Greymouth Evening Star AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, MARCH 2nd, 1920. STARVING EUROPE.

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 March 1920, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, MARCH 2nd, 1920. STARVING EUROPE.

It is said that Hero fiddled while Rome was burning, and this conduct of the musical monarch has been placed in history as a mark against him. It is a long cry from the days of Hero to those of President Wilson, and the world is supposed to have advanced considerably since then. There is, however, at the present time the same callous indifference o) the part of the world’s socalled great men to anything outside their own selfish interests. Dr Wilson is anxious to have his name recorded in history as the man who dominated the Peace Conference. The Kaiser had a similar kink and wanted to he Admiral of the Atlantic and Emperor of Emperors. We all know how his dream ended. Dr Wilson is also playing for a fall: The Allies have been very patient with America, and have not shown the resentment that they might have done. The Adriatic problem is still a disturbing factor in the world’s peace, and if a settlement is delayed much longer it is hand to say what may happen. While all this wrangling is going on the unfortunate people of Europe are starving. Mr Herbert Hoover, the great food expert, who has examined the position carefully, says that there will be moredeaths from cold and starvation in Europe during the coming winter than there were men killed during the period of the war. There is an absolute shortage of both food and fuel, and it is certain that a large percentage of the people must perish. Many of those who survive will be physical wrecks, and Quite unfit to carry on their duties. The children born into the world will be stunted and quite unfit to form part of a virile nation. The main cause of the shortage of corn is the situation in Russia and Turkey, where the people are engaged in warfare in place of husbandry. It seems impossible to get them to a different way of thinking. Tin's means that America and Australia must, do what they can to make up the shortage. It is estimate' 1 that 15,000,000 tons of wheat are required to meet the demands of the people of Europe. It is also estimated that 3,500,000 tons of, meat will be needed. The production of beet sugar in Europe has fallen 0ff‘4,200,000 tons since 1914. and the cane sugar produc-tion-has increased only by 1,800,000 tons. If the people of Europe are to obtain the sugar that they require there must he economy on the part of other countries. Once 311 °rc the problem of distribution obtrudes. The shortage of shipping is still acute; but the position is. steadily .improving. The work of demobilisation is practically completed. Freights have gone up enormously; ami w : ' 1 their depleted finances the coun-

tries of Europe cannot afford to buy the fuel, clothing* and food that they must have before the next winter comes round. The only remedy is for the Allies to combine and give the starving people of Europe the money, the food and the fuel required. Wo: America stand aloof from this work as she has done from her other obligations? Mr Glass, Secretary of the United States Treasury, has declared that the Government will withhold any further assistance from Europe. This attitude does not meet with the approval of many of the American people, and some of the most proinent; financiers are agitating for the raising of a big loan to assist tlie distressed European peoples. This has been opposed by Mr Hoover, who says that the people of .Europe can claim no assistance until they have shown a genuine desire to help themselves. “Sympathy with Europe,” says ■an American financial writer, “has none, about the limit already. Pf the people over there would go to work their countries soon would be able to earn and build up a lot* of the credit they need and draw more from the rest of the world, making it less necessary for them to lean on America. To get down to banking principles, is any country entitled to foreign credits when it is paying unemployment benefits to strikers’? Who wants to lend his money in a country that is governed by Socialists who advocate the confiscation of all private property? American business men, farmers, and wageearners had better make up their minds that the one country for them to finance and build up is their own.” This may he an excellent specimen of American shrewdness, but it does not display much humanity.

THE COAL INDUSTRY. The complete text of the agreement between the coal mine owners and coal miners has now been made public, and bears out the correctness of the summary forwarded by our Wellington correspondent some days ago. The agreement will be in force for twelve months, and at the end of that period it will be possible to remedy any minor defects that may appear. This is a. wise step, for on many occasions flaws appear in the wording of industrial agreements, and tins gives those who are not too scrupulous an opportunity of evading the true spirit of an agreement and interpreting the clauses literally. The miners have every reason to be satisfied with the agreement, which gives them several concessions, for which they have long been striving. In the first place the award is for the most part a Dominion award, the only exception being the truckers in a few of the mines in Otago, who recently entered into an agreement with the owners. If may be possible to get the owners’ permission to cancel these agreements and allow the men to come under the Dominion award. Such a course would give the greatest satisfaction and place the truckers on the same footing* in all the mines. Thete are also various technical concessions which will be appreciated by the men. So far as the general public is concerned the most important point \s that the miners have been given 50 per cent, and the wages men 00 per cent, increases on pre-war rates. Everyone is pleased to see tile men getting better pay for their work: the only question is who will have to pay the piper ? There are already ominous hints that there will be an increase in the price of coal amounting to Gs per ton. is .here any necessity for this ? Surely the increased output and improved distribution will enable the coal owners to continue at the same price without bleeding the public any further. We are told most emphatically that there are no coal barons in Aew Zealand. We trust that such is the case, and the Government should take good care that such a branch of the aristocracy of wealth is not established in the Dominion. The Government should endeavour to make adequate arrangements for the distribution of coal, so that the people in all parts of New Zealand will get the full benefit of the increased output. In the meantime the public will await developments with interest, and will strenuously resist any attempt at ‘'passing* on the increases.”