yed
or materially crippled as a class before real progress can be
made."[1199]

Whilst many Socialists wish to destroy the lower middle-class, others,
especially the Fabians, endeavour to convert it to Socialism, and to
set it on against the wealthy. They argue: "The commercial clerk with
his reading, his writing, his arithmetic, and his shorthand is a
proletarian, and a very miserable proletarian, only needing to be
awakened from his poor little superstition of shabby gentility to take
his vote from the Tories and hand it over to us. The small tradesmen
and ratepayers who are now allying themselves with the Duke of
Westminster in a desperate and unavailing struggle--against the rising
rates entailed by the eight hours day and standard wages for all
public servants, besides great extensions of corporate activity in
providing accommodation and education at the public expense, must
sooner or later see that their interest lies in making common cause
with the workers to throw the burden of taxation directly on to
unearned incomes."[1200] "It only needs one evening's intelligent
discussion of this monstrous state of affairs to make a beginning of a
really sensible and independent organisation of the middle classes for
their own defence and for their escape from between the two millstones
of organised Labour and organised Plutocracy, which are at present
grinding the last penny in the pound out of them."[1201] It is
estimated that there are in England 500,000 clerks.[1202] With the
object of permeating this large section of the middle class with
Socialism, a new monthly paper, the "Clerk," has recently been started
under Fabian auspices.

Socialism is undermining the lower middle-class, and it is
unconsciously being assisted in this policy by short-sighted
anti-capitalistic Parliamentary legislation, which, as usual, hits
hardest the smaller capitalists. If Great Britain wishes to erect a dam
against the rising tide of Socialism, she must strengthen the lower
middle-class in town and country by well-devised legislation, and she
should before all re-create her peasantry. Great Britain should
encourage the accumulation of small capitals by encouraging thrift. At
present thrift is discouraged by the difficulty which small savers
experience in obtaining satisfactory investments. The low interest of
2-3/4 per cent. paid by the British savings-banks--Continental
savings-banks give 4 per cent.--is quite inadequate; and the Britis