Vanguard December 1915
19th October, 1915.
[The Editor, “The Vanguard.”]
Source: Letter to editor from A.F. Macintosh, Vanguard, December 1915, p. 6;
Transcribed: by Ted Crawford.
Sir, – In the “Appeal to the Clyde Munition Workers” J.D.M. is not quite fair to certain M.P.’s he mentioned. Hodge seems to be worse than useless at a time like this, and therefore useless in the future. I hold that Macdonald and Snowden deserve the adjectives J.D.M. uses, but not in the decisive manner adopted. They are members of the U.D.C., but their actions are in keeping with the I.L.P. policy. We may not always be pleased at what they say and do, but in the specific matter you deal with they did good work. Both Macdonald and Snowden opposed the Act, Snowden having thirty amendments to it. His opposition was such, that the other democrats, O'Grady in particular, taunted him with not representing the workers. The treatment of this article lays it open to the suspicion that J.D.M. was wanting to get a dig at the I.L.P. because that valiant member of the B.S.P., Will Thorn, could easily have been incorporated in any charge of neglect brought against Labour members. I don’t believe J.D.M. meant this, but I suppose everybody is very touchy at present, and this interpretation has already been put on the article. With regard to Barnes, I am not interested in his being little and fat. I am more concerned to know if the A.S.E. are to bring him to book for paying more attention to recruiting labour than protecting it. I hope the A.S.E. are not satisfied with his conduct, and if they are not they can surely make him see the error of his ways.
Yours fraternally,
A.F. MACINTOSH.