Patea & Waverley Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1919. THE COAL PROBLEM

Patea Mail, Volume XLIII, 5 November 1919, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1919. THE COAL PROBLEM

Tiio value of coal io (lie jialion can scarcely lie overestimated. That the enemy is aware of this aO-importan 1 fact is shown by the report of a meeting held in Hamburg as far back as 1910, in which one of the principal speakers made use of the folloAving words : "England depends entirely upon coal for her very existence, and to get the coal she has to employ a eonple of million miners. Now, these miners are utterly ignorant men, and ean very easily be led by a few first-class fluent speakers. It would not be a very difficult thing In persuade these miners that (hey have been working all their lives to put money into the pockets of a few owners coal mines. The money is theirs by right; why shouldn’t (bey take it? The owners all told arc not a hundred. What, then, could they do against a million or more miners ? But the only way to do this is to destroy the mines, for it this was once done no one would have to work in darkness and misery under the earth any more. The miners would have plenty of money, and need not work any more at all. There are two ways of destroying the mines—by Aval or or by lire ; and a celebrated German chemist tells me thal. by means of certain chemicals he could destroy all the mines in England in six months.” “All that sounds very plausible” •aid another speaker, “but lioav about the great mass of Avoi-kors in England ? Surely the miners would not ruin them merely to enrich themselves ?” “The minors,” said the previous speaker, ‘’don’t care a brass farthing for the rest of England. If half a dozen really intelligent men Avere to devote their lives to this Avork, I feel absolutely certain that it could be chute. Just think of it. ' bice destroy England’s coalfields cud her Navy, Avhich is her only real dependence, is gone for ever, end the British Empire is at an end. May Ihe good God hasten the clay.” The events Avhieli have transpired in Britain and in this •muniry of late Avould almost load . lie to believe that the enemy has had the “half a dozen intelligent men” at work endeavouring to curtail the coal supply at Home mid in ibis country. In Britain recently the Prime Minister pointed out that Avhereas before the war the Home minors produced 287 million lons of coal per annum at present they Avere producing only about 200 to 220 million tons, despite the fact that the number of men engaged in tin' industry has increased from 1,110,000 to 1.141,000, while a ton of coal raised 'cost at tlie pit head ien shillings in 1910 and twentynix shillings in 1919. A remedy for the existing stale of affairs

■•. a:; proposed i»y Mr. Justice Sankey. who presided over a Commission to enquire into the question of the coal industry at 1 lonic, and Avho brought down a repori recommending the nafionalisation of mines coupled with the proviso ihat the miners should not strike until an enquiry had been held by the councils to be set up under the scheme. The representatives of ihc miners, however, while accepting Iho nationalisation proposed. declined to accept the pro posal to avert strikes, and one of the miners’ leaders has already openly urged the minors to gird up their loins to fight the CJovcrnment instead of only local employer,;. Most people will agree with the Prime Minister’s remark that “whatever Avas proposed Avith regard to nationalisation would not promote harmony, ajid therefore the avliolo reason for ihc recommendation of the Commission has been falsified by the action of the miners themselves. ’’ It seems to the outside indiAddual

dud the Avorkors are not prepared io accept the law —passed in their interests he it understood—unless ihey can he assured beforehand that the decision will be in their favour, and when the decision is against them theyresori to measure:; which penalise tlie whole of the community. Workers in this country Avho arc penalising the people by adopting the goslow policy could not do better Hum take to heart the advice of the 111. lion. J. R. Clynes, one of I he feAv Labour members of the Imperial Parliament who have had Ministerial responsibility and who is President of the National Lnion of (leneral Workers, and one of the most, authoritative leaders of Hritish trade unionism. Mr. (dynes in an article in a Home journal condemns direct action in the si congest terms. He says ; “Direct aclion, therefore, if it could succeed, would bring ns hack- only to the starling point. And to leave us in the end where we slartcil after enormous cost and turmoil is to accomplish nothing—of any good. We cried out for voting power equal to the rich. We have now greater power than theirs, and the folly Avhieh would turn from the use of if to Direct Action is nothing but a crime. Once we began to try and govern not by observance of the law, bnl by defiance of it, that process must he continued, and the victory of one section in the realm of force Avonld become the just ideal ion for every other. 11 industrial force in Ihc sphere ol politics and government were tried even on a large scale the resad 1 would not bring to those who would use it the substantial bene-

fils so loudly claimed for it. It is a method Avhich would prove to be Jess effective than Parliamentary action, because it would not remove the slums, lower prices, destroy profiteering, raise wages, abolish unemployment or diminish grievances as to pensions or pay. For the treatment of all I he.se matters the workman must come back to State Departments and parliamentary effort. The battle upon these points cannot be fought in the streets. Govern the country and settle State affairs as you settle the a (fail's in y mr trade union and co-operative s' cieiy—by majority rule.” If ibo workers would only take tbe.-e words to heart there would hr some hope of solving the coal prob!.;n and oilier industrial oucstions which have appeared insurmountable hitherto. Direct .•clion is merely pulling back the clock of 1 ;abour and destroyinglie good work that sane Labour men have accomplished up to date.