Th e rhetoric of “the equality of sacrifi ce” appeared empty in the face of soaring profi ts of industrial capital and speculation on the one end, and insuffi cient wages to cope with the mounting prices of basic living necessities on the other. Headlines from the Daily Herald, the independent daily of the British Left , denounced what workers widely saw as criminal political choices: “Merciless Exploitation: Labour Calls on Government to Reduce Cost of Living or Resign” (July 10, 1919) and “Penalty of Being Poor: How Workers Struggle Daily to Exist Under Present High Prices. Forced to Work Overtime” (August 26, 1919).

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 201