Manawatu Evening Standard. CIRCULATION 5000 DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1916. THE AUSTRALIAN COAL STRIKE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 10526, 2 December 1916, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. CIRCULATION 5000 DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1916. THE AUSTRALIAN COAL STRIKE.

I in'-K t-liii coal sl riki! in Australia is reported to be at ;in end, and the men are said to be resuming work on Monday, the trouble ii has brought is not yet ended, nor will the f-erioiis losses that have been occasioned to the manufacturing industries be made good for many a long day to come, if at till, riie miners ceased work on October 28th, and thus tlie mines have remained kilo for over a month, the resultant scarcity in supplies compelling practically rwry industry that is dependent upon gas or electric power generated by steam to close down. In Sydney, a fortnight ago, the position was critical in the extreme. Thousands of workers were thrown out of employment, and business was being brought to a standstill. The Federal and State Governments had "commandeered" all the available coal supplies, even taking over all manufacturers' supplies and stocks privately held; -as and electric light-j ing had been reduced to a minimum, the use of both being prohibited dor- | ing the daytime, and only permitted i at night for street lighting purposes. In the huge buildings, where electric lifts are installed for the convenience I of business people, employers and em- j ployees alike, had to trj. Igo wearily up ! the staircases. climbing in some instances up eight, nine, ton, and even ; twelve stories : the refrigerating and cold storage chambers were rendered useless, and both coastal and intercolonial shipping services were being suspended, j added to which the train and tram services were seriously curtailed. The Chief Justice, presiding at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court in Sydney, w<».s forced to adjourn the Court at .'! o'clock in the afternoon because uoii tier gas, electric light, candles nor kerosene were available for illuminating the chamber in which the sittings were held, the day beine dull and the Court room so dark that neither judge nor counsel able to read their . notes, oxcept with the aid of matches. In thousands of Sydney homes neither fuel nor light were ava Unite for cooking or llliiiiiin/iling purposes, find, in many respects, Sydney resembled a

beleaguered city suffering many of the hardships of war. That month’s stoppage of work in the mines has brought famine into the homes of hundreds of people who were in no way concerned in the dispute between the minors and the mine-owners, and it is stated that three-fourths of the men who were called out by their leaders had no idea of the merits of the dispute in which they were involved. They had simply obeyed the order to “down tools, without giving a moment’s consideration to the possible consequences ot their action. The available stocks ol coal In the Commonwealth having been practically exhausted in the interval, it will t)e many weeks belore shipping and lidusport services can bo running on their former lines, and months may intervene before the dislocated industries can bo restored to their old looting. The loss to both employers and workers is tremendous, and pnblit confidence in the integrity and loyalty of the miners has received a rude shock, from which it will not readily recover.