AN UNHAPPY TOWNSHIP.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 April 1931, Page 11

AN UNHAPPY TOWNSHIP.

[TO THE EDITOR.] Sir, —One needs to be a resident of Blackball carrying the responsibilities of family life in order to appreciate to the full the state of despaii- and chaos that exists here, as a result of the shutting down of the mine. It has to bo admitted that in the main we are ourselves to blame for so stupidly and blindly following the lead and advice of people totally unfitted foileadership. But the tragic realisation of our unfortunate errors should only help us to make one last serious effort to retrieve oui* sad position. ' We have been more or less sustained in the hope and suggestion that the company were merely bluffing, and that sooner or later they would announce then- surrender. Now we are forced to the conclusion that it is our own bluff that has been called, and the only sensible thing left for us to do is to admit and take our defeat like men and make the best settlement we can. We have had object lessons from the State mine and Denniston of. stupid actions and subsequent shuffling, but those Unions at least had the intelligence to recognise their mistakes before they wrecked themselves. In Blackball 300 jobs have been literally tossed away. In many cases these jobs have gone for ever, a serious matter at any time, but doubly serious in view of the disturbed state of the country. It may be possible by recognising the hopeless position the Union is in to get quite a number placed at work before the mine is completely flooded or dismantled. The only other alternative is to accept the advice of the National officials given at one meeting and accept a job from the Unemployment Board, and -.slowly starve to death on wages of 9/ : and 12/- per day or 1 1-3 and 2 days per week, rather than work to the terms of our agreement for at least a living!wage under tolerable conditions. —Yours etc., ' 1 “FED-UP.” atu , ——