[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Stri,—I think Mr. Hugh Ross Williamson's interesting letter must have been written without reading Mr. John Scanlan's Nineteenth Century article which inspired my own letter.
He says that State Socialism " is the policy on which the whole Labour movement—from the extreme Right to the extreme Left : the Trades Unions as well as the constituency parties : Mr. Bevin no less than Sir Stafford Cripps—is united and adamant." If by State Socialism he means the State control " of all of the sources of production, distribution and exchange," his claim is a large one and is, of course, entirely contrary to Mr. Scanlan's viewpoint to which I drew attention. It would appear also to be contrary to the policy-of the Transport Workers' Union who have recently repudiated their Communist members, and to the Miners' Federation who have only this week taken the same action.
Personally, I have not met a Trades Union leader—and I know many of them—who would subscribe to Mr. Ross Williamson's viewpoint. Perhaps, however, he uses the terms " NationaliSation " and " Socialism " as interchangeable, although they are generally regarded as meaning something quite different. Many Liberals would subscribe to the State control of monopolies through public utility companies, while they would oppose any form of State Socialism.
If Mr. Ross Williamson is right regarding the attitude of the majority of the Labour Party members, he is also right in concluding that there cannot be any basis of agreement between the Liberal and the Labour Parties. The only question at issue is as to whether his conclusion is the sound one.
I need not attempt to answer his question as to what the attitude of the Liberal voter would be if the majority of our electors were definitely pledged to a policy of State Socialism. The issue is not likely to arise during my lifetime, for it appears to me to be more remote than it was 30 years ago, but meanwhile if Mr. Ross Williamson has correctly stated the attitude of the rank and file of Labour on the State Socialism or Com- munistic issue, it would appear to be true that neither party is likely to have the opportunity of holding the reins of offic- for many years to come.—I am, yours faithfully,
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