The Star. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1920. THE STRIKE SETTLED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16260, 29 October 1920, Page 6

The Star. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1920. THE STRIKE SETTLED.

Tlio news of the settlement of the strike of British coal miners will be received with milch satisfaction even in countries far distant from Great Britain. At the time of writing there is no information as’ to the terms of the agreement, which are to bo announced by Mr Lloyd George when the House assembles. It will .probably be found that a compromise was arrived at, which will give the miners an increase and secure some sort of assurance that the output will be correspondingly enlarged. The outlook twelve hours earlier was very bad, and apparently there has been a surrender of some important principle by one side or the other. It is unlikely, however, that the demand for an unconditional advance of two shillings per shift has been agreed to. It appeared that on this point at least the miners’ leaders, were entirely out of touch with tlio piexi, who were being dominated by the extreme element. In the words of Mr Cook, the Rhondda leader, the question of the future regulation to wages was far too important to bo left to Mr Lloyd George and three or tour miners’ leaders. The leaders were willing, even anxious, to compromise, but they were unable to quench the iire which they deliberately kindled and fanned. An ominous sign was that the Rhondda meeting carried a resolution demanding tho withdrawal of all labour on October 30 if an agreement—meaning surrender to tho miners’ demands—had not been reached by that time. The withdrawal of all labour meant that the strikers were prepared to allow the mines to he flooded. It was recently,pointed out by Mr Lloyd George that if the mines were flooded many of them would be destroyed for ever, as it would not bo worth while for the capitalists to spend the money to reopen them. Tho fact that a section of the miners demanded the adoption of such a course shows the utter recklessness with which their counsels were framed. In. order, to damage the capitalist, and squeeze an extra ten shillings a week out of the coal consumers they were prepared to deprive themselves of the opportunity of earning anything at all. Labour opinion' in Britain seemed to be acutely divided regarding the miners’ claims. The strikers were not receiving that unanimous support from the working population which would indicate to some extent that they had a righteous cause. Their refusal to submit their claims to an impartial tribunal was highly suspicious, as the Government and coatowners pledged themselves to give immediate effect to the recommendations of such a tribunal. Mr R. Smillie gave the quite inadequate excuse that tho Government’s offer was rejected because the miners did not trust the Government, and the coal-owners were deliberately retarding output'while -awaiting the decontrol of coal. It, is difficult at this distance to arrive at a correct estimate of the rights and wrongs of the miners’ claims, but a lew facts stand out very distinctly. Oim of the most notable is that tho earnings of the miners place them in an enviable position as compared with workers in other industries. It lias hatdly been urged_ on their part that they are underpaid, though there were oblique references to the cost of living. Another fact is that they elected to strike when tho country’s need for financial, economic and social effort was more imperative than it had ever been. It is a matter of great importance that the strike has been settled. The men went out on October 16, so the interruption of tho industry has lasted just under a fortnight. The Old Country will not escape the consequences ot this upheaval, but if it has led to a better understanding, which may be doubtful, the consequences will not bo all bad.