But the Liberal working men would not vote for the Labour man. Why? Because they were afraid he would not get in. If he did not get in the Tory would get in, and the Home Rule vote would be one less in the House. They voted for the Liberal, and he was returned. That is ten years ago. What good has that M.P. done for Home Rule, and what has he done for Labour? The Labour man could have done no more for Home Rule, but he would have worked hard for Labour, and no Party Whip would have checked him. Well, during those ten years it is not too much to say that fifty Labour candidates have been sacrificed in the same way to Home Rule. In ten years those men would have done good service. _And they were all Home Rulers._ Such is the wisdom of the working men who cling to the tails of the Liberal Party. Return a hundred Labour men to the House of Commons, and the Liberal Party will be stronger than if a hundred Liberals were sent in their place, for there is not a sound plank in the Liberal programme which the Labour M.P. would wish removed. But do you doubt for a moment that the presence in the House of a hundred Labour members would do no more for Labour than the presence in their stead of a hundred Liberals? A working man must be very dull if he believes that. That is my case against the old parties. I could say no more if I tried. If you want to benefit your own class, if you want to hasten reform, if you want to frighten the Tories and wake up the Liberals, put your hands in your pockets, find a _farthing a week_ for election and for parliamentary expenses, send a hundred Labour men to the House, and watch the effects. I think you will be more than satisfied. And _that_ is what _I_ call "practical politics." Finally, to end as I began, if self-interest is the strongest motive in human nature, the man who wants his own advantage secured will be wise to attend to it himself. The Liberal Party may be a better party than the Tory Party, but the _best_ party for Labour is a _Labour_ Party. CHAPTER XIX TO-DAY'S WORK Self-interest being the strongest motive in human nature, he who wishes his interests to be served will be wise to attend to them himself. If you, Mr. Smith, as a working man, wish to have better wages, shorter hours, more holidays, and cheaper living, you had better take a hand in the class war by becoming a recruit in the army of Labour. The first line of the Labour army is the Trade Unions. The second line is the Municipality. The third line is Parliament. If working men desire to improve their conditions they will be wise to serve their own interests by using the Trade Unions, the Municipalities, and the House of Commons for all they are worth; and they are worth a lot. Votes you have in plenty, for all practical purposes, and of money you can yourselves raise more than you need, without either hurting yourselves or incurring obligations to men of other classes.