The History of the Fabian SocietyPease, Edward R. (Edward Reynolds)
History
The History of the Fabian Society
Pease, Edward R. (Edward Reynolds)
Fabian Society (Great Britain); Socialism -- Great Britain
It is not necessary to describe the arrangements of the School, for
these institutions have in the last few years become familiar to
everybody. We do not, however, as a rule make quite such a business of
the schooling as is usual where the term is short, and study is the sole
object. One regular lecture a day for four days a week is the rule, but
impromptu lectures or debates in the evenings, got up amongst the
guests, are customary. Moreover, frequent conferences on special
subjects are held, either by allied bodies, such as the Committee for
the Prevention of Destitution, or by a Group, such as the Education
Group or the Research Department. On these occasions the proportion of
work to play is higher. The School-house belongs to the Society for the
whole year, and parties are arranged for Christmas, Easter, and
Whitsuntide whenever possible.
After four years at Llanbedr the lease was terminated and the original
Committee wound up. The capital borrowed had all been repaid, and there
remained, after a sale by auction, a lot of property and nearly £100 in
cash. This the Committee transferred to the Society, and thereupon the
quasi-independence of the Summer School came to an end. In 1911 a new
experiment was tried. A small hotel at Saas Grund, off the Rhone Valley,
was secured, and during six weeks three large parties of Fabians
occupied it for periods of a fortnight each. The summer was one of the
finest of recent years, and the high mountains were exceptionally
attractive. On account of the remoteness of the place, and the desire to
make the most of a short time, lectures were as a rule confined to the
evening, and distinguished visitors were few, but an address by Dr.
Hertz of Paris, one of the few French Fabians, may be mentioned, partly
because in the summer of 1915 his promising career was cut short in the
trenches which protected his country from the German invaders.
In 1912 Barrow House, Derwentwater, was taken for three years, a
beautiful place with the Barrow Falls in the garden on one side, and
grounds sloping down to the lake on the other, with its own boating pier
and bathing-place. A camp of tents for men was set up, and as many as
fifty or sixty guests could be accommodated at a time. Much of the
success of the School has throughout been due to Miss Mary Hankinson,
who from nearly the beginning has been a most popular and efficient
manager. A director is selected by the Committee to act as nominal head,
and holds office usually for a week or a fortnight; but the chief of
staff is a permanent institution, and is not only business manager, but
also organiser and leader of excursions and a principal figure in all
social undertakings. A great part in arranging for the School from the
first has been taken by Dr. Lawson Dodd, to whose experience and energy
much of its success has been due.
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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