Pioneer

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ILW A YS, RAILWAYMEN, and LLOYD GEORGE J By F. W. Jowett. I The weapon of a strike, effective against in- dlVlduaJ employers, is a weapon not suited for Sjnployment against the State," says the Daily t ronide," The reply to this observation is of old. In the first place the railways a.re hither owned nor managed by the State. In tile second place if they were owned and man- ^ged by the present capitalist state the workers  the railways might even then have to resort to a strike on occasions because a capitalist gov- ^"iime.nt regards tihe workers from the same nt, of view as railway managers sees them. tiS is only what might be expected considering thit-t capitalist governments and railway Rectors are of the same class—the class which deals with Labour as a commodity to be bought ar,(l sold at its price in the market. lu order to understand how far it is from the trit-t.1, to suggest that the railways are being run bY the State it is-well that we should recall what tÎppenoo concerning the railways. in 1914, and he effect of the arrangements then agreed upon \th regard to the railways for the duration of e War. It is necessary that bhis point should made clear, because, in pretending that the Present strike is directed against the State, the "apllalit enemy, its Government and its press, **k not only to prejudice the men's case by SuKgesting that they fought against the com- munity, but seek also to discredit public owncr- allip on the ground that it foments strikes. What happened in 1914 when it became neces- ?'y to move large bodies of troops and muni- l ?on'< of war was that it was decided, at once, ?i?; ?!<t the different railway companies could not 4'?' treated with separately in dealing with the r^LUiivments of the Government. Compelling lt-erest.s had to be set aside for the vital con- sideration was to get the men and the muni- to the appointed place in the shortest pos- sible time, no matter which company's line had be used for the purpose. It was also found ^possible to keep accounts crediting each com- pany witih its share of the work done for the government. In s hort, the railw ay system of the country was in such a state -of chaos, its service wai- so u;i.-tetui i>f energ.vvirnrt Tl^<">urctv> and its method of charging for services rendered Was -so jfaried and senseless, that there was possible but to treat the whole of the railway companies as if they were one so uas Government traffic was concerned. This stVP should have involved nationalisation of the always, but. neither the Government nor the railway companies wanted nationalisation. l To avoid nationalisation of railways--and deli- cately with that object—the Government con- nived at the formation of a railway executive, imposed of managers of different railway com- ities, to allocate Government traffic between the various companies and to protect the inter- ,4ts of the companies during the period of the Y-V* Tliis Railway Executive is, in fact, a syn- dicate of railway owners. To make sure that t.hhl' Government would act dn the interests of the railway syndicate in so far as Government! '{,('tion might be necessary or called for, a rail- WiAy magnate, closely associated with the syndi- cate, has Imh»ii -given oiffce in the Ministry where lie acts as janitor, for the railway interest in Particular a nil in general for the interests of l'npi tacH st profiteering. It is, therefore, a rail- way syndicate—and a railway syndicate which is exceptionally strong because it has a representa- tive in the Government on whom the Prime Minister depends for hrs information and from whom the Prime Minister apparently takes his •. orders--that the railway men struck against. „ and not against the State. E l. To avoid the insuperable difficulty of keeping Recounts relaiting to the cost of carriage of Gov- ernment traffic the railway syndicate agreed With its janitor in the Government to keep no Account of carriage ("barges on account of Gov- ^nniem traffic on condition thai; the Govern- ment guaranteed to pay cadi railway company whatever sum of money might be necessary to Enable it to declare profits Juring the war equal to its pre-war profits. This arrangement when It was made by the railway syndicate on behalf V? the companies was regarded as a good bargain for ■them, but at that time the war had not de- Veloped opjioi'tui'ities for profiteers such !S for- pi.-olit,(?ers ?,licii I's iviii-,tble i.n One important effect of the bargain between the Governmeixt and the railway syndicate (i.e.. to assess the payment- due 011 account of Govern- ment traffic at whatever sum might be required to pay pre-war railway profits) has been to (*nable the syndicate to be generous to its friends. the profiteers, at the public expense. At the- isame time the syndicate has taken the op- Portunatv, which removal of com petition afforded to it, of withdrawing facilities for cheap travel- ling than the public previously 'possessed. Cheap ^xctisions linvc been abolished and third-class faro. have he-en increased by 50 per cent., but the proportion bet-ween the charges for tirst- t'lass fa res ami third class fares has been re- duced I I Iflvolll. of the first-class passenger. The Profiteers have been lavishly favoured by the Syndicate, for, although the cost of carriage of goods has increased enormously during the war and traders have all along IK-ollill-L" enor- mous profits, they have been and to this day are grill being charged a.t the sa.me rates tor car- riage of their goods as they paid before the war. The cost of ^his glTllt concession throughout the war must amount to an -enormous sum, and this fact ,should not be overlooked in relation to the attempt by the railway syndicate to reduce the poorer paid mvrkers1 wages below the 1914 level O-s soon as prices fall below 110 per cent, over pre-war prices. Fortunately, the railway syndicate has failed to accomplish its purpose, for the present- al- though Mr. Lloyd George ustxl all his well-known dexterity in favour of the syndicate for more than a week. He did his best to beat the workers and failed. Now that the first skirmish is over and the railway syndicate has failed—and I re- peat the qualifying words "for the present there is a disposition to say complimentary things of Mr. Lloyd George, but they are un- deserved. Mr.. Lloyd George took his instruc- tions from Sir Eric Gedde-s as long as he dared to do so. During the protracted interviews lie deliberately dodged the questions at issue. One point, in particular, he evaded, which is still left open, for there is, even yet, no promise tha.t the reduction to the 40 minimum will not take place when prices fall below 110 per cent, above pre-war level, although if prices should go down to 100 per cent, above pre-war level, the 10 minimum will only then be equivalent to the pre-war wage of JC1 per week. « Furthermore, when the negotiations ceased and the strike was declared Mr. Lloyd George issued his infamous manifesto in which he al- leged that the railwaymen were acting under the influence of anarchists.. He knew when lie penned his manifesto that the allegation was dn- true. The sole object of the allegation was to prejudice public opinion against the men. Even more dastardly were the costly advertisements which, with deliberate) cunning, were framed to create the impression that the railwaymen had been offered a minimum of 40 in pre-war value. This effect was obtained by stating that the 40/- minimum was guaranteed even if prices were to fall to the pre-war k-vel. It was a worthless pledge because it is perfectly certain that prices will not go back to. the pee-war level. The point of real importance, viz., that the 40/- minimum would have applied if prices were 100 per cent, or even 109 per cent. above pre-war level was deliberately left immentiowd in the advertise- ment. There was aho a Government statement issued which made it appear that the railway- men were asking for terms which would add .C14,000,000 to the present amount of their total wages when as a matter of fact what the rail- Vavmeri was asking umolllltt.d to little more than that their present wages should be continued. 1 The ad vertisements containing statements which were to all intents and purposes lies were inserted in the newspapers by the Government, but they bore no impnnt to make the Govern- ment responsible for them. The Government was willing to publish untruths and to pay out of the public funds the cost of publication, but lies published in the manner described can be repudiated in case of need for, like Mr. Bullit's mission to Russia, they can be described a3 li iinofficiil." For all this Mr.. Lloyd George is primarily responsible. Behind him, of course, there is, as usual, Big Business, whose servant he is now and always was, since the day he be- came a member of the C-ampbell Bannerman Governmentf out teen years ago. < It is not the fault of Mr. Lloyd George that the men have not been compelled to go back to their work unconditionally as he said they would have to do. Nor is it due to him that the "de- finitive" offer which he tried to foist on the men has had to be first amended and then con- verted into an offer to be negotiated upon. The poorly paid workers (on the railways have at all events secured an assured minimum of 51/- a week for the next twelve months. This will help other workers during this period to main- tain also their position. But for this, as for the other things here mentioned it is not Mr. Lloyd George, but the solid ranks of the r ail way me. 1 whom hp did his utmost to disrupt .and defeat that we owe our thanks.

THE WASHINGTON LABOUR CONFERENCE I A compromise appears to have been reached on the question of admitting trade union dele- gates from the late enemy countries to the League of Nations Labour Conference at Wash- ington. It is stated that the United States Government has invited Germany, Austria, and the other countries to send representatives to America, and it is proposed to let the Washing- ton Conference itself decide whether on their arrival these delegates shall be invited to attend and take part in the discussions on the same footing as the others. A message from South Africa states that the trade union delegate to the Washington Confer- ence will be Mr. Crawford, secretary of the South African Industrial Federation. Nearly 50,000 skilled trade unionists, whose organisa- tions are not amhated to the Federation, are protesting against the Government's action in appointing Mr. Crawford, 011 the ground' that their unions and many others have been entirely ignored.

l Workmen's Examiners. I (Continued.) I BY SCRANTON." I In my last artikile on the above subject I out- lined a. scheme whereby the miners could, by its adoption, secure the most effioient, and at the same time an economical method of inspection by their own examiners. If they decide to ap- point full-time or perma.icmt examiners so much the better, the scheme would still hold good, but with the added advantage that, on that account their range of selection would be wider. When you appoint part-time examiners, these men put in most of their time at their ordinary occupation, and only go out occasionally to in- speot the colliery. A man will invariably work, harder when lie is out inspecting a colliery, than he would if he was working in hj-s ow n place, and will probably get less money for it. Now this is not a very alluring prospect for oa position, and you will hardly have the temerrty to advertise it. You will not expect men to come from adjacent collieries, and, in fact few men from your own colliery will apply. Why is this so? What are the l'el 180118 The reasons are varoius, but the two chief are :— REASON No. 1. You must be qualified above your fellows, and, if possiWe, up to the standard of the colliery manager, so far as the science and art of mining is concerned, with its attendant rules and regu- lations. fn addition you should be a man of strong character, and well informed, ready to meet the manager or his officials an any point and hold your own. REASON No. t. I The second reason is that where you have part- time examiners the inspection is intermittent. That is, the inspection- is carried out occasion- ally at no fixed intervals, as a rule. But on the other hand, you may inspect the mine or parts thereof regularly, and still the same objection holds good. The objection is, ithat he would work harder that day than he would were he in his own place, and an all probability get less money for it. During a workman's inspection the man that works the 'hardest is undeniably tho workmen's examiner. I think it has been shown conclusively that you cannot expect to have the inspection carried out satisfactorily, and by the best men, under the part-time method of appointing Examiners. There is one solution and that is the appointment of whole time examiners; the post to be as widely adver- tised as possible. QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE POST. I The qualification stipulated by the Mines Act, 1911, is not very difficult, and is the mini- mum qualification t'hat could be imposed. It requires that workmen's inspectors must be, or have been, practical working miners; and to have had at least five years' experience of un- derground work. This is not good enough for the miners they should in their own interests insist on additional qualifications, not necessarily in the Act, but by adopting some method of ap- pointment as I jiave already outlined. Workmen's examiners should in the first place hold fireman's certificates. In the second place they should in addition to these certificates possess a good, sound knowledge of all the regu- lations that govern the working of the mines. It is essential that they should be well versed in the following:— (1) The Coal Mines Act, 1911. (2) General and special regulations made under that Act. (3) Explosives in Coal Mines Order. (4) Rescue and Aid Order. (5) Special Rules for thp Installation and use of electricity in Mines. (6) The Act regulating the hours of work in mins: Not only should the examiners have a good knowledge of the above, but their should also have some idea as to their interpretation, and application to mining conditions. To possess this requires study, experience, and contact with mining men and literature. Practically little or nothing is done by the minilng; c-ommunity irtself to deal with the pre- vention ofaeeidents in mines; and I am firmly convinced that it is time the miners themselves tackled this matter in a more businesslike man- net- than they have hitherto. I Should like to say in conclusion that after considerable experience, it is found that there are numerous matters lying buried underneath our coal-mining legislation, of inestimable value to the workman, which they never discover, and which in consequence are never applied. There may just as well be no law on mining, as to have a law which is is ignored, and violated through nearly every section or clause it con- tains, where the miner's safety is concerned. Tt is hoped that the miners will insist upon the maximum means of safety the law provides, and where the law fails, to push forward and insist upon more exacting means of safety, until acci- dents will be so reduced that they will be scarcely know n. I may later on cite cases of I collieries, where tihis lias been done.

H. Seymour Berry & The Strike I "RICHT OR WRINC"—WE MUST SUPPORT I THE GOVERNMENT. The ordinary general meeting of Jollit Lysaght, Ltd. NN,;isIItield yesterday at Cannon- street Hotel, London, E.C. Mr. H. /.Seymour Berry, J.P., the chairman, who presided, observed at the outset of the pro- ceedings We are me<>ting to-dav with a menace han?in? over the industry of this country, which has been only once equaled before, in U)14. To a large manufacturing ifrm like John Lysaght the-ao^ £ lree f actuate transport facilities can only mean the early suspension of all owachvi- tics and thct)<;si))? downof all our works. We must realise, however, that RICHT OR WRONG, this dispute is one which the Gov- ernment is fighting as th3 representative of the whole of the community, and it is our plain duty to give to the Government every assistance that lies in our power.

Merthyr Water Charges. I HICHEST IN SOUTH WALES. LABOUR COUNCILLOR CRITICISES TENE-I MENT ASSESSMENTS. Merthyr scale of charges for watea- used for domestic purposes is the highesft in South Wales. Yet the Waterworks Committee of the MertJiyr Corporation spent much time on Monday, at tne instance of the Law and Parliamentary Commit- tee in discussing the advi sibility of seeking in the proposed Bill in Parliament powers to in- crease the rate further. Returns presented- by the borough conitroller (Mr. W. R. Harris) showed that all other South Wales industrial areas were below the Merthyr figure and of the English towns, with which he had got into touch, only Leicester and Lincoln ware above. The scale was maximum allowed in the Merthyr Water Act, 189o, and the adoption of new waterworks undertakings had prevented a reduction. Mr. David Parry remarked that he understood that the ratable values of te-nemen,t property were lower in Merthyr than eisewheTe in the coalfield. A 26 house in Merthyr would lw assessed at £ 8 in Pontypridd, he amplified. Controller: The overseers a-asess property ac- cording to the (instriiet i outs of the Assessment Committee. Mr. Parry: I have been given to understand that the assessment of tenements throughout the other boroughs is 25 per cent, above ours. Aid. W. Lewis: To my knowledge- from en- quiries, I am certain Merthyr's ratable value is no lower. Ald. F. T. James: We still have a large amount of smsll rated property, and the result is that when we make comparisons other areas may be shown .to possess a better class of house, more modern, and yielding larger rent and con- sequently of a. higher ratable value. As a borough ours shows a. preponderance of tenement or cottage property. He did not favour the proposal to increase the water rates, as sooner or later the addltion would come out of the pockets of house-tenants. Moreover, as 20 years ago, there would be failure an carrying the sug- gestion through. The only ground that could be put forward, in justification, was that the Corporation were committed to a large water- scheme with a huge expenditure for years to come. They wished to increase the water re- venue, but he did not think they ought to in- crease it on 'the domestic supply charges to the detriment of a large tenant claps. TENEMENT RATES. < I Mr. Parry: I lam satisfied myself that the rents charged for this tenement property is often equivalent to those of modem houses, and I am doubtful whether these cottages generally are assessed properly. Ald. James: Now you are going on to unequal or unfair assessment, and the Assessment Com- niittee of the Merthyr Union are about, consider- ing the re-assessment of the whole of the cot- tage property, 'because it has been alleged that in some cases the rottagecs are not rightly as- sessed. Mr. L. M Francis: Is fit possible to ask Par- liament to grant us powers to increase the charges, having regard to the advance in the cost of construction of the reservoir, to outside authorities without including domestic water ? Aid. James: It will come into the bill. Mr. Enoch Morrell: Our own erea does not enter the question at all. Nor wlill this prejudice us. We are going to Parliament for powers to increase our charges for the sale of water in bulk. Mr. Harris: In Teply to Mr. Parry I should say that even if in this paris-h £ 6 cottages were raised to t7 or k8 the water-rate would he un- changed as the scale is the same from 26 to RS. Ald. Lewis: Where are we going to get the additional revenue to pay for the waterworks unless we increase the water prices ? Aid. James: We shall ask Parliament to sanc- tion increased rates for outside authorities. Mr. Harvey, the engineer, raised this question and drew up a table showing these low rated houses paid a very small sum per 1,000 gallons, and this seemed to him to require revision. A house under £ 4 ratable value, paid ld. per 1,000 gal- lons £4 to £ 6, 2id. t6 to 28, 2.68d., and JE8 to £ 10, 3.13d. Aid. Lewis interposed that the Rliondda Val- ley authority would take a very large volume of water on the completion of Merthyr's new re- servoir at a "low and unfair price. Mr. Morrell: That is what we want to alter. On Mr. Morrell's motion, seconded by Mr. C. Fenwick, it was agreed to leave the domestic water charges unchanged.

LABOUR NOTES. PAGE 3.

BIRMINGHAM'S LABOUR WEEKLY. I We have received this week a copy of the first issue of Birmingham's new Labour weekl,v-- The Town Crier," which, we understand, is tinder the editorship of Mr. Challllwrlaill. The surprising thing is that a ci-tv of the size of Bir- mingham. populated almost wholly by industrial workers, and including in their -number a strong nucleus of Socialists and Labourites, should have had to wait so long for its own little jour- nal. Af'-ording to the i.mprint we see that the Birmingham Trades and La bour Council Joint Committee are responsible for the publication, and we wish them and th"ir editor long life to their venture, and a happier journey financially than is the usual lot of Labour publications:

Nurses' Charter. LABOUR MEMBER'S STRANGE OPPOSITION WHAT "PIONEER" HAS DONE FOft MERTHYR INFIRMARY STAFF. Strange though it may appear after "Laboar't fight for the reforms in the system to which the nurses at the Merthyr Workhouse Infirmary have been subject it was from a Labour member, Mr. Sam Morgan, Treharriq, that a determined opposition to pass wholly the series of recom- mendations incorporated in the Nurses Charter. Stranger still is the fact that the proposal to which he took so marked an objec- tion is that compared with which the remaining dozen are distinguished with an iimportance that is merely relative, the peg from which the en- tire table of administrative reforms depends. This is it: That at be a regulation that no private references be given by the master,, the matron or the superintendent nurse or any other head official without first obtaining the permis- sion of the guardians. The adoption of this proposal, in Mr. Morgan's opinion, would mean iite taking from officials a right -that was theirs and the enforcement of suck a regulation he considered might give rise to persons in authority issuing testimonials with- out the knowledge of the board. After charging the guardians with their duty to place some confidence* in the individuals who run this in- stitution," he moved the deletion of the offend- ing minute. He found a se-conder to his amend- ment in the Rector of Dowlais (the Rev. Llew. M. Williams). AN EMPLOYEE. Mr. Bert Brobyn, who, unlike Mr. Morgan, eat on the investigation committee appointed after the "Pioneer" revelations, referred to that reticence on the part of the nurses to give evidence before the commission or make any complaints officially fearing—perhaps without any founda hon-tha.t their future might be pre- judiced. And after all the superintendent nurse the same as the rest of the nursing staff was only an employee of the board. Mr. John Prowle followed up in support of the original recommendation. He knew of a case —he carefully explained it had no reference to the guardians' institution-,Whem a matron of an inst-itution had k;, -lf4.-rentA which pre- vented a girl from gettiag a position. There certainly had been shown a fear in this respect among the infirmary nurses. The giving of a private testimonial without the sanction of the board could bring, on its discovery, very serious consequences to the offender. Apart from his own and that of the seconder, Mr. Morgan only succeeded in mustering four votes in favour of his amendment. There were s ixteen votes against it. THE RECOMMENDATIONS. Accordingly all the recommendationr, were adopted unamended. They were :— That the Master and Matron, the superinten- dent nurse and the homes matron be allowed to have visitors staying overnight for not more have i,isit ors sta. ?lid in anv -one vear. than 21 nights all told in any one year. That no other officer be allowed to have visitors to stay overnight, or to spend any period more than one day with them without first having obtained "the permission of the House or the Children's Homes Committees respectively. That u visitors' book for officers only be strictly and properly kept by the Master and by the Superintendent-nurse, and that they be placed before the respective House Managements Committees at each meeting. That a statement of the quantities, etc., of food and various articles issued to the infirmary from the stores, be sent up with such, and that the Superintendent-nurse, or other person authorised by her in her absence, shall check and sign such statement as having received the goods. That the Superintendent-nursc keep a food distributing book, showing exactly how the ra- tions are distributed: this to be kept strictly up to date in case the committee call for it at any time. That supper for the nurses be laid on the table from 8 to 10 p.m. instead of from 8.30 to 10 p.m. as at pre&ent, so as to give any nurses who are going out an opportunity of having sup- per before leaving. That arrangements be made by the Superin- tendent-nurse for any nurse who has been out. for a day or a half-day to have supper on her return to the infirmary if she requires it. That the matron be asked to suggest a scher; for reducing the hours of duty of the cook the mess-room maid at the innrmary. That a complaint book be provided, in 'nic,j* any oiffcer may enter any complaint 'thtf"? to be placed before the management comW? from time to time. That all charge-irel-ses he informed thA, they must at once report any complaints to them to the superintendent-nurse. That the 2/6 per 'head per week of ex- tras provided bv the guardians be Iseoiitiniied, and that in lieu thereof, an ")eii diet be substituted; (the master to arr.°*^e this, and If necessary ask for the irastruru>ns of the man- agement committee. Tha.t it be a regulation Jiat no privat-o refer- ences be given by the the matron, or the superintendent-nurse, any other head official, without first obtaini-K the permission of the Guardians.. That all nurs? ?? duty be allowed to leave the institution i-ntil bed-time—if they so desire. The Committf reported that they considered that general awaking, the complaint made by the -?,.s to tjie shortage of food was well founded Jtut this may 'have been dfie to the general .-Upi'tage during the war, to a misunderg-e standing which arose with regard to the watey bonus given by the guardians (which was f-rup the nurses themselves to provide extras whu-Tie the guardians could not obtain) or to oth*. it causes." The committee felt that their recon>y mendations, if adopted, would remove any cause for complaint in the future.