The Great Oration
his accustomed seat a loud shout of applause burst from a few men in the crowd, but the majority maintained a sullen silence. When order was restored Philpot rose and addressed the meeting:
'Is there any gentleman wot would like to ask the speaker a question?'
Crass and most of the others tried hard to think of something to say in defence of the existing state of affairs, or against the proposals put forward by the lecturer; but finding nothing, they maintained a sullen and gloomy silence. To judge by their unwillingness to alter the present system it might have been supposed that they were afraid of losing something, instead of having nothing to lose except their poverty. It was not until the Chairman had made several appeals for questions that Crass brightened up, a glad smile overspreading his greasy visage; at last he had thought of some insurmountable obstacle to the establishment of the Co-operative Commonwealth.
'Do you mean to say,' he said with a sneer, 'as the time will ever come when the gentry will mix up on equal terms with the likes of us?'
'Oh no,' replied the lecturer. 'When we get Socialism there won't be any people like us, we shall all be civilised.'
The man behind the moat seemed very much taken aback at this prospect, and when one or two of the others laughed, he remarked gloomily 'as he didn't see anything to laugh at.'
'Anybody else want to be flattened out?' inquired the Chairman. 'Or any Liberal or Tory Capitalist like to get up in the pulpit and oppose the speaker?' As no one offered, he said: 'It is now my painful dooty to call upon someone to move a resolution.'
'Well, Mr Chairman,' said Harlow, 'I may say as when I come on this firm I was a Liberal, but through listening to several lectures by Professor Owen I've come to the conclusion that it's a mug's game to vote for the Capitalists, whether they calls themselves Liberals or Tories. I couldn't quite make out, though, how Socialism was going to 'elp us but the lecture Professor Owen 'as given us this afternoon has been a bit of an eye-opener to me, and I should like to move as a resolution "That it is the opinion of this 'ere meeting that Socialism is the only Remedy for Unemployment and Poverty."'
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