The Forum. (1909)

Letter to the Editors from the March 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

Some Open Discussions

Statements of difficulties, criticisms of our position, contributions upon any question of working-class interest, are invited. Members and non-members of the Party are alike welcome. Correspondents must, however, be as brief as possible, as bright as possible, and as direct as possible to the point.

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ENQUIRER (Manchester) submits the following queries, to which replies are appended :

(1) In “Capital” we read, “along with the surplus-population, pauperism forms a condition of capitalist production, and of the capitalist development of wealth. It enters into the faux frais of capitalist production ; but capitalism knows how to throw these for the most part, from its own shoulders to those of the working class and the lower middle class.” (p. 65 Vol I.)

This statement, and one to the effect that high or low rates do not affect the condition of the workers as rates are paid by the capitalist class, would appear to be contradictory.

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It only appears contradictory. The statement quoted from Marx amounts to, in effect, asserting that the capitalist class retain as much of the wealth produced as possible, making real wages keep as close to the subsistence level as is economical. The maintenance of the non-producers—whether they be “unemployed,” children, aged persons,or what not—enters into the “dead expenses” of capitalism, and while not entering into the factors determining real wages, except in the case of children, is, so far as possible, shouldered onto the workers, and largely borne by them, as witness the extent of Friendly and Benefit Societies, and Trade Unions. Even the maintenance of official paupers is, if at all manageable, transferred to a son, daughter, or other relation in the case of parents, while now the endeavour is being made to fix upon the individual the responsibility of maintaining a pauperised grandparent. Where these items are shouldered on to the workers it assists in keeping those expenses down to as low a level as possible, and incidentally, by swelling the quantity of money wages, further cloaks the extent of exploitation.

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(2) If it is cheaper for the capitalist class, as the payers of rates, to give old age pensions to worn-out veterans of industry rather than have them go into the poor law institutions, why have the recipients of poor law relief within a certain period prior to Jan. 1st, 1908 been debarred from receiving the old age pensions ?

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The present Government has the whole question of the Poor Law in the melting pot. To empty the Poor Houses would be to dislocate the Poor Law system before the alternative machinery is laid down and perfected and possibly precipitate trouble. At present there are the two systems working side by side, and the relationships are largely at the disposal of the Poor Law authorities. We cannot explain their motives. Perhaps they consider a twelve month’s course of training in soliciting charity a necessary preliminary to attempting to eke out an existance on 5s. per week.

The fact, however, that the Poor Rate is levied locally while Old Age Pensions are a national charge, is one reason why the transposition could not be made so suddenly as to complicate the question, and risk alienating the political support of any section which might be affected by the change.

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(3) If the capitalist class pay the rates why do they not take the credit unto themselves for so doing, instead of telling the workers that they are as much interested in the rates being kept low as the capitalists themselves ?

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The answer to the first question meets this, at any rate in part. By interesting the working class in the maintenance of the non-producers, their support is enlisted in keeping the necessary expenses as low as possible, although the fact remains that as an item over and above the bare maintenance of the individual it must encroach upon the difference between the minimum on which the individual can live plus the raw material he obtained, and the total production, and so reduce the ideal degree of exploitation towards which the capitalist class strive.

Answers to correspondents. (1909)

Letter to the Editors from the March 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

J.Smith, Ilford.—The statement which appeared in the December ’08 issue to the effect that no trade union can act even as a brake to steady the downward rush is not correct. The Manifesto, p. 15, explains the attitude of the Party towards the unions and recognises their necessity under capitalism. The matter, however, will be discussed at the next Conference ; while meanwhile, a careful study of “Value, Price and Profit” would be extremely useful.

Important. (1909)

Party News from the March 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

Will all whom it may concern note that the Head Office of the Socialist Party of Great Britain has been removed to —

10, Sandland Street,

    Bedford Row,

      London, W.C.

where all communications should be addressed.

Blogger's Note:

The September 1954 commemorative issue of the Socialist Standard carried an article by 'Gilmac' (Gilbert McClatchie) on the party's many premises. Contained within that article was 'Gilmac's' description of the party offices at Sandland Street:

"In 1909 we began really to move upward. We got two rooms on the first floor of a house in 10, Sandland Street, Bedford Row (a little behind the north side of Holborn). This was the first Head Office visited by the present writer. When he went there as a youth he felt he had really reached the heart of deep red revolution. The ground floor was an old dilapidated junk shop. The side  door led up two flights of dark rickety stairs to a couple of bare rooms. The floor was bare boards. One room contained an old desk for the use of the General Secretary and anyone else who had writing to do. Beside was piled the stock of unsold Standards. As time passed the pile grew far beyond the height of the desk until it was in danger of being knocked down by anyone passing. The other room contained a long table and some chairs. This room was used for economics classes on Thursday evenings and for folding Standards on Saturdays. On Tuesday evenings the table was moved into the secretarial room for the E.C. meetings. When the E.C. was sitting it was almost impossible to get anyone else into the room, in spite of the fact that we advertised and boasted that our E.C. meetings were open to the public—so they were, if you could get in!

While we were at Sandland Street the General Secretary, Sammy Quelch, had a coffee shop nearby, and he had a habit of pinning a note on the door asking any members who called to go round to the coffee shop. Robert Blatchford had a humorous dig at the Party in his paper The Clarion (the most popular Labour paper of its day) at the time. He said he "called at the Headquarters of the Socialist Party of Great Britain but found that the Party had gone to get a cup of coffee." Later this was changed to "The Secretary, the Treasurer, and the member had gone to get a cup of coffee." "

Indeed ! (1909)

From the March 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

Mr. Will Thorne, M.P., gave an account of his Parliamentary work last session to a small gathering of his constituents on Monday afternoon. About a dozen Nonconformist ministers were present, several leading Liberals, some members of Mr. Thorne’s committee, and a number of ladies from the Women’s Settlement and missions. Mr. S. Curwen presided, and after Mr. Thorne’s speech there was a spirited discussion. Much unanimity was shown; indeed, the general agreement on Parliamentary matters between this middle-class company and the Labour representative was remarkable.—”Stratford Express,” 30.1.09.

What do you think? (1909)

From the March 1909 issue of the Socialist Standard

The class of person to whom the Anti-Socialist is expected to appeal may be very accurately gauged by the character of its advertisements. Business men do not spend money for publicity through the media that will not get them into touch with the persons they want. The Anti-Socialist is, therefore, expected to circulate amongst owners of motor-cars, those able to buy gold and silver plate, trees and shrubs, and the like. It contains also an “ad” of a big firm of photo engravers, another of a wholesale stationer, and yet another of a legal publisher. From which may be deduced the fact that, whatever our optimistic contemporary may say it expects to do amongst the working class, its advertisers know fairly well that it is not the working class that will read it.