Llais Llafur

.+.++.o-f' .4-e.     ? (Df?. ??'? s& Mt ?B '?viT i)t)P"? &?j?J'"?s rR??aU??C?. Tt T vi! s?st?)rR iL a??VA?BR?arL?Bi!hH?iMw?? ? JL??t? a ?  —— | But mind you get GOOD SEEDS. You can get a splendid -hoice at -?Ù- | c  ?????'m? B?!KMs!aiB?!K!% S? ? gi- ven with every purchase of 1/. and upwards t! STRADU NLilibefor the EASTER DRAWING-of presents including ai !o.o.=.

PONTARDAWE PUBLIC HALL- ACTION OF COMMITTEE TOWARDS CARETAKER, There was a good attendance at the Public Hall, Pontardawe, last Thursday night to consider the action taken by the Hall Committee in regard to the care- taker, Mr. G. T. Jenkins, and also to discuss the action of the farmers and milkvendors in raising the price of milk. The meeting had been called under the auspices of the Pontardawe Trades and Labour Council, and, Mr. David Evans (Trebanoe) presided. The Chairman at the outset, referred to the action of the Hall Committee. He said tha.t some time ago the committee decided that steps should be taken to economise, and the only way they could do this was by reducing the salary of the c,ai-etakcr from a guinea- to 10s. per week, with five shillings a week added subsequently as war bonus. He considered that, course a wrong one to adopt, es- pecially when the salaries of other men were thing increased on account of the high price of foodstuffs, etc. I Mr. Tom Jeremiah, who was the prin- cipalspea ker, said he was before them that evening to appeal on behalf of one who was a public servant, an d he (Mr. Jeremiah) was being continually told he would live to regret everything he was doing at present. He had been brought up as a worker, and although he broug It up <1,<: a w was young in the trade union movement, he was bent upon doing all he could to imwove the conditions of his fellow work- man if they were unfairly dealt with by a certain section in Pontardawe. The crime which he (the speaker) was sup- pose d to have committed was that he was young, rash, and too ready to answer a L'. h b' t f that questions straight. The object of that meeting was to try and get justice, free- dom, and liberty, and it was the duty of all people to render support in time of need. Prior to the erection of the Pub- lic Fall in Pontardawe they as workers felt they should have a hall, and con- trolled by themselves. At that time he spoke very strongly on the matter that they should have a place w here they could discuss public questions and edu- cate thmselves on various points. As soon as the news leaked out a certain section which vris always trying to flout and retard progress jumped in a.nd after a number of meetings held it was agreed to ciect the hali. About six months ago he (th" speaker) received a letter from the secretary of the hall informing him th:it there was a genea-al. meeting to be held to discuss the question of the care- taker. As it happened on that occasion -a meeting was held at the hall on a Sun- day night, and amongst the audi- ence was a certain lady. After she had taken her seat she noticed some dust, a.nd after making use of words such as "scandalous," etc., she complained to the standing committee, with the result that the caretaker, with- out being given a chance to defend him- self, was oondemned, for the simple reason that the lady had teen some dust on the seat. Since then things had de- veloped. Some time ago the billiard marker at the haU was taken ill, and sent away to a sanatorium. The marker's wages were 23s. pET week and 5 per oeni, of the takings in the billiard room. He asked those in the audience to con- sider that among the members of the standing committee were men who were receiving £ 400, JE500 or £ 1,000 a year. There were men there also from the trade union movement voicing the feel- ings of the workers, and yet they asked Mr. Jenkins, the caretaker, to do the job of billiard marker at 7s. per week. (Laughter.) The previous marker was getting 23s. per week and 5 per cent, on the takings, and the committee gave the present care- taker ten minutes to decide whether he would take the job at 7a. per week. The caretaker came into the meeting and asked the committee to give him .1. week to consider the matter. The committee refused. Was that the case when thty as trades unionists had grieva.nc i; to settle with the employer? Had an em- ployer ever given the men ten minutes to decide whether they would accept terms submitted to them?-No, never Yet, the chairman of the standing oii mittee was a Labour man by name, and he (the speaker) was quite prepared f meet him on any public platform and to say that he was not a Labour man. He had taken a keen interest in Labour mat- ters at the works during the pant four Years, but Mr Frank Gilbertson hai never given them or him to decide oer- t,ain matter, in ten minutes. Yet the men who --d ped t hat course called them- selves Christians. They were chapel men aod they were men v. ho rdused to wrk eight fiours. They preferred working twelve hours to get more money. Those he people wtio exiled others and hardsell (the speaker) infidels, because they stayed outside. He ventured to state that the former were the infidels. It was Chrit on Sunday and county oourt on Monday. (La-ughter.) Proceeding, the speaker said that the standing committee had no right to give the caretaker 28 days notice. He tried the matter before the general committee, but he was in the minority. Next he received a letter 'to attend a meeting to consider the question of advertising. He attended and he moved that the minute in regard to the care- taker be rescinded and that the matter I be deferred for three months. He was ruled out of order. He next moved that all members who were paying rent to- wards the hall should be given an oppor- tunity of hearing the position of the care- taker. He was again ruled out of order He moved for the third time that the hall be given free of charge for a public meeting in order that the caretaker should state his case. The chairman Mid that could not be done. He (the speaker) challenged the chairman and mentioned that the hall had been granted free of charge on the occasion of a Y.M.C.A. meeting some time ago. Proceeding to say that the matter should be taken back to the churches and chapels and the question should be asked during prayer whether it was right to put a man and his family on the road. He did not blame the men who came to the committee. He blamed those who had the votes to sendi such men to tho Hall. It -,N as no wonder that places of worship were getting empty j w hen there was so miuch hypocrisy j about. They must be honest and straightforward and let every man play the part of the man. In conclusion the speaker said that although he was doomed as far as the future was con- cerned, according to some men he felt convinced that he had done his best in defence of thie calretaker and his family. If he was not mistaken, the Kaiser's were not in Germany, but in their own midst. (Aplause). Mr. G. H. Davies, another member ot the Hall Committee, also criticised the action of the majority. He con- tended that they had no right to place a man and his family on thestreet with- out being given a fair trial. He was sorry that the spirit of Prussianism was dominant in Pontardawe. In conclusion he contended that the committee respon- sible for the notice had acted in an un- constitutional manner. Mr. G. T. Jenkins, the caretaker, also spoke. He complained of what he de- scribed as the tyrannical treatment meted out to him for months past, and criticised the committee which recommended the reduction in his salary from £1 Is. to 10s. per week, which he refused to ac- cept. He had heard it mentioned that one reason for reducing his salary was because he had one daughter in the teaching profession. He never heard of anything so absurd. That girl had earned scholarships which entitled her to free education. That was how she was teach- ing. It was immaterial to some members of the committee whether their child- ren won scholarships or not. They had plenty of money to put their children in colleges and universities. (Hear, hear.) He had another daughter as a nurse in Birmingham attending to the wounded from the Dardanelles. He had a son in the Army—(hear, heax)-and another daughter at school w ho had won scholar- ships, and although she was qualified to act as a teacher she was too young to adopt the profession. (Hear, hear.) A resolution was carried objecting to the unconstitutional and undemocratic manner in which the sub-committee of the Public Hall had dealt with the care- taker and further that they should de- mand the withdrawal of the notice. THE MILK QUESTION. I The next business was to discuss the milk question, and the action of the far- mers and mi Ik vendors in raising the price by Id., per pint. There were a large num- ber of farmers and milkvendors present. Mr. T. Jeremiah, who was the first speaker, said he believed there was a game being played by the farmers and he disagreed entirely with any section of the community which tried to exploit the masses. He knew very well that two years ago the price of milk was lid. per pint. Since then it had gone up to 2d., and now again it was to be raised to 2id. He admitted that the farmers were exceed- ingly well organised, but there was one amongst them who was a very clever man, and who was continually advising the farmers to raise the price of milk. The result was that the public wanted to know something about the matter. He (the speaker) was of the opinion that there were too many in the country who weire taking advantage of the war, and the farmers were asking the people to drink their milk and at the same time they were drinking the blood of the workers whose wages had not been ad- vanced equivalent to the advance asked for on milk. The speaker went on to state that potatoes had gone up from 4s. 6d. to 6s. per cwt., and eggs were now 2d.. each. A lady m the audience And swedes. (Laughter.) Mr. George Howells (Gellyfowy), in de- fence" of the farmers referred to the ad- vance the farmers had to pay for their good;, since the outbreak of war. Barleymeal had gone up from 12s. to 27s. per sack. whilst cake for cattle had gone up double, etc. A long discussion took place and the meeting broke up at 10.30 p.m. before any decision was arrived at.

Welsh Flannel and Woo! Stores LONGTON HOUSE, Herbert St., Pontardawe. STOCKINGS RE-FOOTED ON THE SHORTEST NOTICE. 1(5.-1. PER PAIR. POST FltEE, Send for patterns and price lists for aLl I kinds of Wool and Flannel. Note Addre.gg- J. W. MORGAN, Pontardawe & Seven Sisters I

STEJEL PEN SHORTAGE. I There is a chance that the old-fashioned quill pen may come again into favour. The exigencies of war have made its steel successor very difficult to obtain. "The demand for steel pens has been much greater than before the war," said a manufacturer to a representative yester- dav "owing to the absence of German makers from the market. And now the Ministry of Munitions has comman deered most of the pen factories. "Some nuikes of pen it is impossible to obtain at all now others can be got only in small quantities. It is probable that increased or ders will be received for the quill, which is still popular a.mong- merchants of the old school and some Government departments." Even in peace-times, it would appear British pen factories were engaged on a number of such minor war munitions as gun springs and other small articles in steel. During the war, as was only natural, neither the labour nor the metal has been adequately available for the manufacture of pens. —————— ——————

Many of the ships captured from the enemy have since their utilisation by the British Government been re-named with a prefix of "Hun." Three of these have just been in Newport Docks viz., the Hunsilet, the Hunstanton, and the Hunsteck. The last of these three (and the biggest) was the first enemy ship captured in the war. She was then known as the Belgia, and was towed into Newport immediately after the declaration of war.

I W. A. WILLIAMS, Phrenologist, oan be consulted daily at the Victoria Arcade (near the Market), Swansea

I To the Editor. Sir,—Kindly allow me a little space in ¡ your columns to reply to "One who is compelled to be a Federationist" in your last issue. First of all I want to point out that his nom-de-plume is condemnatory of the statements, because a man who is com- pelled to adopt any ideals from any reason whatever, is unquestionably pre- judiced against those principles, there- fore can we accept prejudicial evidence as facts ? In order to prove my authority to deal with this matter I had better ???la that I also work at the Gurnos CO 1'.CTY?. 'and am not a member of the committee, so have no official or representative atti- tude to champion but a simple desire to represent truth and justice. A notifica- tion was posted up on the. lamproom wall two clear days previous to the date for which the general meeting was announced, this notification also specified the busi- ness to be dealt with, namely the appoint- ing of a delegate to the Cardiff confer- ence. It was a matter of impossibility for any workman to fail to see this noti- fication, because it was placed in such a position that the eyes rested u £ >on it as the workman obtained his lamp from the lamproom, unless "One who is compelled to be a Federationist goes about with his eyes shut he must have seen this notice. Regarding the general meeting that was subsequently held. I may state that it was held on the premises of the colliery before the workmen left, and therefore could not fail to be fairly representative. I would advise OTte who is compelled to be a Federationist" to wake up and look about him. for he must be missing a number of pleasant experiences by being so unobservant. I would also advise him to put in' an appearance occasionally at the meetings) of the Federation,' which is the proper and manliest course for a gen- tleman to pursue.—Yours faithfully, I W. HUGHES, Derwen-road. Ystradgynlais.

I SUNDAY NIGHT SHIFT. I DEADLOCK IN THE NEGOTIA- TIONS. I The South Wales coalfield Sunday night shift dispute again came up for considera- tion at a meeting at Cardiff of the com- mittee appointed under the Conciliation Board to consider disputes under the new agreement. Mr. Hugh Bramwell pre- sided over the owners' section, and Mr. James Winstone over the workmen's re- j presentatives. The trouble over the Sunday night shift arose as the result of a prosecution of the workmen at the Albion Colliery. The Pontypridd Stipendiary decided that it was a compulsory, and not an optional shift. Though it was not the practice of the men to refuse to work the shift, it had always been, so they stated, regard- ed as a- six hours' shift, and if eight hours were worked then the men were entitled to extra pay. The alteration in the wording of the new agreement is held to be the reason why the owners now insist that the Sunday night shift should be a full one of eight hours. At the coalfield delegate conference held on Monday the delegates were in- sistent that the Federation Executive Council should have the matter settled at the Conciliation Board; failing a set- tlement that a special conference be called to deal with the question. Mr. Bramwell referred to the continued refusal of the workmen to work Sunday night shifts unless they were paid extra for working eight hours, and he asked whether, in view of the recent decision in the Albion case, the workman's repre- sentatives were now prepared to advise the men to work the eight hours shift on Sunday night, Mr. Bramwell pointed out that it had always been the custom to work an eight hour shift on Sunday night, and to pay one turn for the shift. The owners considered that the action of the men in declining to continue this practice wa sa brea.ch of the Conciliation Board agreement. Mr. Winstone stated, in reply, that the workmen's representatives were not pre- pared to advise the men to work on Sun- day night unless they were allowed to work the six hours shift, or be paid extra if they worked an eight hours shift.

•— Revenue Receipts Up by i 1581000,000. PROSPECT OF A BIG BUDGET SUR I PLUS. There axe indications that the Chancel- lor of the Exchequer's revenue estimate of L305,014,000 for the financial year which ends on March 31 will be largely exceeded. If the weekly average income from Customs is maintained till the end of the ..r there will be an increase under this head alone of nearly £ 3,000,000. The total revenue up to January 22 was £202,693,000, or nearly £ 58,000,000 more than in the corresponding period of last year. Despite the restrictions on the sale of drink the excise income continues to be very large. So far there has been re- ceived E48,266,000, which is over E17,000,000 more than in the same period of last year, and only £ 6,500.000 below the estimate of the full 12 months. Death duties have increased owing mainly to the large number of wealthy officers who have fallen in the war, by over £ 4,000,000. A very welcome windfall has come to the Treasury und er the head of ''Miscel- laneous receipts." The original estimate was JBl,700,000, increased in the revised financial statenjent to £ 2,430.000. The actual receipts to date are £ 5,623,910. About £ 70,000,000 has yet to be col- lected from income tax payers. The pay- ments so far ansount to L46,486,000, or about E20,000,000 more than last year. WHAT NEW ZEALAND HAS DONE. I The splendid rally of New Zealaaid to the Mother Country has been the sub- ject in the House of Commons. Mi". Amery asked the Secretary for the Colonies if he could give an estimate of the total number of men that will have been raised by New Zealand by the end of June next, including those sent away and those in trairling in New Zealand. Mr. Bonar Law The number of men already sent by New Zealand up to the present date is approximately 34,000. By June it is estimated that another 15.000 will have left New Zealand, making a total of about 49.000. In addition, it was estimated that 12.000 men would then be in training, making a grand total of approximately 60.000 men.

I TESTING FOR SPECTACLES j X3Wr. ?? R?es, ?t? F.R.M.S.,F.S M.C., F.R.Met.. Soe I 26, CASTLE STREET'  j j ? ij? J?? S??A2sTC3E-A. ??? ???? (?'<-?/ ??<7? to Prudential ?M//?/M?). | ? Ccn?ultat?on rree. | ——■—I—— 1—Ill a m II HI MIIIU—■IIWWIJ— ——IIIMOT— ■—■ Prepaid Rates for the following Classes of Advertisements. WANTED, TO LET, TO SELL, PER, SONAL, SALES, SITUATIONS VACANT, etc. No. of Onoe. Three Words. Insertions. 20 6d Is 30 9d Is 6d 40 Is 2a These rates do not apply to Trade Advertisements or those from Pvhli Bodies. GOOD SERVANT. Good Strong Girl wanted immediately. Wages. 25s. and insurance paid. Apply, Post Office. Ystalyfera. F5- FEMALE ASSISTANT Wanted in- grocery department at Pontardawe, one with experience preferred. Apply stating experience, wages and refer- ences before Feb. 9th, 1916, Alltwen and Pontardawe Co-operative Societv. lFy5— POULTR-, .-Meesrs Price and Son, have shower iheir Celebrated Whites at Eighteen Shows this season, including London Dairy Show, Manchester, Hav- wards Heath, Alderly. Wombell, Port- madoc, Neath, Swansea, etc., and have won 28 prizes, 8 specials, 1 cup, probably a record for any Welsh exhibitors with Whites alone. We have mated some grand birds in White Runners and White Wyan- dottes, and are booking eggs at 10/6' per sitting.. Utility Wyandottes 3/ Barron and American imported 250 egg strains.— The Stud Farm, Ystradgynlais. 6jl5fl9. Preliminary Announcement. PontardaWe Public Ha 1 and Institute- FIFTH ANNUAL EISTEDDFOD Will be held on Saturday, June 17,1916 Full Particulars Shortly. Full Particulars Shortly. 2F5-12 LLYFRAU AR WERTH AM LAI NA HANER EU PRIS. Y Gwyddoniadur Cymreig 10 cyf. Geiriadur Charles 1 Esboniad Cyflawn ar yr Hen Desta- ment a'r Newydd 5 „ Testament yr Ysgol Sabbothol 2 Credoau y Byd 2" Hanes y Merthyron 2 Chambers' Information for the People 2 „ Mynegair Ysgrythyrol 1 tt Gwaith Flavius Josephus 1 Diwygwyr Cymru 1 „ "Y Byd a Ddaw," gan Dr. Watts 1 Gladstone a'i Amserau 1 Ac ugeiniau o lyfrau eraill rhyddiaeth a barddoniaeth. Gellir en gweld unryw adeg. Mae'r oil o'r Uyfrau uchod ddim gwaeth na newvdd. Mae amryw gyfrolau o'r "Geninen" ar gael. Am fanylion pellach ymofvner a JOSEPH WILLIAMS, Llyfr Werthydd, CwmtwTeh. JOHNSTON FOR NEW VEGETABLE and FLOWER SEEDS AND EVERYTHING FOR THE GARDEN. Catalogues Gratis and Post Free. 27 OXFORD ST. SWANSEA I ► TELEPHONE: 567 CENTRAL. 1 HEABERT ROGERS, PRACTICAL SANITARY PLUMBER, GAS AND HOT WATER FITTER, GLANKHYD R8AD. YSTRADGYNLAIS I All orders promptly attend to. Printed and Publish-ed by "Llais Llafux" Oo. Ltd., YataJyfera, in the County of Glamorgan, Feb. 5, 1916

MIRACLES OF WAR SURGERY. In an interesting article in the "Sun- day Magazine" section of the "New York Times" Mrs. William K. Vander- biJt vividly describes some of the mar- vels of surgical science that are being accomplished by the surgeons of the American Ambulance at Neuilly, in France. "The ambulance takes torn, muti- lated beings, without any faces, who would otherwise be unbearably re- pulsive, and most certainly economic- ally dependent, and re-makes them. It turns them into normal men again, so that they can live normal lives in- dividuals and be of service to their country as well. I have seen a man brought into the hospital with his jaw- bone shot away, and I have seen that man leave the hospital, scarred, of coursa, but normal again. I myself have watched an operation in which a part of a man's rib was taken out and used as a jawbone. "The surgeons give these men arti- ficial jaws, chins, roofs to their mouths and make lips for them."

 High Seas fleet. r I High Seas Fleet, I i I i Kaiser's Admiral Interviewed. S ) i-I Always Ready for a Big Naval isattle." Berlin news circulated by German Government radio stations, and issued in London through the Wireless Press, included the following message, super- scribed as ''from Karl Ackerman, Ber- lin, to Howard United Press, New Y^rk" :■— Admiral von Hol tzendorff, Chief of the Admiral Staff, has declared that an effective blockade of Germany is impossible. "England (he said) could under no circumstances stop commerce in the Baltic between Sweden, Den- mark and Germany. For weeks no British submarine has had any suc- cess in the Baltic. The Russian fleet is frozen up in Russian harbours. "The only effect of such a declara- tion by the Allies (the Admiral stated) would be upon neutrals and the women and children of Germany." GERMANY PREPARED. II He hinted strongly that Germany is prepared for any British action. "When I say that the new blockade of Germany would be a bluff, do not misunderstand me. Germany looks earnestly, but fearlessly, upon enemy plans to cause her women and child- ren to suffer; but because such a blockade js impossible, I say it is a bluff. Ask any Swedish merchant, .any Swede in Berlin. Ask anyone knowing the Balkan situation. They all tell you that commerce between the two countries is absolutely normal. For four weeks no English submarine has had anv successes in the Baltic. "We intend to make this more im- possible, because an English blockade of our Baltic ports is out of the ques- tion. I "If a blockade were declared now, that would be contrary to internation- al law. It will not only be a blockade of Germany, but also of the neutral countries around her. England's pur- pose is to make differences, for our families, thinking that this will affect the men in the trenches. And it will; for when the men learn that their families are made to suffer by the enemy opposite they will be more de- termined, and fight the harder. Eng- land's purpose in this war (as her statesmen have repeatedly said) is to cripple Germany and destroy her com- merce. After 18 months of war she is not successful. Her effective block- ade will have absolutely no effect up- on our military determination. We prepared long ago for any emergency." SUBMARINES AND AIR RAIDERS The Admiral is a small, energtic man, with thick white whiskers and a hearty handshake. He greets you with a smile, a military bow, and a firm grip. His word of greeting comes so suddenly that you forget you are in the presence of one of the Kaiser's most trusted officials, who, for five months has held an important post at the Admiralty, and who has watched the official relations between the United States and Germany grow more friendly. During his direction of the Admiralty Staff submarine activity has, with great success, been centred in the Mediterranean. Most successful air raids have been planned on London, and the Baltic has been freed from English submarines. The Admiral is a man of action not a talker. Asked "What effect will the stricter blockade have on Germany's military plans?'' the Admiral answered "ab- solutely no military advantage; we have all things necessary for war for years. I suggested that perhaps the Allies believed that. bv stopping all imports Germany may be forced to sue for peace. The Admiral replied: "We have all we need to clothe our soldiers. We have everything necessary for our campaign. Stopping one box or a thousand boxes from entering Germany will not interfere with our military plans." "WHEN WILL THE WAR END?" When the Admiral spoke of Ger- many's military supplies, I asked how long the war was going to last. "Until we are victorious," came the immediate reply. "The Allies have said repeatedly that the war will last I until Germany has been defeated, her business ruine d for ever, and her in- ternational influence destroyed. The war will last until the Allies learn that they cannot accomplish their pur- pose. "That may be a long time, I sug- gested. "a year or two." "A long time," said the Admiral. It was pointed out that in the House of Commons a member recently spoke about the secret construction of Ger- many's naval ships, and spoke of the danger such an increase would be for England. The Admiral said: "The increase of our Navy during the war and that. of England is about the I same; but Germany's navy will never be a danger to England. It is our merchant marine which England fears. The fact that to-day this fleet is undestroyed and ready at any moment peace is declared to resume its peace- ful trading is the one thing which causes the English anxiety. England does not fear the Germany navy. She fears America and the growing Ameri- can navy." "THE NEW BLOCKADE." I To my question. "What steps will Germany -take against the new block- ade?" the Admiral replied, "Germany never tells beforehand what she will do: she waits till after it is done. We made every preparation long ago for such an emergency, and we view the planned blockade earnestly but fear- lessly. We shall be victorious; that is the chief thing." I asked his Excellency about Ger- many's submarines, especially if it were true that more than 50 had been lost. Von Holtzendorff's quick response was: "Not one-half of that number: not nearly one-half. The English think that because they lay nets and mines our submarines are being trapped. Nothing could be further from the truth. More than onesubmarine has gone through these nets undamaged. The fact that in less than a year more than 1,300,000 tons of enemy merchant ships have been destroyed by our sub- marines is sufficient evidence of what they have done to destroy the com- merce of England and her Allies. I said: "There are many reports that a big naval battle may be ex- pected: what can your Excellency say about that?" The Admiral answered: "Only that' the decision does not rest with us. We are always prepared."