SHAW, George Bernard.

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Autograph letter signed to William P. Johnson, on socialist party politics. A lengthy autograph letter from Shaw, showcasing his opinionated role in left-wing politics in the 1890s and his strong opposition to an early "Clause IV".Johnson (1866-1923) was secretary of the National Union of Shop Assistants. In January 1893, Shaw and Johnson had been involved at the Independent Labour Party's founding conference. The fourth clause of the suggested constitution, submitted by the Manchester delegates, called for all members of the party to pledge themselves not to vote for any other party. Johnson supported the clause, but Shaw bitterly opposed it, believing it would drive away members.Shaw's letter is in response to Johnson's article "The Fourth Clause", which had appeared in The Clarion on 25 March 1893 to defend the policy. Initially, Shaw approaches a different question raised in the article. Johnson had written against the view that the socialist movement among the working class was "a mass of puppets with a few intellectual bosses to pull the strings". Shaw writes that the movement is a combination of the righteous demands of the masses and the technical skill of the thinkers who can lead them. The masses must go to a bootmaker for boots, but "this does not mean that they are puppets bossed by the bootmaker; on the contrary, it is their demand for boots that pulls his strings and sets him in motion. It is the same in politics. The people want a policy (at least about 1/1000t

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