On February 9th the great controversy began by the paper entitled
"Faults of the Fabian," read by Mr. Wells to a members' meeting, and
subsequently issued as a private document to all the members of the
Society. It was couched altogether in a friendly tone, expressed cordial
appreciation of the record of the Society, but criticised it for lack of
imaginative megalomania. It was "still half a drawing-room society,"
lodged in "an underground apartment," or "cellar," with one secretary
and one assistant. "The first of the faults of the Fabian, then, is that
it is small, and the second that strikes me is that, even for its
smallness, it is needlessly poor." The task undertaken by the Fabians
"is nothing less than the alteration of the economic basis of society.
Measure with your eye this little meeting, this little hall: look at
that little stall of not very powerful tracts: think of the scattered
members, one here, one there.... Then go out into the Strand. Note the
size of the buildings and business places, note the glare of the
advertisements, note the abundance of traffic and the multitude of
people.... That is the world whose very foundations you are attempting
to change. How does this little dribble of activities look then?"
The paper goes on to complain that the Society did not advertise itself,
made the election of new members difficult, and maintained a Basis
"ill-written and old-fashioned, harsh and bad in tone, assertive and
unwise.
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