Socialist Tradition

Chapter 9. Louis Blanc

For we’ve established SHAVING BANKS,
For shaving o’ the lower ranks,
For which we claim the gratefu’ thanks,
     Withouten flattery,
Of you, wha are but useless blanks
     In life’s great lottery.

But Rodger, though more amusing, lacked the bright ideas of Louis Blanc. For him the Shaving Bank was merely a device for the swindling of the poor, and the better observance of the Iron Law of Wages. As a mere Scot, it would not occur to him to bring in ‘la courtisane qui a vendu sa beauté.’