yet in spite of the fact that his ideas did his business no good George would never conceal them . he was a socialist and believed in the right of the working class to control their own destiny , and said so . being a craftsman and a skilled man , George won many prizes , and though some people would have nothing to do with him , others would , and the comrades helped in many ways . when eventually the ovens were fixed at the new shop , the tremendously hard work was if anything intensified . George used to mix 100 stone of bread in 12 hours , and Kate served in the shop , which was open from 8 o&apos;clock in the morning to 12 o&apos;clock at night . at that time pastries and buns were sold at 32 pieces for one shilling . on returning from school young George found many chores awaiting him . George , however , would find time to speak at meetings , no matter what his commitments , to act as chairman , to speak at street corners . in this Kate helped him a great deal , often taking the bread out of the oven after he had gone out . also his bakery was still a meeting place where current problems were discussed , and working men argued and clarified their ideas , thrashed out the issues of the day , where they listened to George and his exposition of Marxist theory . from its inception the British socialist party had carried out intensive propaganda , not confining its activities to the City and the East End but reaching out to the suburbs and outlying districts , the main speakers being George H Fletcher , Alf Barton , and A E Chandler . they conducted classes in economics , put up candidates for elections , and held a number of meetings in support of the miner &apos;s strike of 1912 for a minimum wage . ( in this strike , as reported in the Sheffield guardian in March of that year , 1,000,000 men were out a fortnight , disciplined and solid , when only 20 per cent of them stood to gain anything from the strike and the other 80 per cent made sacrifices for their fellow men ; this remarkable strike raised the question of a living wage and showed the worth of the common man . ) propaganda efforts of a week &apos;s duration took place , demonstrations , social events and field days . in order to raise money for their manifold activities the Sheffield British socialist party began the manufacture of razors , knives , etc . there was the revolutionist at 3 s 6 d , the clarion at 2 s 6 d , or just a common proletarian at 1 s 6 d , a red flag pocket knife being the same price . they were made by local comrades who were little masters , and on the boxes was a suitable inscription : sharp enough to cut the throat of the most hard-hearted capitalist ! other methods of raising money were tried such as the male voice choir , which Charlie Grant worked particularly hard to bring into being . can you sing ? he asked Arthur Parkin . Arthur could n&apos;t , but he joined the choir . most of the members were unemployed at the time , they had never sung a note in their lives , and hardly one of them had a decent suit to wear . uncompromising material , perhaps , but Charlie Grant persevered and began by teaching them tonic sol fa . they paid 1 s 6 d a night for a room and rehearsed twice a week . soon they were good enough to sing at meetings . one of the helpful by-products was that they were able to obtain some respectable clothing , with which they wore a white tie and red flag badge , thus presenting a much better appearance . later , on many a sunny Sunday evening , when George went to speak at Malin Bridge , they would be there to begin the meeting . they sang to get a crowd and save the speaker &apos;s voice . many fine speeches were delivered by George , who had become so well known and popular that if he were announced to speak the week before , the crowd would be there at the appointed time and place , ready and waiting . collections of 30 s or so would be taken . as they became known the choir went to working-men &apos;s clubs , to Conisborough on cheap trips to sing to the miners , and sang for other organisations such as the bakers &apos; union , for whom they went on Saturday evenings to the Corner Pin Hotel , to rally the members . the B.S.P also rented pleasant rooms on West Street , where a successful Sunday school was held . one of the students was young George , and another the dark-haired little granddaughter of Charlie Grant . George often spoke at the Sunday school . he christened the babies . also , when called upon to do so , he would officiate at funerals . religion was one of his pet subjects , for being well acquainted with the bible , which he had read in prison where it was the only book they were allowed , he could debate on religion with anyone . although his ideas were diametrically opposed to those of parsons he got on wonderfully well with them , particularly those who , like the Rev Conrad Noel , the eloquent leader of the Church socialist league , genuinely advocated socialism . with such men , who had the courage of their convictions and their Christianity , common ground could be found . there was no abatement in political work . the British socialist party endeavoured to get more socialist members sent to the council , and to parliament , being determined and obdurate in their attitude that their candidate must go forward in the elections . in the Sheffield trades and labour council meeting on October 16 , 1912 , George had said , Mr Barton would go to the poll . just as the labour party had fought the liberals , they were going to fight the labour party . this new party , the British socialist party , was not prepared to accept the role of junior helper in the labour movement , or of only providing propaganda in order to increase the volume of socialist thought in the city , but sought to create in the labour movement a more militant attitude capable of achieving socialism for the working people . in its ranks were men steeled in the struggle , who for many years had worked without stint to the best of their ability and knowledge for the working people . not all members , though , understood the same thing by socialism or fully accepted Marxism . Hyndman , the leader , had for some time been propagating a reactionary policy and veering away from the rank and file . Alf Barton , who in 1911 was presented with a book on the life of Marx , and a gold purse in recognition of his work for the movement , was later known to say that it was not necessary to understand Marxism in order to understand socialism , though at this time he was a keen member of the B.S.P. . George , however , never deviated from his belief that it was the economic basis of society which needed to be changed , for the conditions of the people were appalling , there being only slight alleviations . in 1908 5 s a week had been granted to the old people at 70 . the Lloyd George insurance act , based upon the principle of Bismarck &apos;s legislation many years earlier , which principle was to make the working people pay for their own benefits , had come into operation , and eased but slightly the situation of some of the most needy of the population . but now stagnation seemed to have set in . wages were pitifully low , particularly the wages of women . it was reported in the Sheffield guardian of November 1912 , that women employed in the holloware trade had had to strike for a wage of 2 d an hour , whilst the wages of many other girls did not even reach this pittance . in the printing trade the wage of a skilled woman worker was only 10 s a week . endeavours were also made by the amalgamated union of bakers and confectioners to improve the bad conditions of the bakers . their proposals were sent to the master bakers for signature but only eight out of twenty-five conceded the terms of the men . Jack Hawksworth , Secretary of the bakers &apos; union , attended the Sheffield trades and labour council to appeal for support for the men , and a resolution was passed to boycott the non-recognised shop in November 1912 . in this year the Sheffield trades and labour council also passed a resolution in favour of a general strike should war be declared , and the Sheffield guardian of September 27 , 1912 , went further and declared itself in favour of passive resistance to all taxation . so a reading was taken of the direction the wind was blowing , presaging a world disaster , yet it was lost sight of in the immediate smaller issues of the day . the liberals claimed to be working for peace but the drift towards war went on without hindrance . it was a readymade solution to their problems of poverty and unemployment . interest , however , remained ; and George continued his leading role . he acted as chairman at a B.S.P meeting in the Sheffield corn exchange in January 1913 , when a large audience expected Ben Tillett to be there , but as George explained , he was unable to come on account of illness . Jack Jones of London and Charles Lapworth , who three years before had stood for Brightside , delivered speeches , and party songs were sung by the clarion vocal union . rather halting and reluctant steps were taken to bring about agreement between the British socialist party and the Sheffield trades and labour council on the question of elections and affiliation . these , however , did not have any immediate result , and the friction which existed between these bodies was not resolved that year , to the detriment of the labour movement . although the Sheffield B.S.P had declared , as stated by Mr Chandler at a meeting the year before , that there were to be no leaders in their movement , yet the need for correct and definite leadership began to be urgently felt , as George was to point out in conference later on . in March , 1913 , at a special meeting of the British socialist party , they decided to adopt Comrade William Gee as parliamentary candidate , and the following resolution was carried unanimously : that this branch of the British socialist party adopt Mr Wm Gee of Northampton as prospective socialist candidate for the Brightside parliamentary division and pledges itself to use every legitimate effort to secure his successful return . events , however , were to decree otherwise . at the B.S.P conference of that year the cleavage of opinion became more evident . Hyndman &apos;s support of a strong navy caused much hostility and he had to undertake to express such opinions only in his private capacity , and not as a member of the party . it was also resolved that only socialist candidates should be recognised , and a resolution against an increase in armaments was carried . in the matter of the municipal elections 1913 was a more successful year for the labour movement , and at a meeting of the Sheffield trades and labour council in November , Mr Rowlinson referred with satisfaction to their success and stated there was no reason why they should not have a big fighting force in the city council before long . but the city council was again using repressive measures to attack the labour movement of the city . they proposed to prohibit public meetings at the traditional site of the Queen &apos;s monument , and this aroused the anger and indignation of the whole labour movement , of all shades of opinion , throughout the city . on February 17 a special conference was called which included representatives of the Sheffield independent labour party , British socialist party , the daily herald league , the national union of women &apos;s suffrage society , the woman &apos;s social and political union , and the trades council . a decision was taken to organise a mass demonstration of protest . subsequently , on Sunday , March 8 , 1914 , an orderly and substantial procession with the banners of the British socialist party , the independent labour party and the trades unions flying made its way from the Wicker to the Queen &apos;s monument . collectors went alongside with petitions . gathered at the monument was a crowd of 4,000 people , many of whom had come long distances . 