NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 291, 8 September 1928, Page 8

NOTES OF THE DAY

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales enjoys the distinction of being the most widely-travelled Royal personage the world has known. There are very few corners of the British Empire that His Highness has not seen, and he has again embarked on a mile tour, his objective on. this occasion being East Africa. . lhe Prince of Wales has not confined his travels to the Empire, however, and he is an extremely popular figure in many foreign countries. During his visit to the United States, he met with a remarkable reception, and the Press of America was practically unanimous in its tributes to this popular representative of the British race. The Prince of Wales is unquestionably the most widely-known member of Royalty alive to-day, and his visits to all quarters of the globe, always cheerfully undertaken with a full sense of his responsibilities, are not only bringing all sections of the Empire closer tqgetliei, but are also acquainting the whole world with the best traditions of the British race. * * ♦ ♦ To the casual onlooker the heat displayed, by i certain LabourSocialist members in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon may be difficult to understand. The fact is, however, that the disclosures made by the Prime Minister regarding recent happenings in the mining community on the West Coast are extremely unpalatable to Mr. Holland’s pkrty. And rightly so, for the story is not an edifying one. The official Labour organisation has used all its weight and influence by acts of intimidation and otherwise to crush the liberty of men of their own class who claim the right to mine coal under a co-operative system. that is to say, those, miners who have the enterprise to take over mine-working under a system which gives them the fullest possible reward for their labour —a higher reward than the union award rates of pay—are treated as enemies of the working class, and every possible endeavour short of personal violence made to compel them to desist from their very lucrative venture. The idea of the official Labour organisers appears to have been that these enterprising miners were doing too well—they were making big wages by working hard and thus creating envy and" dissension. They were, amongst other things, demon; ■strating to their fellow-miners that there was more money to be made by co-operation and steady work than by agitation and restriction of output. The union bosses bitterly resented this attitude, and as stated used every means even to the assembling of whole communities of hostile men, women, and children, stimulated by brass bands, to break down the morale and strength of purpose of the co-operative miners.

Small wonder perhaps that Mr. Holland and his followers smarted under the exposure made by Mr. Coates of the attempted intimidation by the miners’ organisations of their fellow-workers. It is not a pretty story this interference with the right of men. to work under conditions more favourable than the standard awards. The fact that the trouble has been settled for the time being was used by Mr. Holland as a justification for attacking the I’rinicj Minister for making reference to the matter. The Leader of the Labour-Socialists is not so dull as he would endeavour to appear. He knows perfectly well that there is a big principle at stake and that intimidation of the nature practised could not be ignored. Cooperative work under fair conditions is recognised as a legitimate and in some cases the most advantageous form of industrial enterprise for all concerned. It was the duty of the Government to make it clear that interference with the right of men to work in conditions which comply with the law would not be tolerated. It would have been very much wiser for Mr. Holland and his followers to have kept silent. They made a bad case worse by seeking to condemn its exposure