§ 59

“We admit that a reasonable profit is justifiable on the sale of all goods, but the Great War taught us that tradesmen profited enormously upon our evil times. We might grow hungry, but they must profit by it; and it was men of our own class who did this mercilessly. This has made us beware of tradesmen, so we have put spokes in their wheels which they do not like, and finding they can ‘rook’ us no longer, they have gone to work on the land, which is better for their health and morals and for the country at large.” So spoke a workman—mind, a workman, not a capitalist!!

Another said, “Directly we saw straight, and viewed the horizon clearly, we knew we had power, and we set ourselves to use it rightly, and chose leaders who would help us. We do not intend to go back, we mean to go forward, and show the country that it may have confidence in us. We are learning to rule ourselves, hence we may claim a place among legislators. We know that a bad servant cannot make a good master. The old Trades Union masters could not become statesmen because they taught that “bad work is good for Trade,” than which nothing can be a greater fallacy.”