L348,804,106[141]

In reality the property of the "manual labour class" in land and
capital amounts not to _348,804,106l._, but to at least
_1,000,000,000l._[142] This is dishonesty number five.

The imports of Great Britain are larger than the exports by about
_150,000,000l._ The larger part of the money paid for these imports
goes in wages paid to foreigners, and is paid away by the British
capitalist class out of their earnings. British wage-earners surely
cannot expect to be paid wages in respect of articles made abroad.
However, no allowance for this large item has been made in comparing
the appropriation of the national income between capital and labour.
This is dishonesty number six.

Between one hundred and two hundred million pounds of the national
income is derived from foreign investments. The income derived from
foreign investments should in fairness either be left out of the
account or the income of foreign labour, received in respect of these
investments, be added to the British labour income. In comparing the
income of capital and labour, the pamphlet takes note of the earnings
of British capital on all five continents and on the sea, and compares
with it only the income of British labour--although foreign, not
British labour, produces the foreign income of British capital.

Giving as authority an ancient Board of Trade Return, and wishing to
magnify the difference in the earnings of the idle rich and the
industrious poor, the average yearly income of "those of the manual
labour class who are best off" is given at _48l._ per adult. This
means _18s._ per week. In view of the fact that most British workers
earn between _1l._ and _2l._ per week, that in many Trade-Unions the
_average_ wage is about _35s._ per week, the figures given are
palpably wrong unless the female workers are included. Whether this is
the case or no is not stated, but even if the wages of both sexes
should be joined together they appear to be very considerably
understated. This is dishonesty number seven.

There are many more unfair, misleading, and dishonest statements in
this pamphlet which it would lead too far to enumerate.

Most of the important pamphlets issued by the Fabian Society are
signed by their authors. The fact that the most effective, "Facts for
Socialists," is unsigned seems to indicate that the author--apparently
a well-known leader of the Fabians--had some sense of shame, and it is