Socialism and Democracy in EuropeOrth, Samuel Peter
History
Socialism and Democracy in Europe
Orth, Samuel Peter
Democracy; Socialism
[10] There are 15,000,000 working men and women in Great Britain;
3,000,000 belong to co-operative enterprises, 2,500,000 to trade
unions.
[11] See H.M. HYNDMAN, _Autobiography_, London, 1911.
[12] Dr. Wescott, Bishop of Durham, was the founder of the Christian
Social Union. His pamphlet, _Socialism_, is a real contribution to the
literature on the Church and its relation to labor. The present
attitude of the Union may be gleaned from the following quotation
taken from the letter written by Dr. Gore, Bishop of Birmingham, to
his diocese, on the occasion of his transfer to the bishopric of
Oxford. The letter was written during the railway and dockers' strike,
in September, 1911: "There is a profound sense of unrest and
dissatisfaction among workers recently. I cannot but believe that this
profound discontent is justified, though some particular exhibitions
of it are not. As Christians we are not justified in tolerating the
conditions of life and labor under which the vast mass of our
population is living. We have no right to say that these conditions
are not remediable. Preventable lack of equipment for life among
young, and later the insecurity of employment and inadequacy of
remuneration, and consequent destitution and semi-destitution among so
many people, ought to inspire in all Christians a determination to
reform our industrial system."
[13] From _Statement of Principles of the League_.
[14] Even at this time the conservatism of the unions was hard to
break. The vote to take this step was 546,000 to 434,000 in favor of
appointing the committee.
[15] Election expenses are borne by the candidates, not by the state.
They frequently are over $3,000, and it obviously is impossible for a
workingman to conduct such a campaign at his own expense.
[16] Proceedings of Labor Party, Annual Congress, 1907.
[17] See _Socialists in Great Britain_, a compilation published by the
London _Times_, p. 24.
The following table shows the membership of the Labor Party since its
formation in 1900, from the annual report of the party executive,
1911:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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