JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century
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A: Any law-abiding citizen over 16 years <strong>of</strong> age.<br />
Q: Have you many members?<br />
A: <strong>The</strong> membership <strong>of</strong> the organization at present is 2 500.<br />
Q: And you are political rather than social welfare?<br />
A: Not necessarily. Up to the present, we have taken an active part in<br />
both sections <strong>of</strong> community life.<br />
Sir Walter Citrine, a member <strong>of</strong> the Commission and General Secretary<br />
<strong>of</strong> the British Trade Union Congress, took a turn in questioning Mr.<br />
Manchester, the League’s President:<br />
QUESTION: You have told the chairman that you accept into memebership<br />
any law abiding citizen. Would you take a banker?<br />
ANSWER: Yes.<br />
Q: Have you any people who are bankers?<br />
A: No.<br />
Q: Would you take estate owners?<br />
A: If they cared to come?<br />
Q: Have you any estate owners?<br />
A: No.<br />
Q: Do you take doctors?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: Will you tell me why you call yourselves a workers’ league?<br />
A: Because we interpret the meaning <strong>of</strong> the word worker to include<br />
all work, whether by hand or by brain.<br />
Q: Yes, but within that definition everybody, from the King downwards,<br />
would be included and usually when we speak <strong>of</strong> workers<br />
we have some sort <strong>of</strong> division in our minds<br />
(Mr. Assheton) I dissent from that.<br />
Q: Mr. Assheton dissents from my definition, but I think if we talk<br />
about the working class, in England that Mr. Assheton would<br />
not regard himself as strictly within that category – but he will<br />
speak for himself. I am trying ti find out really what your organization<br />
represents. Would you say the labourers, as such,<br />
are members <strong>of</strong> it?<br />
A: <strong>The</strong> great majority <strong>of</strong> the membership is made up <strong>of</strong> labourers.<br />
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