The membership of the
Society reached its maximum in 1913, 2804 in the parent Society and
about 500 others in local societies. In 1915 the members were 2588 and
250. The removal to new premises in the autumn of 1914 was more than a
mere change of offices, since it provided the Society with a shop for
the sale of its publications, a hall sufficiently large for minor
meetings, and accommodation in the same house for the Research
Department and the Women's Group. Moreover a couple of rooms were
furnished as a "Common Room" for members, in which light refreshments
can be obtained and Socialist publications consulted. The finances of
the Society have of course been adversely affected by the war, but not,
so far, to a very material extent.
The chief new departure of recent years has been the organisation of
courses of lectures in London for the general public by Bernard Shaw,
Sidney Webb, and Mrs. Webb, which have not only been of value as a means
of propaganda, but have also yielded a substantial profit for the
purposes of the Society. The plan originated with a debate between
Bernard Shaw and G.K. Chesterton in 1911, which attracted a crowded
audience and much popular interest. Next year Mr. Shaw debated with Mr.
Hilaire Belloc: in 1913 Mr. and Mrs. Webb gave six lectures at King's
Hall on "Socialism Restated": in 1914 Bernard Shaw gave another course
of six at Kingsway Hall on the "Redistribution of Income," in which he
developed the thesis that the economic goal of Socialism is equality of
income for all.
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