From the November 1918 issue of the Socialist Standard
At Glasgow on Wednesday. In Britain, before the war, conditions were sordid and depressing — millions on the verge of starvation, living on the brink of a dreadful abyss.
At Aberdeen on Thursday. In Britain, before the war, the spark of divine fire had been choked by the ashes of prosperity.
"Daily News," 2.9.1918.
Blogger's Note:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the Mr. Hughes quoted above was the Australian Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, who was in Britain at the time this issue of the Standard was produced. There was no comparable British politician (or military figure, for that matter) with the surname of Hughes in this period who could have been quoted in the Socialist Standard , with the understanding that the readership would know who it was simply by mentioning him by his surname. And what with him speaking in Glasgow and in Aberdeen on consecutive nights it suggests that Mr. Hughes was undertaking a national speaking tour. Socialist Standard readers would have had a particular interest in Hughes because he was an Australian variant of the 'Labour Fakir', though, by 1918, he was no longer faking it.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the Mr. Hughes quoted above was the Australian Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, who was in Britain at the time this issue of the Standard was produced. There was no comparable British politician (or military figure, for that matter) with the surname of Hughes in this period who could have been quoted in the Socialist Standard , with the understanding that the readership would know who it was simply by mentioning him by his surname. And what with him speaking in Glasgow and in Aberdeen on consecutive nights it suggests that Mr. Hughes was undertaking a national speaking tour. Socialist Standard readers would have had a particular interest in Hughes because he was an Australian variant of the 'Labour Fakir', though, by 1918, he was no longer faking it.
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