of
the "Daily Chronicle," under a sympathetic chief, Mr. A.E. Fletcher.
Mrs. Besant and the Rev. Stewart Headlam had been elected to the London
School Board in 1888, and had there assisted a Trade Union
representative in getting adopted the first Fair Wages Clause in
Contracts. But in the first London County Council the Society, then a
tiny body, was not represented.
At the second election in 1892 six of its members were elected to the
Council and another was appointed an alderman. Six of these were members
best known to the public as Trade Unionists or in other organisations,
but Sidney Webb, who headed the poll at Deptford with 4088 votes, whilst
his Progressive colleague received 2503, and four other candidates only
5583 votes between them, was a Fabian and nothing else. He had
necessarily to resign his appointment in the Colonial Office, and
thenceforth was able to devote all his time to politics and literary
work. Webb was at once elected chairman of the Technical Education
Board, which up to 1904 had the management of all the education in the
county, other than elementary, which came under public control.
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