W. Lee of the S.D.F.,
Emery Walker of the H.S.S., and myself, and by fifteen delegates,
including Sydney Olivier and Sidney Webb of the F.S., Harry Quelch of
the S.D.F., and the three authors.
Like most joint productions of clever men, it is by no means an
inspiring document. The less said, the less to dispute about, and so it
only runs to eight pages of large print, four devoted to the evils of
capitalism, unemployment, the decline of agriculture, and the
ill-nurture of children, and the rest to remedies, a queer list,
consisting of:--
An eight hours law.
Prohibition of child labour for wages.
Free Maintenance for all necessitous children (a compromise in which
Fabian influence may be traced by the insertion of the word
"necessitous").
Equal payment of men and women for equal work.
(A principle which, whether good or bad, belongs rather to individualism
than to Socialism: Socialism according to Bernard Shaw--and most of us
agree with him--demands as an ideal equal maintenance irrespective of
work; and in the meantime payment according to need, each to receive
that share of the national product which he requires in order to do his
work and maintain his dependents, if any, appropriately.)
To resume the programme:--
An adequate minimum wage for all adults employed in Government and
Municipal services or in any monopolies such as railways enjoying
State privileges.
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