any better man than I am? Why does he want so damned much for his dirty financing, and begrudges me my bit for shearing ten score o' sheep?
"No, mates, we're not sucked in. It may be Mr Steeltrust Carnegie, it may even be Mr Very-clever Marconi, it may be Marquis Tribes von Israel; and it certainly is Willie Struthers. Now, mates, I, Willie Struthers, a big fortune I do not want. But I'm damned if I am going to let a few other brainy vampires suck big fortunes out of me. Not I. I wouldn't be a man if I did. Upper classes? They've got more greedy brains in the seats of their pants than in their top storeys.
"We're having no more of their classes and masses. We'll just put a hook in their trouser-bottoms and hook 'em gently to earth. That's all. And put 'em on a basic wage like all the rest: one job, one wage. Isn't that fair? No man can do more than his best. And why should one poor devil get ten bob for his level best, and another fat-arse get ten thousand for some blooming trick? No, no, if a man's a sincere citizen he does his best for the community he belongs to. And his simple wage is enough for him to live on.
"That's why we'll have a Soviet. Water finds its own level, and so shall money. It shall not be dammed up by a few sly fat-arses much longer. I don't pretend it will be paradise. But there'll be fewer lies about it, and less fat-arsed hypocrisy, and less dirty justice than there is now. It a man works, he shall not have less than the basic wage, be he even a lying lawyer. There shall be no politicians, thank God. But more than the basic wage also he shall not have. Let us bring things down to a rock-bottom.
"Upper? Why all their uppishness amounts to is extra special greedy guts, ten-thousand-a-year minimum. Upper classes! Upper classes! Upper arses.
"We'll have a Soviet, mates, and then we shall feel better about it. We s'll be getting nasty tempered if we put it off much longer. Let's know our own mind. We'll unite with the World's Workers. Which doesn't mean we'll take the hearts out of our chests to give it Brother Brown to eat. No, Brother Brown and Brother Yellow had, on the whole, best stop at home and sweep their own streets, rather than come and sweep ours. But that doesn't mean we can't
