COAL STRIKE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 11 October 1926, Page 5

COAL STRIKE

MINE SAFETY MEN. NOT LIKELY TO STRIKE WHAT THE LEADERS SAY. i • f ay CABLE —PBESS ASSOCIATION—COPYBIGHT. LONDON, Oct. 8. Robert Shirkie, secretary of the principal safety men’s union, states that if the Miners’ Federation with- , draws all safety men who are members / of the union it would hot stop a single eollierv in the whole kingdom. He says: * “The federation cannot carry out that threat, which is sheer bluff, and a stupid bluff., The federation’s resolution applies to live per cent, of the men at the utmost.” Mr. Miller, president of another national union embodying safety men, states that the members will carry on their duties regardless of the Miners’ Federation. Reports from Yorkshire and other districts indicate that there is little liklihood of the men striking.

INCREASE OF RECIPIENTS OF TOOK LAW. BALLOT ON CALLING OUT OF SAFETY MEN. LONDON, Oct. 8. Whereas before the strike there was 1,222,000 recipients <jf poor law relief, the total on June 30 was 2,420,000. This, according to a report published bv the ministry of -Health, represents 622 per iO,OOO of the population. As a result of the insistence of the Midlancfers and the Northerners, the Miners’ Conference (resolved that a district vote, returnable on Thursday, shall (bcide whether the calling out of the saety men will be' obeyed. The conference suspended Mr. G. A. Spend'. Labour member for Broxtowe, Nottingham, for arranging the resumjtlon at Nottingham. CAHNET TO CONSIDER POSITION LONDON, Oct. 9. Cabinet meets early In the week to coisider the miners’ decision regarding tie withdrawal of the safety men. Mr Frank Hodges, in a statement, sty's: “The Miners’ Federation is (rumpling up. The wreckage of the niners’ home is due to the subtle com>ination of minority propaganda with incompetent leadership.” , SHORTAGE OF COAL. SUPPLIES BEING RATIONED. LONDON, Oct. 8.

Two hundred thousand' miners are reported to he working. This is only one-fifth of the total number. Coal supplies are rapidly dwindling. Each householder is allowed lcwti a fortnight. Permission is necessary for more. He is charged 4s 3d: per cwt, against 2s 6d before the strike. Practically all stocks of electric and gas stoves are exhausted' by the sudden demands of those who had anticipated the strike would be over before September. 1

Every substitute for coal is in demand. Peat and logs are extensively sold. The' approach of winter hastens the anxiety. Some hospitals are without coal, and others are just managing to carry on from week to week. The sudden onset of cold weather may upset all calculations. , Incidentally streets are Incoming darker and darker, and there is some possibility of the curtailment of trains. It- is generally believed that the threat about the safety men'will not bo carried: out, 1 though the possibility that it will be adds to the anxiety. Stories of stark suffering are featur-ed-in the Daily Herald, which declares that hundreds "of children are suffering terribly from lack of nourishment. Sickness is spreading, and the ooverty is so acute that in thousands of homes blankets and winter clothing are unknown. Such articles were pawned long ago. The local authorities continue 'to cut down relief, and in many instances it has stopped entirely.