Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
13 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
.Merthyr Notes I
Merthyr Notes I Dowlais Works Tragedy. I "William Coulton Barnett, aged 70, of Corpor- ation-street, Penyard, Merthyr, employed as an oil-carrier a.t the Dowlais Works, was knocked down by a locomotive whilst, at work on Friday, the wheel s of the engine passing over his legs, and died within a few hours at the Merthyr General Hospital. Accidental death was the "erdict at the inquest on' Monday. Cwmtaff Moth Plague. I The caterpillar plague is back again, this year at Cwmtaff, the blight, as in previous years, only affecting trees like the wild cherry, hawthorne. hazel and bramble. No apprehen- t-ion is caused by the visitation for no pasture- land. fruit trees or vegetable growth have been n rfected. iE20 Milk Fine. Merthyr Stipendiary on Tuesday imposed a fine of t20 and costs upon George Williams, Pantsc-allog .Farm, Dowlais, for selling milk con- taining -3 per cent. of added water. Daring Daylight Robbery. Whilst the occupiers, Mr. Henry Millward ;,nd his ffunilv, were absent for a few hours, si bout £ 50 in Treasury notes and coins was stolen from their house in the Parade, Merthyr, on Saturday afternoon. An entry was appar- ently effected by the thief or thieves through an open pantry-window. Grocers and J.P. List. I Me.rthyr Chamber of Trade on Tuesday passed a resolution of congratulation to the new jus- "tices of the peace fdr the borough. -N I r. E. J. Rich (president), moving the resolution, which was seconded by Mr. C. M. Da vies, expressed gratification at the inclusion amongst the addi- tional magistrates of five members of the Cham- ber of Trade, two being grocers. For the past twelve months, lie said, grocers had been held up to the public as something very little less than unmitigated rascals and <1-, a grocer he was proud to find the magisterial honour con- ferred upon two mem hers of his trade. I Tubercular Children Increase, h. F, A. Phillips (Clerk)' reported to the Merthyr Insurance Committee on Tuesday that children treated for tuberculosis through the Committee during the whole of last year num- bered 38, whilst during the pa^t five months alone 43 had wveeived treatment. Mr. R. Pring thought this remarkable increase due to the shortage of tats, It was decided to request the Merthyr Health Committee to take adion in them, Un.
.- "Red Flag." ...1
"Red Flag." .1 SUNG AT PATRIOTIC MEETING AT ABER-I TILLERY. FOURTEEN SOCIALISTS FINED. I A .scene at a Ministry of National Service meeting resulted in fourteen Blaina and A ber- -t* l l(?i-x- tin- tillery men being summoned at Abertillery un- der the Public Meeting Act for creating a dis- turbance. Defendants were William, Heale (19), Onesimus Kdwards (21). Isaac Webb (42), Arthur Daves (37), Nathaniel Purchase (22), Levi Emrys Rogers (28), Win. John Gibson (30), Edmund Thomas Prosser (2:1). Frederick James Davjes (26), Thomas Mason (29), Frank Elford (31). John Minton (.3.-)), Chrles Powell (27), and Edward Thomas (39). A number of defendants are conscientious objectors.. Mr. H. S. Lyne was for the Public Prosecu- tor. Mr. E. Roberts. Dowlais, represented twelve defendants, and Mr. Pitt Lewis, Newport, de- fended Powell and Thottias. Mr. L yne-said at the meeting in question ecr- » tain pictures were shown and the meeting ad- dressed by a Lieut. Tiedeman and Mr. Hudson. The lieutenant stated that questions would be answered at, the end of the meeting. At the beginning the proceedings were orderly, but ap- parently a small body of men, of military age, had made up their minds to upset the meeting. When Air. Hudson commenced speaking, the. Wli(,n Hii d ,,o crowd demanded that Lieut. Tiedeman should answer questions. Defendants then commenced singing The Red Flag," shouting Hod), the Kaiser!" and rushed the platform. The meet- ing, fortunately, was not broken up, but the disturbance was so serious that had it not been for a strong body of police there might have been a more serious charge for the Bench. LECTURER'S DENIAL. I Mr. Arthur James Hudson. lecturer, of the National Service Defjartinerit, said Lieutenant Tiedeman had praised the miners for their self- sacriifce. He did not irritate them by making any- statements against them. Heale was con- tinually shaking his fist, and calling witness liar, and singing The Red -Flag." Witness strongly objected to hearing the singing of The Red Flag," but. that was not the root of the proceedings, but tiie (Jolilwrate attempt to upset 4lie meeting. He did not say that the miners of South Wales had not done their duty. He did say that 50,000 were to be combed out, and he asked them if they were going as will-, ingly as those who had gone voluntarily. Isaac Webb, Abevtillery, stated he heard Wil- liam Hudson say that the miners had not done their duty, and were cowards. This upset the meeting. Mr. Lyne was pressing witness as to his views on the war, when the Chairman interposed, and there were cries of "Hear, hear," from the public. The Chairman said he would not allow such demonstrations in Court, which would he cleared if re pea ted. Arthur Davies said he went to the meeting at 10.15 p.m. The I'nion Jack was thrown on the screen, and the lecturer said: "This is the flag vou ought to abide hy. not vour dirtv old Red Flag." Evidence was given hy all the other defend- ants, the majority admitting that they sang The Red Flag." Defendants were fined 40s. each, and Cl ]-.z;. costs, or 14 days.
Sold Ten Times Over 1
Sold Ten Times Over 1 MR. CLYNES' STATEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. In Committee on the Defence of the Realm. (Beans, Pea". and Pulse Orders) Bill in t.J1" Hon se of Common- on ??Hiday, Mr. dynes mentioned that qjtantiti?s of these CO)IIIII(?(lit*](,? had been sold ten times over before reaching the market. ft was proposed that an arbitrator should investigate transactions affected by the 1)ill, and an allowance be made to the legitimate trader, limit.ed to a proper profit on the normal turnover. The bill passed through Oommittee without -Amendment and wa~ read the third time.
Pontypridd Notes.I
Pontypridd Notes. I I.L.P. I Comra.do Alt. Major read a paper on I Liberty at Sunday evening s meeting. Mr. I Charles Styles presided. N.C.F. I A tea and social evening in connection with the Pontypridd Branch of ttl&,N-.C.F. was held on Saturday. After tea, the proceedings were under the chairmanship of Mr. Owen Hughes, who interpreted the qualifications of the ideal chairman as being to "stand up, speak up, and then shut up." A recitation was given by Mi.ss Rowlands, the Rev. Geo. Neighbour, Mountain Ash, following with a short speech, humorous yet i-edolent with propaganda. A song was sung by Miss Thomas, and a few remarks on the in- fluence of the N.C.F. were made by Mr. Ted Williams. Mr. Tom Rowland recited the Red Dawn," and the -meeting closed to the strains of the Red Flag" and cheers for the Inter- national. Food Control Affairs. A meeting was held on the Common on Sun- day by the Pontypridd Trades and Labour Council to receive a report from the Labour re- presentatives on the loca l Food Control Com- mittee respecting the position with regard to Councillor w illiati, Phillips, resignation. Mr. H. May .said that the t;erretarv had tele- graphed the decision of the Council to withdraw its members until Mr. Phillips had resigned, but Mr. Phillips had not yet tendered his re- signation. Last wéek the committee had upon the agenda for their meeting the withdrawal of Messrs. Thomas and Evans from the pooling system. Eventua Uy was agreed that Labour representatives .should continue to sit on the committee under protest, and that a telegram be sent to the Food Controller for his view of the case of Mr. Phillips.
Rhymney Valley NotesI
Rhymney Valley Notes I Curious Tredegar Case. At Tredegar on Tuesday Aneurin Be van (20), a Tredegar collier, was summoned as an ab- sentee. The case had been adjourned from Ebow Vale <Pn a claim made by the defendant that there was an arrangement between the National Service representative and the Pit Committee that calling-up notices should be suspended until it had been ascertained whether the quota had been supplied. Air. Gordon Ed- wards, for the defendant. sa.id that was one of the defences, and the others were that defend- ant was suffering from nystagmus, and that he was a Federation official, and on both grounds he was entitled to exemption foi;, a period. Cap- tain W. H. Williams (National Service repre- sentative) said he knew nothing of any arrange- ment whereby the number of men furnished by a particular pit should be supplied to the Piti Committee. The figures wore open for inspec- tion at Newport. The Chairman (Alderman T. J. Price)$said the Bench should have definite information as to "whether any such arrange- ment existed, and whether it was an obligation upon the National Service representative or anyone else to furnish figures. The Bench therefore reserved their decision for a month.
. Mid-Rhondda NotesI
Mid-Rhondda Notes I Strikes. I Whatever value there may or iiiai not he in the sun-spots theory of Jevons, there are times when the people are very irritable and ready to revolt. That seems to be the case these days with the South Wales miners. The Cambrian workers struck work last Friday all at once, and when the outside public were unaware that the clouds were gathering. It appears tha.t the trouble had been brewing for some weeks, and the management failed to grasp its significance until the men ceased work. The trouble with the hauliers is settled for the time, at any rate, and let us hope that the employers will learn the lesson and meet the men to consider all troubles as soon as they arise. The Miners' Demand. We are told that the average increase in family expenditure since the beginning of the war is only •>•> per cent. It would be very Ül- teresting to know how the experts arrived at these ifgures. What aw. the items which they take and what is left out. The M.id Rhondda women blankly refute the statement, although the figures are supposed to 1)(' those of the Board of Trade. Other experts seem nearer the truth when they tell us that the actual ad- vance up till last December Was 105, and those who have to keep a house know that ever so many articles have risen considerably since then.
Abercynon Notes I
Abercynon Notes I Emrys Hughes. I There have been strange rumours about that our Comrade Emrys Hughes has been released. How or where these rumours started-one cannot say, hut Emrys is still in North Allei-ton Prison. He is still in good spirits if one can judge from a letter lie sent home last week. His sentence ends early in July, when he will probably he taken to Redcar and again eourtmartialled. They have failed to make Emrys a soldier, and why the authorities keep up the farce of "deeming" bitii to he one goodness only knows. The authorities themselves don't, know, I'm sure. I.L.P. Matters. I The I.L.P. branch j" stirrin. but much more work has to be done to-bring it up to scratch. Are you a member? If not, come to the branch meeting next Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, in the Workmen's Hall. In the evening we have a public meeting when Comrade Ward, of Wigan. will speak at 7.30. Rally up.
Trimsaran Notes I
Trimsaran Notes I Glais Propagating. I Rev. T. E. Nicholas (prospective candidate for Aberrlare), Liangybi, addressed a full house on Labour," at Trimsaran on .Friday last. Alts. H. T. Brislcy also addressed -the meeting. Mr. T. £ Dav ies presided.
Briton Ferry Notes
Briton Ferry Notes Obituary. I A well-known personage passed away on Saturday last in the person of Air. Win. Morris, managing director of Baglan Bay Tinplate Co. The deceased had only been ill three days. He was 58 years of age and leaves a widow and three sons. •
Industrial Unionism at DowlaisI
Industrial Unionism at Dowlais I IRON AND STEEL TRADES CONFEIDERA. I TION MEETING CONSIDER THE PROBLEM. I I I Cndor the auspices of die Dowlais Branches of the Iron and Steel Trader Confederation, a meeting of Iron and Steelworkers (was held at the Oddfellows Hall on Sunday last, when Mr. Arthur Pugh (secretary, head office, London) delivered an address on Trades Unionism and its part in the work of National Reconstruc- tion." He -was supported by Messrs. Alorgan, Bees, and Gordon (South Wades and Monmqjith- 'R(,(-s, and Goi-don (,Iiotitli Wales a-nd -N, f onii)qjit, l i- Mr. Jno. Davies, president of Dowlais Xo. 1 branch, {^resided over a large audience, and in his opening remarks explained how in the near future the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation would link up the various unions catering for the Steel Industry with a view of having one powerful union for the industry. Air. Pugh in the course of a very fine address invited his audience to take their minds back to the year 1S18, when Trades Unionism was a. crime against the law of the land, when to be a Trades Unionist wa sto be branded as an out- law and brave men were deported and sent to prison for daring to organise themselves again-t long hours and low wages, tyranny and oppres- sion. He reminded the audience when they were apt to treat Trades Unionism with apathy to think of the brave martyrs of the past who had made it possible for those who came after them to organise themselves so tuat they Indi their families might he ab)e to demand a decent standard of life. He warned the workers that if they were going to prove themselves worthv of the great ta"l, of National Reconstruction "after the war, they would have to do away with sectionalism in their ranks, and eens(9 to regard Trades Unionist as an automatic machine which gave them "nine-pence for four-pence." He was of lit, opinion that the whoh' of the indus- tries of this country could be organised into fh-(' large and powerful unions instead of eleven hundred organisations overlapping ?ach other. as was the case at present, and he hoped in a I very short- time to see the iron alid steel indus- try one of the five. Air. Pugh. in tracing the growth of Trades Unionism as we knew it to-day. stated that i power was such, ff only used in the right direc- tion, that no Government could auord to ignore. He expressed the vi' w that one of the chief parts Trades Unionism would have to take in the great problem of Reconstruction would be to look 3ftVr the child-life of the country, so that the appalling waste of child-life would be arrested, and to see to it that every child re- ceived that which was its rightful heritage, a free education from the elementary school to the university. In conclusion lie appealed to the iron and steelworkers to close up their ranks, and hoped that Dowlais would follow other large steel centres and get" One Indus try, One Union, as the after-war conditions would demand intelligence on the part of workers who would themselves have to take in hand the task of re-construction. If that great task was to be successfully accomplished a better understanding would have to be come to between employers and employed, and while lie expressed the fchnfc such harmony would prevail, he warned the workers that they should always be good loyal trade unionists, and always remem ber the motto of the pioneers of Trades Unionism, "He who would be free himself must strike the blow." Organisers Alorgau, Rees, and Gordon also addressed the meeting, and clearly showed the Dowlais Iron and Stoelworkers: how by the sec- tionalism they barred the way to their own progress, and to them to follow the lead given by the Iron and Steel Confederation, by joining up into "One Industry, One Union." A vote of thanks to the speakers and chair- man. also to Air. Stone for the use of the hall was carried unanimously, which concluded a very successful meeting. Mr. Pugh's visi t mill be looked forward to eagerly again by Dowlais Steelworkers.
The - Electric TheatreI
The Electric Theatre I For sheer dramatic power I do not remember having seen anything to equal "Tho Squaw- Man's Son," the Jessie Lasky tlijit is topping the list of attractions at the Electric this moiety of the current week. For intensity of situa- tion, breadth of treatment, and wonderfully natural taking of the parts it stands quite alone in the forefront of my memory, which goes back almost- without break to those prehistoric cinema programmes in which mechanical trips to the moon formed the main line, and comedy consisted in quick action, wall and ceiling walk- ing and the like. Wallace Reid and Anita King have won their right, of place in a screen caste long ere this, but their work in this sequel to "The White Man" is easily the best that either has done. In addition there is a de- lightful comedy, "Cast Adrift," and a splendid instalment of The Rod Ace," amongst inter- esting fill-tips. The Monday to Wednesday programme was also noteworthy, introducing, as it did, the first instalment of the amazing new out-door serial, "The Lass of the Lumberlands," in which daunt- less Helen Holmes plays the part of the heroine. There were more sensations packed into i-ht-, film foot of this introductory chapter than in any of its predecessors, and a glance at the prospectus assures me that this excitement is to continue. Skirts" was the Triangle comedy, and there were many other "plums." For next week there if the interesting an- nouncement that that great film "The Long Tra.il" is to head the first-lialf programme. It is a great feature of just the type of story that we in Merthyr like. "A Grave Untertaking" is the Triangle comedy, and, of course, there is the second instalment of "The Lass of the Lnm- berlands," to which all who saw. or have heard of the first startling opening, will be looking forward eagerly. The second progtamme will be headed by "The Black Sheep of the Family," a. modern play of great merit, in which the principal parts have; fallen to Jack Holt and Francilia Billington. As in Days of Yore is a delightful bu?csque. The Red Ace," :)U() Patbe? Gazette are old Tli(, I)ed iii(i ai-(? ol(i
Advertising
ARE WE DOING YOUR PRINTING ? We have the most modern equipment, and good work is quickly turned out by Trade Unionists at reasonahle rates. NOTE THE ADDRESS THE LABOUR PIONEER PRESS p n SPECIAL SHOW OF NEW GOODS For the Season of the Latest and Newest Materials for DRESSES, BLOUSES & COSTUMES UP-TO-DATE MILLINERY-SMART BLOUSES Novelties in Neck Wear, Gloves, Scarves and Hosiery Ladies' Tailor-Made Costumes ¡ IW a Speciality E j SECURE YOUR DOWLAIS SUPPLIES FROM DOWLAIS CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY I DOWLAIS.. No. i Branch—STATION TERRACE, BEDLINOG. j No. 2 Branch-HIGH STREET, PENYDARREN. j I No. 3 Branch-PANTSCALLOG, DOWLAIS, j No. 4 Branch—HIGH STREET, CAEHARRIS. | »■ :&: -A.oI- > TJJ L,/A ialkl ■ f a ■ An1 uuri\ailed torailJtr?t.dat'itje?. N.e.. they 1 I-K Cfc I M fC O .-ppcdtjy afford j?Jipf and never fail to a!!pviaie I Th(,y ,upej,.sede Pennyroyal, PiU 1 PILLS C'oclila, Apple, ?c. Blanchard's are the f '?" w PBMa?—SLM-.S ? best of all Pills for Women. £ ISold in boxes, ? t'2, by BOOTS' Branches and all Chemists, or post free, same price, from 1 j LESLIE MARTIN, Ltd., Chemists, 34 Daiston Lane, London. I S Samples and valuable booklet sent free, td. stamp. ft
.1Money I
.1 Money I A DISCUSSION ON CURRENCY. BY JOHN BARR. I The issue of currency notes at the beginning I of the war to ward off a financial catastrophe and the consequent carrying on of business in- ternally without gold has offered an opportunity to the paper currency advocates to produce their panacea for all the social evils our system is heir to. It seems but yesterday we were fighting the declaration of the rabid temperance reformer that drink was the cause of poverty, and to cure poverty and raise the workers to a state of comfort all we had to do was to prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor. Now another red herring is being dragged across the trail, and we are to have the millenium ushered in by the adoption of a State banking system and a paper currency. The difficulty in treating both these schools of thought lies in the fact that there is a substratum of truth in both theories, i.e., they make for progress, and are therefore worthy of support as ,a means to the end and not the end itself. Freed from the incubus of intemperance a working-class would oe intellectually better able to fight for its emancipation, and a system of State banking would certainly help to rid Us of that financial influence which Mr. J. R. Macdonald declares in his foreword to Unemployment and the Wage Fund," was very marked in the rejection of the Licensing Bill of 1908 and the Budget of 1909, and which showed its" fearful power in the National Bankers' Conspiracy against the in- dustrial community of America in 1893. In a private circular quoted by Mr. Arthur Kitson, Industrial Depression," the bankers are in- formed the interest of national hankers re- quire immediate financial legislation by Con- gress. You will at once retire one-third your circulation, and call in one-half your loans. Be careful to make a money stringency felt among your patrons, especially among in- fluential business men. The future life of national banks as fixed and safe investments de- pends upon immediate action." OUR END. j OUR END. I As a necessary step in the means to our end- a method of production which would introduce an unified (social or collective) organisation of nthtional labour on the basis of collective or com- mon ownership of the means of production by all the members of Society (Dr.. Schaffle's Quintessence of Socialism ")-1 repeat it is worthy of support, but I have vei to learn that prohibition in some American states, or the in- auguration of the State Bank of France in 1718 after the disastrous paper currency of that in- genious Scotchman, John Law, ha. placed the workers in a very much better position than in Britain, and when Major Warren in last week's Labour Leader" declares "that most of the social evils that now oppress us will vanish like mists before the rising sun by organising a State Bank, he is unwittingly leading the worker astray. In the same article he says that since the issue of currency notes the business of the country has been carried on suc- cessfully without any gold—thus proving it is entirely unnecessary for the efficient exchange of goods and services," and on the same page Mr. Chandler shows us the business of the coun- try has been carried on so "successfully" that he quotes three instances of large firms issuing fully-paid shares free to existing shareholders with the consent of the Treasury to the extent of hundreds of thousands of pounds, with the result that whilst the dividends may remain stationery or even be reduced, the shareholders will receive increased amounts, and by this means there is being quietly piled up 3ncenor- mous additional lieu on the future labour of the workers. The production of the world's wealth is done by the world's workers, and an income of £1,000 a year from investments means simply the right to exact that amount from the annual produc- tion, and so long as one class carries on the business of the country, solely for profit, and is prevented by the very law of its being from or- r dering matters in such a way that a perfect harmony is established, it is quite impossible that the soundest methods of banking should do more than work the credit system with the least obstruction that circumstances will admit of." (Hyndman's Commercial Crises of the Nine- teenth Century," page 48). JOHN LAW'S EXPERIMENT. The historical examples of paper currency such as the John Law experiment in France in and the .French Revolutionary Assignats with, their subsequent depreciation and reflected rapid rise in prices leads one to the Jevonian conclu- sion (" Money," page 235) that the principal objections to an inconvertible paper currency are two in number: (1) the great temptation which it offers to over issue and consequent de- preciation; (2) the impossibility of varying its- amount in accordance with the requirements of trade." T!u,s danger either with convertible or incon- vertible paper money is plainly exemplified from our own banking history after the suspension of cash payments by the Bank of England in 1797, « when we find 280 county banks in 1797 and 00(f in 1810, and the subsequent crash in 1814-16, when 240 county banks stopped payment (Eney. Brit.), and it was left to the Bank Act of 1844 to bring us to as near a condition of soundness as is possible by forbidding any extension of the use of notes issued on credit over the level below which the circulation of the country never fell I say as near soundness as possible because so long as we have a system which does not give the producer the right to consume what he has produced, so long will we have a continued over production with its corollary hunting for world' markets■ (" war smouldering," as one writer puts it), and nothing but complete transforma- tion can remedy it. IMARXIAN FORMULAE. I may be mistaken, and am certainly open to. conviction, but my slight study of the money problem leads me to the Marxian conclusion that gold circulates because it has value., whereas paper money has value because it cir- culates. and can only perform a useful function in circulation when i*.accordance with the neces- sary circulatory needs of the time, and must then be naturally limited to internal exchange only. The success of the Guernsey note experi- ment lay in the fact that a certain proportion of the notes were taken up every year and de- stroyed, and its ultimate success, if it had not been captured by the bankers, would have de- pended on a gold reserve for external trade. To. me it is perfectly clear that if you have a cir- culatory requirement for 14 million pounds then- credit money will carry value to that amount, but if you introduce paper to the extent of 210- million pounds, then they will carry value or become the representation of gold to the amount of 14 million pounds only. (Marx's Critique of Political Economy," page 157). Further, as De Leon says, the method of exchange is a reflex and sequence of the method: of production. So long as production is .private and individual, exchange must be controlled by the principles that control it under barter — val ue for value. Now, whether you accept the Jevonian theory of value, re-stated in'tabular form by Hvndman; in his "Economics of Socialism '? "Cost of production determines supply; "Supply determines final degree of utility; Final degree of utility determines value; or you take the short Marxian cut and dec-la re that Cost of production determines value • it has to be granted that gold is a commodity, and as a measure of value by virtue of its in- herent qualities stands supreme, and as the uni- versa l equivalent all national systems of cur- rency must stand aside ip the world's market until such time as you have brought about the International (Jo-operattivt; Commonwealth and the road to a rational system of exchange, as De Leon remarks, lies via the Co-operative Com- monwealth and not vice-versa. Printed and Published by the National Labour Press, Ltd., at the Labour Pioneer Press Williams' Square, Merthyr Tydfil, SATURDAY, JFXE 22nd, 1918.