Labour Junks its Own Books .sx by Harry Short .sx " BOOK reading , " wrote Francis Williams , " used to be a Socialist habit .sx To secure an educated Socialist democracy this is a habit we should indulge in as we did years ago .sx " Fifty years ago , when I was a youngster , Socialists said books we must have , though we lack bread , but to-day times have changed .sx Very few Labour voters read Socialist books or treasure a library of their own , and many local Labour Parties have no literature secretaries .sx Social secretaries and Bingo organisers , but no bookstalls .sx When the women's section of our local Labour Party held a jumble sale recently , one of the stalls contained hundreds of second-hand books .sx All were priced at 3d .sx each !sx After most of the mystery , love , romance and adventure books were sold , it was decided to reduce the remainder to 2d .sx each , for if , as often happens , any old clothes , books , pictures or nick-nacks were left over , it would all be left behind for the caretaker of the school to either burn or give to the dustman .sx None of the bazaar committee members were eager to store a lot of old junk in their homes for the next jumble sale , so for his services of burning the books , pictures , etc. , the caretaker was liberally rewarded .sx I looked at the pile of " remainders " and bought Roads to Freedom ( Bertrand Russell ) , Wealth of Nations ( Adam Smith ) , The Science of Wealth ( J. A. Hobson ) , The Soul of Man under Socialism ( Oscar Wilde ) , Fabian Essays , Man and Superman ( Bernard Shaw ) , The Socialist Movement ( J. R. Macdonald ) , History of the Russian Revolution ( Trotsky ) , New Worlds for Old ( H. G. Wells ) , Political Economy Selections ( edited by W. B. Robinson ) and The Conditions of Britain ( G. D. H. Cole) .sx On some of the books , on the fly-leaf I saw the name L. S. Woodruff , who for many years was chairman of the Harrow East Labour Party , and was an alderman at the time of his death .sx " Sid" , as he was familiarly known by his colleagues , was one of the most respected and devoted members of the Socialist minority group of a strong Tory Council , and was known to be a well-read , convinced Socialist of burning sincerity .sx In the first World War he was a pacifist and suffered imprisonment for his Socialist beliefs .sx He had the combined gift of keen humour with the virtue of being a good serious propagandist for the Labour Party .sx Sid Woodruff started his pioneering work for Labour when people were overworked , underfed , and lived in sordid slums .sx The lives of the workers in those early days were in the main of narrow dreariness and boisterous brutality , and Alderman Woodruff was one of the educated minority who showed the way to a better life .sx To-day , with a higher standard of living , people imagine they have reached the higher life .sx For most , their reading is the popular newspapers and trashy periodicals .sx When the Nazis made huge bonfires of Socialist literature , I thought of Emerson's lines , " Every lash inflicted is a tongue of fame ; every prison a more illustrious abode ; every burned book or house enlightens the world .sx " What would Emerson's thoughts be if he knew that at a Labour Party jumble sale , great thoughts by great men were ignored , while nasty rubbishy books with gaudy covers , dealing with sordid sex and crime , were in great demand ?sx The Tiny Minority Only .sx We are living in an age to-day when serious , disturbing and admirably written books , packed with vivid details , and written with deep feeling , are read only by a tiny minority .sx Books that helped to make the Socialist Movement grow to its present strength , which showed how to make the world a far happier place for people of all races to live in , are read by few .sx It was Milton who wrote :sx " A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit .sx " The Socialist Movement has produced many men of vision , who in their courageous and fascinating plays , novels , essays and poems , have shown us a nobler and better life .sx They contain all our ambitions , our indignations and our illusions .sx The Literature of Revolt is a heritage we should treasure , so I am indeed happy , that the late Alderman Sid Woodruff's books are in my bookcase , instead of being burnt by the school caretaker .sx [Do you make a habit of adding to your knowledge by reading or by taking postal courses ?sx - Ed .sx ] FOOTNOTE .sx " NO .sx A man who volunteers to be an 'Aunt-Sally' at a local garden fete and gets a clout on the ear with a ball is not covered by the Industrial Injuries " - Answer to Grimsby correspondent in the P.O.E.U. Journal .sx Does T.V. Influence Elections ?sx .sx by Arthur Woodburn , M.P. .sx AFTER the last General Election we all speculated what effect T.V. had on the result .sx Our general impression was that the Labour programmes were the most effective and convincing .sx We all have our own little gallup polls among our friends and acquaintances , but as they are usually of our way of thinking and as we are inclined to look for the answer we want , we can be misled .sx For example , since the election there have been months of controversy about unilateral disarmament .sx Both those for and against are fervently convinced they speak for the great majority of the people .sx Television and the Political Image shows what was actually happening to the minds of the people as they listened or looked in during the election campaign .sx How did the broadcasts affect the elections ?sx It was interesting to see how the persistent propaganda against nationalisation was accepted by even Labour supporters and the feeling that Labour was a divided party was also prevalent .sx It is interesting to read about the items electors mentioned as having , in their view , specially affected the elections .sx Of the total , 32% thought " rash Labour promises- cost of new pension scheme- bribery of electorate " had a bad effect , 26% thought nationalisation hurt Labour and 10% thought strikes , especially that at British Oxygen Works , were bad .sx ( The percentages among Labour supporters on these items were 22% , 30% and 7% respectively .sx ) A Common View .sx A fairly common view was that " Labour tried to buy their way " .sx Harold Macmillan cleverly put this across by adding " with your money , of " .sx Keeping the cost of living down came top as the subject of most immediate interest , treatment of old age was next and a permanent peace settlement third .sx Unemployment came fourth and the control of the H bomb was fifth , and so on down the list .sx It is interesting that the subjects of interest have nearly the same proportional interest among supporters of both parties- cost of living two out of three and H bomb one out of three .sx The general view was that efficiency of the programmes and of the detailed argument did not make a decisive impression .sx Most people were looking for a government ; and , therefore , the overall impression of competence and a total policy that was acceptable and clear were the largest factors .sx The Tory Party's goodwill rested on its claim to tradition , its claim to represent the whole nation and its claim to defence of individual rights .sx The Labour Party is accepted as standing for the welfare of the people , but its working-class foundation makes it difficult to reconcile this with its claim to act in the " national " interest .sx Its disunity appeared a cause of its losing support .sx Nearly 70% of the electors were reached by Party broadcasts .sx Each Party T.V. programme reached about 20% of the entire adult population .sx About 50% saw the T.V. news bulletins .sx The campaign showed no decisive swing towards either of the main Parties .sx These are only some of the interesting factors which come from the survey .sx There can be no certain conclusions ; but it is clear that not many people change sides during an election , though a little change can mean much .sx Three people in every street changing over could change the government .sx So delicate is the balance that it can be tipped by a slip of the tongue or by some development that shakes the confidence of the timid or uncertain .sx It is on this uncertain group that the choice of government rests .sx It's a grave thought .sx This book is worth reading .sx Ready Reckoning .sx JAPANESE medicine is conventional , but the Chinese always have their own approach to scientific problems and there is a distinctive Chinese therapy which makes great use of herbal brews , exercises and acupuncture needles .sx Similarly , the Chinese have their own traditional methods of ready reckoning .sx In the West the shop or restaurant cashier uses a register , or wrestles with a pencil and a column of figures , but in the East one of the most familiar sounds is the clicking of the abacus as some shop assistant's nimble fingers flick the beads to and fro at lightning speed to produce the total of your bill .sx Primitive , slow , old-fashioned ?sx In a contest organised by Singapore Trade , Mr. Bei Po-lu of Singapore was timed with a stopwatch the other day as he used his two-dollar abacus to divide 2,644,035 by 1,077 .sx His right hand flashed over the beads and he produced the correct result- 2,455- in 10.3 seconds .sx A Western-trained accountant then did the same sum on an expensive electric calculating machine .sx It took nearly two seconds longer .sx - Observer Foreign News Service , 21st February .sx Key Point in the Mediterranean .sx by Frank Horrabin .sx FRANCE established a protectorate over Tunisia in 1881 , three years after the Congress of Berlin , at which she had agreed to the British seizure of Cyprus .sx Five years ago ( in 1956 ) Tunisia became independent- thus anticipating the freeing of Cyprus by a year or two .sx The French , however , retained their hold on the naval base of Bizerta , situated opposite the channel between Africa and Sicily , the " Narrows " separating the Western from the Eastern Mediterranean ( see map) .sx Their continued possession of this important strategic point has been constantly questioned by Tunis , but it was a matter for some surprise when Bourguiba , the Tunisian President , suddenly decided a few weeks ago to attempt to take the port by force .sx Tunisia has given aid and shelter to the " rebel " Algerian Government , and there has been much bitter fighting between the French and the Algerian nationalists along the Tunisian frontier .sx Factory Meetings at Lunch Hours .sx FOR many years now the West of Scotland N.C.L.C. has always managed to run a number of classes or discussion groups during factory lunch hours .sx There is no doubt that such classes are possible in all industrial areas to some extent , and N.C.L.C. Organisers have been asked to take up the question where they have not already done so .sx Will any Plebs reader who thinks he can get a class or discussion group going in his factory during the lunch hour please drop a line to the N.C.L.C. , Tillicoultry ?sx It will be passed on to the Organiser concerned .sx It may be too that in your works , through the Works Committee , it might be possible for the management to give apprentices a half-hour off to learn something about the Trade Union Movement .sx The N.C.L.C. would be glad to send a speaker to such a meeting , and to approach the management with the assistance of the chief shop steward .sx History on Film Strip .sx FILM-strip talks play an important role in many schools all over the country , and they should play a much more important role in the N.C.L.C. than they do , because people learn through their eyes as well as through their ears .sx Besides , if one looks at the papers that have the biggest working-class circulations it is they which have the most pictures .sx One of the latest history film strips available is " George =3 and the Revolutionary Wars " , published by Common Ground , Ltd. A pamphlet of notes on the lecture is provided along with the film strip , which contains 30 pictures .sx The film strip is broken up into the following sections :sx - King and Parliament , Causes of the American Revolution , The Course of the American Revolution , The Younger Pitt in Peace and War , and the Slow Struggle towards Victory .sx