Mr. Webb went on to denounce the policy of violence,
which he said would result only in misery and futility. Violence only destroyed and was incapable of con- struction. Real democratic Government was that which arrived at decisions ".by counting heads, not by breaking them." The three principal features of economic life to-day, according to Mr. Webb, were the supersession of free competition among capitalists by subtle forms of trust and monopoly, the sinister influence of rich men in all important issues of Government, in the Press and even in education, and the persistence and universality of unemployment. " Both Liberals and Conservatives," he said, " have entirely failed to apply their minds to these three fundamental economic problems." That is not true. However, Mr. Webb's interpretation of the meaning of democracy was a welcome contrast to . some recent presidential addresses at the Labour Party Conference.
* * *
Previous page
