he
most bitter opponent of Socialism must at least admit that
there is a stronger argument to be met than that implied by
the parrot-cry of 'spoliation.' Socialism has, at any rate, so
far advanced as to be allowed the ordinary courtesies of
debate. We may oppose it tooth and nail, but we must confront
argument with argument and not with abuse.

"Despite much excellent literature which is read widely by
cultured people, very little is known by the general public of
the principles which modern British Socialists have adopted as
their guiding rules. Few business men care to study the
subject. We have therefore addressed a letter to the chief
leaders of the Cause, with the purpose of ascertaining the
effect which Socialism would have on our business habits. Our
object was to discover how far Socialism might disturb or
improve business; whether it would altogether subvert present
methods, or whether it could be applied without injury to
these methods. To put the matter very plainly, we wished to
learn whether we should carry on our business much as we do
now, giving free play to individual effort and individual
fortune-building.

"The reply of Mr. Wells is as follows:--

"'MY DEAR SIR,

"'I wish very much I could reply at adequate length to
your very admirably framed question. The constant stream
of abuse and of almost imbecile misrepresentations of
Socialism in the Press has no doubt served to distort
the idea of our movement in the minds of a large
proportion of busy men, and filled them with an
unfounded dread of social insecurity. If it were
possible to allay that by an epigrammatic programme,
"Socialism in a Nutshell," so to speak, I would do my
best. But the economic and trading system of a modern
State is not only a vast and complex tangle of
organizations, but at present an uncharted tangle, and
necessarily the methods of transition from the limited
individualism of our present condition to the
scientifically-organized State, which is the Socialist
ideal, must be gradual, tentative and various.

"'To build up a body of social and economic science, to
develop a class of trained administrators, to rearrange
local government areas, to educate the whole community