BIG COAL UPHEAVAL

Grey River Argus, 13 February 1928, Page 5

BIG COAL UPHEAVAL

PROPHESIED BY COOK An International Crisis AUSTRALIAN MINERS APPEAL TO BRUSSELS CONEERENCE. (Received February 11 at 11 p.m.) LONDON, February 11. Owing -to further reductions in the miners’ earnings in the north-eastern coal fields, the Miners’ Secretary, Mr Cook, prophesies a big coal upheaval unless the Government intervenes. He adds: “The Australian miners

have appealed to the International meeting at Brussels. French, Belgian and German miners also fear reductions in wages. Thus an international crisis exists in addition to the British. Undercutting of Prices CONDEMNED BY COMMONER. AN ‘ ‘ ECONOMIC LOCARNO ’ ’ ADVOCATED. LONDON, February 11. Mr Boothby, who is just back from Germany, condemned the wasteful undercutting of prices between British and German coal owners, which had cost the former eight millions sterling since the general strike. International • greements are operating finance in several other industries, why not coal; but there must be a preliminary trustification and reorganisation of the British coal trade.” He believed Sir Cunliffe Lister could enforce this with the aid of the banks’ pressure. The Federation of German Industries was very anxious for Anglo-German agreements, concerning coal, iron and steel. An economic Locarno was Europe’s greatest need in order to maintain the

world standard of living. Lobbyists agree that the speech in the Commons by Mr Boothby, who is Air Churehill’s Parliamentary private secretary, is unusually important, amounting to a definite approach to British industry by the German iron and steel cartel, and coal owners.