BRITISH MINE LEADERS IN VITAL DISPUTE

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 October 1948, Page 6

BRITISH MINE LEADERS IN VITAL DISPUTE

LONDON, October 16.

The former Secretary of State lor War, Mr Leslie Hore-Belisha, told a conference of the Conservative Crusaders that Britain’s economic recovery was involved in the dispute between the president of the British National Union of Mine Workers (Mr Will Lawther) and the general secretary of the union (Mr Arthur Horner) over support for the Commun-ist-led coal strike in France.

! “Already the French strike, for i which Mr Horner has been showing sympathy, is costing France every 24 j . hours its daily share of Marshall z\id,” I said Mr Hore-Belisha. “The CominI form’s object—fhe sabotaging of Mar- ; shall Aid —is being achieved.” 1 A first-class dispute in the Mine I Workers’ Union would conduce to the: ' same end in Britain, „ by distracting . the miners from their nationally : dispensable work. Production would be reduced, the standard of living ! would fall, and industrial unrest would be promoted. The controversy between Mr Horner and Mr Lawther brought to light the urgent need for a clear restatement of the proper relationship between the trade unionist and politics. Mr Horner Back from Paris

Mr Horner, on return from Paris today, said that criticism of him did not start with his declared support for the French miners’ strike. “This attack on me was launched before I went to Paris,” he said. “The crux of the matter is that they have prepared for war, and they think it would be very inconvenient to imprison me if, at that time, I were the miners’ general secretary. “The decision has been made to try to remove me before that contingency arises. It is all part of the campaign, not only against me, but against all Communists in key positions in any union. “No Communists in any British union will engage _in a struggle against the Socialist sixth of the earth. I see in the victory of the French miners the defeat of the. effort being prepared against the British miners. I think it is all part of the one pattern—the American pattern for the reconstruction of Europe at the expense of the working class.” In Paris yesterday Mr Horner said he would retract none of his support for the French miners’ strike. “I like Mr Lawther immensely,” he said. “He is a great proletarian who has been led astray. We were great pals, but this is the end of the road. I am a Communist and if I lose my position it is for the miners to decide.”

British Press Comment

The British national newspapers, without exception, give prominence to the dispute between Mr Lawther and Mr Horner as to whether the miners in Britain should support the French coal strike. Several newspapers devote leading articles to the dispute. - The Times calls it a “public slanging match across the Channel,” and adds that it

may bring to a head a conflict which has been growing in bitterness since the war. “However distasteful the circumstances of the outbreak,” The Times continues, “It will prove of advantage if it demonstrates beyond dispute how dangerous it is to place Communists in positions of influence in trade unions when they are determined to undermine the policies to which the workers of this country are committed by an overwhelming majority ” The Daily Mail says that the . dispute is not a private fight, but is oi profound concern to the country. It adds: “What concerns us is the possibility of a rift in the British Mme Workers’ Union which would throw coal production out of gear.”