Vital Decision Today

Northern Advocate, 4 August 1949, Page 5

Vital Decision Today

A conference of Northern Miners’ delegates will decide today whether it favours the calling of aggregate meetings. If it does, the coal strike is expected to collapse because there is mounting evidence that most of the miners wish to return to work.

Delegates who favour ending the strike said before the meeting resumed this morning that they believed the proposal to call aggregate meetings would be carried by 10 or 12 votes in a voting strength of 60. The Daily Telegraph believes the voting will be 35 -to 25 in favour of meetings. The conference took all yesterday to hear reports by eight miners’ officials, and rank and file delegates had no opportunity to speak. VIOLENT ARGUMENTS Several violent arguments developed when Communist officials were speaking. A southern miners’ representative (Mr W. Smart) referred to the meeting of miners at Wollongong, which decided by a narrow majority to continue the strike, and said: “The southers miners are as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.” Meanwhile at Bulli, on the South Coast, miners demonstrated solidarity in another manner. The great majority of 500 miners voted solidly against a motion attacking the moderate leaders of the northern miners and urging continuation of the strike.

Amid cheers and hoots the miners forced a division and voted over 400 to 60 against the motion, inflicting a crushing defeat on the militants who sponsored the meeting. « At Wollongong the previous day a similar motion was carried by 268 votes to 248. PRODUCTION FEAT The commanding officer at Muswellbrook open cut mine, said that troops in the mine had equalled- prC-strike production figures in the first two days of operations. Civilian mine operators are amazed at the army’s production feat considering there are no men among the operators experienced in actual mining work.

Most of the troops engaged, however, have had wide wartime arid post-war earth-moving work and the use of experience with engineering units in heavy plant. It is believed likely that despite open cut mining, gas restrictions will be maintained on the present level. It is expected that gas companies will receive about 12,000 tons of gas coal a week, giving a slight reserve. POWER OUTLOOK BRIGHTER A state emergency cabinet committee is considering allowing housewives the use of gas or electricity one day a week to wash clothes. The electricity position is brighter and the use of electric irons and water heaters may be permitted. "This strike, like the last war, need not have happened," comments the Sydney Morning Herald. “Years of Government weakness encouraged the militants to believe that they could hold the country to ransom, pick their time for a fight and win. “There is scarcely a Federal Minister who has not scoffed at anyone who pointed to the Communist danger. “The nation must have more power for industry, and that power must not be in the hands of a monopoly ”