The Press. TUESDAY. JULY 20, 1915. The Welsh Coal Strike.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15335, 20 July 1915, Page 6

The Press. TUESDAY. JULY 20, 1915. The Welsh Coal Strike.

On tho facr* of it tlio conduct of the Welsh coaiminere in ceasing work appears absolutely appalling, and w*o do ( .not wonder that M. Hervo, the distinguished French Socialist, denounces tho strike as high treason against Eng- ; land, Franco and all the Allies. Nevertheless it i*. only fair to boar in mind "that wo do not yet know all the facts from the men's point of view. We know that tho cost of living has risen considerably in England, and it is a fair presumption that with tho rise in the prico of coal the profits of tho mineowners have also and we do not know to what extent the mine"Hv owners have offered to share these increased profits with thc men. We- believe tf*gt it is the duty of every man in tho community to make for tho sake of ensuring viciorv to our arms- - in this great war, and it would bo manifestly unfair if while the working class population w*ere asked to make extra sacrifices and waivo trades union regulations, their employers wero found to bo making extra profits owing to the war. We believe that tho great mass of the workers aro prepared to mako sacrifices. Their response to the call for service in tho Army has, on the whole, been 'magnificent. And wo beliovo the general body of workei*s are prepared to make a sacrifioo also, but they want to bo

suro that it is for tho benefit of the State and not merely for the benefit of tho employers, to enabb the latter to make fortunes out of the war. What we fear is that the English Government is no"* only beginning to realise that a country at war is in altogether a different condition from the same country in a state of peace, and that entirely new arra*ig=.me:its must bo made to meet- the alter.hl requirements. Germany, with forty years in which to think out tho problem, and to make the necessary preparations, took caro not only to mobilise her troops, but to mobilis?. hor industries for the purpose of furnishing the huge store of arms, explosives, and other required in a modern war. England, which was forced jntotbo war against her will, had made no preparations of any kind except "that, fortunately, our Navy was kept up to tho mark. Lord Kitchener ha* done wonders in improvising a great vohintcr-r army and bringing it to a marvellous pitch of training, but tho mobilisation of war industries is now only just beginning. A writer in the "Round Table," in the course of a very fair and thoughtful article, make,-- soma suggestions which, with j»omo modifications, might, we think, be adopted with advantage. He urges that the of firms engaged in thc supply of munitions should be limited to the average rato prevailing before tho war. du 0 allowance being made for th- cost of new plant installed, lor depreciation. and for plant which will he put out of action when tho war requirements aro at an end. Similarly, he thinks the State should lay it down in set terms that the only increases in wages should be thoso justified by the increased cost of living. It is, of course, a perfectly' sound principle that no section of the community should bo allowed to exploit tho war for its own benefit. Nevertheless, wo have to lake human nature as we find it. and wo think it might be wise, for tho fake of securing tho maximum output, to allow some fixed advance on both the ordinary rato of profit and the ordinary rato of real wages—that is to say, wages expressed in terni3 of food and other necessaries of life. Employers will hesitate about laying down fresh plant, or altering their buildings and machinery,' unless they have come inducement to do so, but if this is conceded, wo think that the workmen are equally entitled to some recognition of their increased efforts. Wo agree with tho "Round Table," moreover, that if tho trades unions consont to waive their rules as to tho employment of women, unskilled labour, and so forth, they are entitled to a guaranteo on which they can rely that tho interests of their members shall not. after tho war, bo in any way prejudiced by the concessions now mado. But if the industries essential to tho war aro organised on tho lines suggested, then a striko should bo treated in law as it undoubtedly is in fact, an act of treason against the State. What has happened in South Wales is probably already as disastrous to the nation as the loss of half a dozen ships of tho class which havo been put out of action in tho Dardanelles. That German intrigue is at work fomenting the agitation wo firmly believe. Wo pointed out before tho war began that the "1.W.W." movement was engineered from Germany, and that in the rules of tho New Zealand Federation of Labour it was stated that the chief Eocrotariat was in Berlin. The country which laid down "tennis courts'' with a bed of concrete twelve feet'deep in the country it was intended to invade was not likely to overlook tho importance of stirring up internal disaffection and discontent among tho nations against whom it proposed to take up arms.