The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1920. THE COAL STRIKE.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 249, 18 October 1920, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1920. THE COAL STRIKE.

i For the cause that lacks assistance. For the wrong that needs resistance. For tlie future in the distance, the good tliat we oan do.

It is difficult, indeed almoo't impossible, I . to .follow all the lines of facts, in- ' flucnees, present and past, and currents of feeling that have produced the coal strike in Britain. The ostensible cause' of this disastrous affair is a demand for j higher wages, which the Government, a* : conl controller, feels it cannot concede. ] OriginaHy this was coupled with a. de- j ' mand for a reduction in the price of domestic coal, but this was waived in ' the recent negotiations, and ihe issue ' narrowed down to wages. The Govern- ' ment, on the ground that the industry could not stand, a further unconditional increase, proposed, a compromise by which an increase would be given according to output. The justification for this attitude lay not only in the serious con-! . sequences to home and foreign trade of a further increase, but in the fact that, ' while there are many more men fern- ' ployed in the mines now than there were a few years ago, the output has fallen by , some fifty million tons. A point of contention is the surplus obtained from the sale of exported coal at high prices. The miners contend that t""ey and the local consumer should have a share of this, hut the Government maintains that the ] surplus is justified, one of the grounds being: that otherwise the industry would , escape paying excess profits lax; in other ■words, the surplus is a windfall for the State. This seems the least satisfactory : part of the Government's policy. When ' ' the plan was put before the miners of accepting a rise with a line of increased output, which they were advised by their leaders to accept, they rejected the pro- ' posed settlement by a majority. This is the surprising feature of the , crisis. One must remember, however, \ that the issue was much more compli- > cated to them than it is to the outsider. Old grievances rankle, old conditions of under-payment and bad housing work aga-inst peace. And at the back of everything is mistrust of the Government. Rightly or wrongly the miners ] contend that the Government promised to adopt the recommendations of the ' Sankey Coal Commission that sat last ( year. The Government may have the , excuse that the Comnfission brought in J not one report but several, but the recommendations it adopted were those • of one member. These recommendations, , embodied in a Bill now before Parlia.ment, give the miner, among other 1 things, a share in the management of the mines, but the miners will have none of the measure. However, when full allowance has been made for the men's grievances, past and present, the Government's case remains overwhelmingly strong. The* Government's offer was quite a fair one —to give more wages for more production, but it ■was rejected, and the nation plunged into a grave industrial crUU. The Government could not have surrendered without failing in its duty to the nation. Obviously there must be a limit to the concessions that can be obtained by demands and threats. The miners are only a section of the nation, and the Government is the guardian of the interests of all. The strike is direct action on a large scale, and if it succeeds constitutionalism will have received a ( dangerous wound. The loss to the nation lif the strike continues will of course be grave. There is first the paralysis of a great part of industry, sending thousands of workers to join the who are already without employment owing to the slump in trade. Then the decline in coal export will affect exchanges adversely, and through this and the lack of freight space for return cargoes, will increase the cost of living. That i this should happen at a time when Britain is struggling with reconstruction problems of immense difficulty and complexity, is deplorable, nut the Government's .duty is plain. While leaving a door open for negotiation, it must assert its right to protect the com- , munity. On its part the community will ; assert its right to govern itself through the State. Three months ■ago the "Spectator" said that the time had come for the Government to . stand and fight against the pressure of • successive wage demands." Nearly all ; the advantages are bn the side of tho ; Government. They only want clearness of vision, coolness of head, and a capacity for sticking to the point when they have - said what the point is. There could he i no better ground for the Government to \ fight on than the coal question. Coal is \ ( the -universal essential; it feeds and|' keeps alive every industry; it serves the i wante and ensures the comforts of every ; family in the land. If Mr. Smillie cares ' to defy the Government, he will also be 1 > defying the nation. The nation will be!" against him." The signs at present are ' that this prediction is being justified. ' The Government is prepared, and the \ public is supporting it. Unless Britain is ] in danger of starting down the slippery - slope of destruction, the Government ' must prevail, hut it is to be hoped that ! the victory will be won speedily through \ surrender or negotiation. 1