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MargaretMcMillan Britain cannot fail to be heartened by this record of past battles won; but they are apprehensive for the future. Contemplation of the improvements achieved by one woman's vision, energy, and persistence may encourage them to continue the fight and to sustain vigilance against false economies. Margaret and her sister Rachel worked for some years in Bradford at the turn of the century: Margaret as an Independent Labour Party member of the local school board, Rachel as a sanitary inspector. Intelligent and widely read women, they were resolute in their support of the poor. Margaret's power as a speaker drew vast audiences, many of whom walked miles to hear her. She combined visionary zeal with an abundant practicality and a fierce resolve to aid the afflicted, who were quick to recognise a potential saviour when they heard one. As she rose to address a meeting at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, a voice rang out from the back of the hall:" Our Maggie!" And the cheers echoed. Her agitations soon rippled into Whitehall, where fortunately not everyone regarded her as a nuisance who had to be deflected or discouraged. After she left Bradford in 1902 Sir George Kekewich, permanent secretary to the Board of Education, wrote:" Bradford had presented the Board with so many new problems that, during the whole of the past eight years, it has been in bad odour with the Board. This did Bradford great credit."