G. Ritchie, Mrs. Bateson, widow of the Master of
St. John's College, Cambridge, and more important than all the rest, Mr.
H.W. Massingham. He was on the Continent when the Manifesto was in
preparation; otherwise perhaps he might have come to accept it: for his
reply, which was published in the same magazine a month later, was
little more than a restatement of the case. "The only sound
interpretation of a model employer," he said, "is a man who pays trade
union rates of wages, observes trade union limit of hours, and deals
with 'fair' as opposed to 'unfair' houses. Apply all these tests and the
Government unquestionably breaks down on every one of them." If this was
all that an apologist for the Government could say, no wonder that the
attack went home. The opponents of Home Rule were of course delighted to
find another weak spot in their adversary's defences; and the episode
was not soon forgotten.
In January the article was reprinted with much additional matter
drafted by Bernard Shaw. He showed in considerable detail how a Labour
Party ought to be formed, and how, in fact, it was formed seven years
later. With our numerous and still flourishing local societies, and the
newly formed I.L.P., a large circulation for the tract was easily
secured. Thousands of working-class politicians read and remembered it,
and it cannot be doubted that the "Plan of Campaign for Labour," as it
was called, did much to prepare the ground for the Labour Party which
was founded so easily and flourished so vigorously in the first years of
the twentieth century.
Pages:
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144