A
Socialist weekly would be valuable, but it would not replace "Fabian
News," which was required for the internal purposes of the Society, and
capable journalists like Mr. Wells himself preferred the publicity of
the "Fortnightly Review" and "The Times," to the "Clarion" and the
"Labour Leader." The Reply goes at great length into the difficulty of
forming a Socialist Party, and into the composition and policy of the
Labour Party, all admirably argued, but just a little unreal; for
Bernard Shaw has never quite understood the Labour Party which he did so
much to create, and at the same time he is thoroughly convinced that he
sees it as it is, in the white light of his genius. Permeation is
described, explained, and defended--the Special Committee had suggested
rather than proposed, in scarcely more than a sentence, that the policy
be abandoned--and it is announced that as long as the Executive was
unchanged there would be no reversal of the political policy of the
Society. Finally the Reply asserts that the time had come to attempt the
formation of a middle-class Socialist Party. At the end three
resolutions were set out, which the Executive submitted to the Society
for discussion.
How much of personality, how little of principle there was in the great
controversy is indicated by the fact that Mrs. Bernard Shaw signed the
Special Committee Report, with the reservation that she also completely
agreed with the Reply.
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