Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1930. THE COAL STRIKE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 139, 25 March 1930, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1930. THE COAL STRIKE.

Australia as a tvltole will rejoice that, the end of idle coal strike is in sight, though, the decision of the meeting of delegates representing the rank and file of the miners in New South Wales reaffirming the “all out” policy in respect to the dispute did not give ground for hope that the protracted struggle would be ended so soon. During the Commonwealth election campaign Mr Theodore promised that if Labour were returned to office, the mines would be reopened in a fortnight. Tile Party was duly returned to office, but its efforts to bring about resumption of work had tire effect only of raising difficulties for itself, in the ranks of the miners as well as on the part of the owners. The men entertained extravagant ideas of the functions of Government. At a conference of (fades anions in Melbourne recently, the speakers railed at the hederal Government because it did not employ troops against the New South' Wales police engaged in protecting from the strikers’ fury the employees at a mine taken over by the State to supply enough fuel to-keep certain essential services operating. With the assumption of office the Labour leaders found that there is a great gulf fixed between opinions expressed by those with no official standing and action by . those responsible for the wellbeing ot the whole country. In the meantime the dispute continued, the disruption imposing serious losses not only on the miners themselves hut also on the whole community. The cost of the fight, to (he miners so far is admitted as being over £“100,000. What the prolonged struggle has cost Australian industry in general can hardly he guessed at. For, apart from conditions arising from othpr causes, it must be a considerable factor in bringing about the unemployment that is rife. When Lord Craigavon was in Australia recently ho declare.! that the difficulties of that country were small compared with those of some other countries in the Empire, and could all he surmounted by working a little more and spending a little less. Yet £300,000 has been deliberately thrown away by the miners, with the inevitable recoil upon the wage-earners in general.