THE COAL STRIKE.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14294, 4 March 1912, Page 6

THE COAL STRIKE.

Tho greatest strike of modern times is now taking placo at Home. A million men are idle, the vast <;oal trade, well described by the Primo Minister as tho life-blood of Britisii industry, has practically ceased, end though most manufacturers have, no doubt, stocks of coal in hand that will last them for a few days, or weeks, a time must come, if tho strike ion-, tinues, when much of the manufacturing industry of Great ' Britain will com© to a dead stop. Such a stato of things is almost inconceivable; yet it is ono which the present lenders of tho miners appear to contemplate, if not with satisfaction, at least with a degreo of complacency which indicates amazing indifference to tho public welfare. Mr Robert Smillie, President of the Scottish Miners' Federation, who is described in a cable message to-day as "the brains of the movement," told his hearers at a recent meeting in Scotland, that he lately explained to Mr Winston Churchill what a coal striko would mean:—"ln "a fortnight the railways would in all. "probability havo to shut down for "want of coal; within three weeks tho " gasworks would also have to close " up, and thero would be no electric "light and no gas; mills and factories "would havo to stop running within " a month for want of coal, and within "six weeks their 21 milos " of Dreadnoughts would bo "scrap-iron for want of coal." It is not, of course, certain that such disastrous results would necessarily follow the prolongation of the striko for £is weeks or two months. Tho Britkh coal trade is enormous. It employs over a million people, who were responsible in 1910 for raising 264 million tons, of which nearly 85 millions were exported. But Great Britain is not now, as formerly, the largest coaiproducer in the world; sho is but an indifferent second to the United States, with Germany close up third. It has been pointed out that tho Stato of Pennsylvania alone could, without much difficulty, supply all tho domestic requirements of tho United Kingdom with coal costing on an average less at the pit's mouth than English coal. The Admiralty is already making preparations to secure American coal, and though tho increased demand and the cost of freight would no doubt raise the price to tho English consumer over that of English coal, say Last year, the cost might not in tho end- bo more than will havo to be paid for tho Home product if tho miners succeed in forcing their demands upon the owners. The Gorman miners may refuse to raiso coal for England wln'le tho striko continues, but tbo German mine owners will probably caro littlo if they do in, view of the fact that tho longer the strike lasts the greater ~.\ ill bo their opportunity for securing markets now held by Britisii coal. Tho export coal trade of Great Britain is decreasing, and a month's striko would probably mean a further heavy ird permanent loss, in which tho miners themselves would share. If the owners have to concedo the minimum wage, the cost of raising tho coal will no doubt, bo increased, and somo trade will be lost on that account. The.-c must, in such a struggle, bo soma concessions on both sides, if settlsment is to bo reached, and the men would have done well to take to heart Mr Asquith's warning of the torrible responsibility resting upon them, if by clinging to a particular formula in their demands, they hinder the conclusion of an-agreement.

In his interesting address at the annual meeting of the Ashburton A. and P. Association, Mr John Grigg made a suggestion worthy, we think, of more than passing notice. As tho result of many visits of inspection to SmithSeld during his recent visit to the Old Country, he was most gratified at the way our meat was placed on the market, and its excellent flavour. "I am sure," continued Mr Grigg, "it would be money well spent if our High Commissioner in London offered to pay all expenses of experts if France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy would agree to send delegates out here to inspect ouc freezing works, and see the class of stock, and how rigid the inspection is fcere."

Mr Grigg's belief that those countries would then do away with the present restrictions on the importation of frozen meat is, we are afraid, rather too optimistic. If those rests ictions wens imposed solely in the interests of public health, the visit, as suggested, of experts to New Zealand should be all that was necessary to secure their icmoval. But they have, also, the support of the fanners in the various countries, who naturally are not anxious to sco their meat markets invaded by the cheap high-class products of Antipodean pastures. Their opposition, however, is being gradually set a:-ido— froson meat has mado its way into Austria, and is going into Switzerland, aud in piocess of time will no doubt reach tho vast consuming populations of Europe. It is quite possible that that day might at least bo hastened if European experts were to inspect and report upon the frozen meat industry as carried out at this end.

The Sydney "Bulletin," which is not exactly prejudiced in favour of employers, is a determined opponent of syndicalism and the general strike. It lately pointed out with much force that in a general strike unionists and the employers for whom they worked were the first and tho worst sufferers., since unionists obeyed tho call to "come out," and thus left their employers stranded, whereas non-unionists ignored tho summons, and their employers wero able to keep their shops open and their factories going. Obviously, as the paper remarked, this sort of thing was not calculated to improve the position of tho unionist in the labour market, since anybody employing him was liable to have his business "held up - ' on account of some labour dispute with which ho had no personal concern.

Our contemporary, returning to the subject in its latest issue, points out the inevitable consequences of tho policy of ignoring industrial agreements which is advocated by some individuals aspiring to lead New Zealand labour by the nose. If the general striko were to become frequout, "tho unionist," says our contemporary, "would become a social outlay.- and a social outcast. He would Lo a recognised public enemy—a sort of wolf's head, according to the old Saxon phrase. He would bo the one man in the community whoso word could never ,bo relied upon, for no matter what bargainee made with his employer, and no matter how faithfully his employer adhered to tho bargain, ho would be liable to break his agreement at any moment at the bidding of some reckless outsido person or selfadvertiser. ... Ho would be tho ono animal in tho community that was in no way amenable to fair and honourable treatment." There aro evidently some in New Zealand who. aro quite prepared to earn tho character above described, but ii would be difficult to make us believe that tho majority of the decent self-respecting workers are willing to do so. It is unfortunate, however, that from a mistaken sense of loyalty to the labour causo, labour leaders of principle refrain from denouncing tho disastrous policy of syndicalism, and thus encourage tho erroneous belief that the advocates of the general strike have the support of Labour generally.

As reported the other day in our columns, a cripplo who earns a living, by singing in the streets was brought before an Auckland Magistrate last week on a charge of soliciting alms, the police asserting that though he did no harm, he was "a perfect nuisance" to people in tho vicinity. The man's counsel suggested that, perhaps, the needs of the caso would be met if tho accused were warned to "keep his voice a bit lower." Better advice was, however, given by a Greenwich Magistrate who had to deal with a similar case a few weeks a_o. "Try to improve your singing," ho told tho man; "if you sing nicely, and people liko it, that's all right; if you sing badly, and they don't like it, that's begging." One has an idea that if street singers had to satisfy musical Magistrates as to their vocal attainments before they were allowed to appeal to the public, the nuisance would cure itself very soon.

Tho Labour Government in Now South Wales is about to make an experiment—if it does not perish in tho meantime—that will bo followed with interest far beyond the borders of tho State. Houses are scarce and rents are high in Sydney, and the Government proposes to build houses on a wholesale scale for letting. We in New Zealand have done something of tho kind in erecting workmen's homes, but tho Australian scheme is much more ambitious. It contemplates tho creation of a* whole suburb. In the absence of the details of the scheme, it is impossible to criticise it, save to say that it is open to tho objections that aro to bo mado against most State enterprises. No ono outside tho ranks of the Labour optimists will be surprised if it results in a loss to the State.

Tlio scheme, however, has much to commend it from the town-planning point of view. Mr Dacey, the Minister who has it in hand, is a man of ideas, and if he is allowed to cprry them out, Sydney will be richer by a very picturesque suburb, where life -will be pleaeanter than in many other parts. The streets are to be wide, the allotments fairly large, and the houses designed with an eye to both art and comfort. Thero will be no monotonous rows of houses of a stereotyped pattern, set on pocket-handkerchief allotments. The designs will vary and will be novel, and they will include conveniences, such as secluded verandahs, which should be greatly'appreciated by sufferers from the Australian climate. Proper provision will be made for recreation grounds and reserves. In fact, Mr Dacey contemplates a garden city like Bournville and Letchworth, where beauty is not divorced from daily life. If Labour is going to insist on playing the landlord, it is _ocd to see that it ia not going to do it in the style of -the jerry-builder or the suburban speculator.