The “Ballot” Strike

To Show what a smart and up-to-date journal the “Daily Herald” is, the issue of 25th November contains an article by Mr. Russell Smart advocating that, instead of running candidates for Parliament “without even a feeble hope of success,’’ the workers go to the ballot and deliberately spoil the voting papers.

Smart Russell has discovered that it is not good enough to merely abstain from voting or using the ballot, but that the ballot can be actually made a useful agency by Socialists for registering their strength in the constituencies.

Has Smart been careless enough to attend a meeting of the S.P.G.B., and to learn that for years we have taught that the ballot can be used for ascertaining the strength of the movement.

Perhaps! and perhaps not; for we learn further that the ballot paper can be spoiled “either by writing ‘Socialism’ across it, or better still, filling in the space opposite the candidates’ names with the word ‘Knave.’”

If Russell thinks that “knavery” is a better retort to “capitalism” than the demand for Socialism, then perhaps he has succeeded in describing the attitude of the “D.H.,” Fabian Society, the I.L.P., the S.D.P., and the Syndicalists more accurately than he intended.

Smart, isn’t he?