Pioneer

MILITARISM AND EDUCATION. PAGE 3.

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I Teachers' Holiday Mandate. rhirty-twoout of the thirty-seven matters and mistresses engaged at the Merthyr Interme- diate School and the Cy fart ha Castle Municipal Secondary School have informed the Merthyr Education Authority that it. was their intention to take the usual seven weeks' holiday for the sunimei vacation and not six weeks, as the com- mittee had decided. Originally the committee agreed upon five weeks' vacation, but a protest was lodged, and an appointment was made for the teachers to meet the authority. Without re- reiving the deputation, however, the iwiuuitt-w extended the holiday one week. In the com- munication sent to the committee the teachers state that no attempt was made to meet them on the disputed point. They strongly resented the refusa l of the committee to receive them after an appointment had been made. "Sueh treatment." they concluded, is inconsiderate, discourteous, and arbitrary."

The John Davies I Knew. I A RECOLLECTION OF THE MAN. I Despite the many attempts which have been made to explain man as a simple phenomena readily doc keted and pigeon-holed by reference to the contour of his skull, his place of educa- tion, his natal environment, and the surround- ings of his upbringings, his religious beliefs, his class-eonsciousn«*s, or any one of a dozen other systems of classifications ad vocated with more or less rigidity by many pseudo-scientific schools that have played with the alluring task of pro- ducing simple anthropometrical formulie for the complete explanation of mam; despite, I .say, these attempts, man has persisted in retraining a complex a complex compounded in each one of us of strengths and weaknesses, selfish in- dividualism and divine altruism momeuts of soaring greatness when tho soul rises to celes- tial heights. aJild moments when the spirit of the muck-raker depresses us into the mire of stain- ing filth. There may be men, of course, whose powers of sensation never reach the sub- eurtaneous, but if there are they don't count in life; they would be neutral-tin ted tut-omata endowed wii-li of individualism than the hammer they wield; or the machine they ten- tier. L have accidentally caught the right word in that last sentence- -Individuality. In- dividuality means the particular tinge that the complexity of any one man takes on; the parti- cular shade that his proportions of god-and-devil assumes. Individuality is the only forin-ulm worth while, for it is the only clue that gives us fugitive, snatched visions of his consciousness manifesting itself. YUI1 feel individuality in the presence of some men in others it is unobtru-f sive during contact, but i. manifested by the ease with which the mind can reconstruct the man or his message after the lapse of time, and in his absence. The power of reconstruction in mind is the mirror of the individuality in the personality of the man or woman reconstructed. And that power is in my own ease independent of individual actions of the kind usually tabu- lated in biographical notices. In the chance flash es that memory throws upon the screen of my mind I find more sure ir^iees to a true ap- preciation of man than I wouki obtain from a whole library of facte: such as the year a man founded a bank: passed through the superior orders of the Antidiluvian Buffaloes; or occupied the mayoral chair of his borough. THE MAN. I have been led to write this somewhat long prelude, by the fact that ever since I beard of of the death of Mr. John Da vies, the Dowlais Miners' Agent, last Thursday, I have found memories of him obtruding themselves upon me. (^ick has gone The little camera in my bead, and there has lxwzi before me a complete reconstruc- tion of the rugged and vet tender- personality of myoId friend. Now, I have seen him sitting as he often sat in the vacant chair opposite me as J write, 1;is countenance animated with glowing lift. as he spoke of his district, and his hope to complete his majority af" its agent; that view dissolves and I again sei- him as 1 saw him once in the Mayor's parlour, during his year of office—he and ] and the Borough Treasurer, and t.he conversation has turned somehow onto the Wetsh language, and in his discourse I am surprised to find rhat I have uncovered a Dft- tural, rich vein of scholarship that I had never suspected; the idiom of the language and its local variations are expounded with a clearness of illustration drawn from personal experience and observation that were not consonant with the halting English of the John Davies to whom I was most used. The little pictures blur and splutter, and again and again little shnrjx-ut cameos stand out momentarily irredisoent, and burning more and more into my consciousness the fact that more frequently than probably any of us will ever know, John Davies stood upon the mountain tons of aspiration; and surveyed broad a<-ree of the soul. that truly flowed with the milk and honey of humanity. HIS NATIONALISM. For, atter all. John Davies was a man, and a Welshman. He loved his kind with a breadth and depth that was not. constrained within geo- graphical boundaries; and that because, like every true cosmopolitan, he loved his oountrv first. As rugged as t|ie bills of Ids beloveil land, there yet kindled in his breast a heart that melted in the presence of a child that throblied with eomionin the presence of suffering or misery, beiore it surged to indigna- tion. And somehow or another he had breathed into his Wing on the day of his birth some of the soul of Wales; that touch of mysticism, that tincture of poetry that is the distinguishing mark of the Cymru. and that did not in his case degenerate into neurotic religiosity., though it kept the flame of his faith burning clear and bright despite the daily contact of his life with a squalid poverty transcending that of the com- mon lot of our day which has seriously shaken the faith of many of us who are younger to trade-unionism and Socialism than was he. In the Scot mysticism and poetry runs to a passionate love of the Presbitry anil an equally Consuming desire to found Burn's Clubs; in the Englishman it engenders a delettantism that leads towards the appreciation of ritualistic liturgy and observance on the religious side; and in art prod uces the collector-connoisseur whose soul finds expression according to his means in Baxter-prints, first editions, delicate ceremics or a gramaplione. I cannot imagine that the touch of Puritan austerity that made John Da\ ies such a good Welshman could find expression in a.ny of those ways. His Welsh nationality did not run along the course of ag- gressive nationality such as the S<y>t emiljodies; nor can I imagine that his house was a museiun- mirror of his tastes. Rather his house would bo a. home to which he could come, and which would have to absorb his spirit and ixive iT, forth intangibly, rather than a series of rooms into which he could deposit the tangible expressions of his soul. I A MAN OF THE PEOPLE. And just those characteristics that would make him a good WeL.hman-and, because of that, a good father, and a good member of his chapel—made of him a leader of men by the choice of the men themselves. It was not be- cause of a brilliant turn of phrase that he WJIS marked out for leadership: nor for a subtle dip- lomacy of Lahour-I know that, though I nei- ther know nor care how his first election took place in tlit- lodges or at the pit top. John Da- vies wat, chosen for leadership by reason of his individuality; an individuality that marked him out for the position lwcause he embodied in him- self the life and thought of his fellow workers. with just this addition, an addition that came from the spark of divine power that smouldered in liii sotil-a vision of a social order in advance of his time. It is true that his time lies in the past; that the ideology that illumined his m ind towards Socialism has been super-imposed with a new ideology that has come from a consolida- tion of experiences garnered by Mr.. John Da- vies and his fellow pioneers. Socialism came to him not because of a preliminary intellectual conviction, but because he grew indignant at seeing so many men builded in the fair image of o God whom he worshipped, stamped with the image of the beast—-saw women pure and good by instinct compelled to live under conditions tha L ta mislwd their purity and besmirched their goodness that men miht the richer be ? saw children instinct with health and right. wi.t j¡ II potencies of greatness become seed t cof di-- ea?e. and wither into the crooked poison plants of our criminal strata. These things he saw. a.nd because he was a man his spirit was hurt, but not hurt into necessary liciplessness-he wa. too much of a man for that. He would end the system that produced the vitiating atmosphere that made these things the realities of life. And the way to end them came with a recognition of their ivality-the way of Collectivism. It was then that intellectual conviction came; and his sturdy self having seen the light and ac- cepted it, never wavered in its adherence, for to his nature fidelity to faith either religious or social was as easy as respiration. There have been critics of his Socialism he was not dog- matically accurate in his enunciation of the scientific terms. But what of that? Was he ever uncertain of where he would lead ? I cannot think so. His method of thought may have been contiguously neareT to the Radical-Socialist school than to the neo-Industrial Unionists, but, the end for which he t>t'on; was the same. And he strove, as ho always strove, with all his might to help forwaaxl his social ideal. He could not help striving, for his nature was the nature of the fighter. 1, I HIS STANDARD. John Davies went far. He led his men well and truly to the end, yet bitterness was not a composition in his soul, and because there was no bitterness ho won the franchise of his ward electors and went to the Town Council, there, ultimately, to win the conifdence of his col- leagues and t-o find it reflected in his election to the Mayoral chair. But his municipal activities were after all only the outcome of his trad es union eminence. His forte was not the forum. I could never imagine him climbing much higher than he did. The very strengths that made him a good leader of a trade union that had grown to strength as the result of the activities of himself and a body of like-minded pioneers, were weaknesses outside of that work. He would never have made a Parliamentarian, vigorous as were his speeches on times, he was never a pub- licist and propagandist in the proper sense of those words. His attitude and cast of mind was not that way inclined. But are we to blame him for that* His coinmonsense was too strong to make of him a blind tool; and so if he did not initiate brilliant moves in the Executive of the S. W .M.F. he would be the very last to be carried away by schemes that were the projec ts of more brilliantly built men. I can imagine that ere he cast his vote for such a scheme he would carefully pro and oori the arguments with ,a remembrance of the psychology of his district —bv no means an easy one—a psychology that he had learned from love of the men he repre- sented, as well as from natural shrewdness- and hik; vote would go in the way that spelled the majority representation of the Dowlais Dis- trict. That is Democratic representation. It will be that when the history of the industrial organisation of the South Wal es Coalfield comes to be written, the purple patches will be written to other names than that of John Davies, but the history that omi ts him will be as falacious a history, JUS we are told the drum and trum- pet history is on the broader field of national evolution. He cannot be overlooked; and he cannot be overlooked for one reason—he lived a natural life, followed the promptings of a shrewd head and a sensitive heart, and never yielded an inch from the principles he espoused. He was a man of the people, exalted by the people, and ti-tx- to the people to the end. Dowlais has yet to learn its loss. It may have more brilliant leaders in the future—it will never have a. more courageous, straightforward, or simple leader; a leader whose ideal of leadership was to be the spokesmen of his class and kind. and not the exponent who-Imarelied alit-,td preaching the gospel as he conoemnl it should be spoken by the mob. His form may not be carven into the marble pendimem of the Democratic Pantheon hut, there will assuredly be a little line in its tablets reserved whereupon will be graven his name as amongst those who fought for the faith and never faltered nor wearied though the days of his trial were long and arduous. Than that he desired no more; would thai we all could deserve it so well. A.P.Y. THE FUNERAL. The funeral at Pant Cemetery, Dowlais, on Monday, was largely attended by representatives of the industrial municipal and religious bodies of the borough. Amongst those present were the Right Hon. Thomas Richards, M.P.. and Mr. James Winstone, J.P. (representing the South Wales Miners' Federation), Messrs. Gomer Thomas, J.P.. E. Morrell, J.P., William Lewis, J.P., David Davies, J.P., David Parry. L. M. ?J.one- Charles GriiEths, and Ch&rl? Fenwick (Continued at foot of next column).

Political Notes By F. W. Jowett, M.P. SOLDIERS' REVISED ALLOWANCES. I The War Caoinet have considered the position of soldiers and their wives and dependents. The result of their consideration was announced later in the House of Commons. It was to the effect that: (1) Where there are two or more children under the age of fourteen in the family 4/6 a wee k will be added to the total of the existing separation allowance; (2) for motherless children under fourteen years of age the weekly rate for one child maintained in a home will be increased by 3 i and, (3) the weekly rate of separation allowance for the second and addi- tional motherless children maintained in one home will be increased by 1/- for each child. It will be noted that wives of sailors and Rol- diers who have no ehildren are still left with the miserable pittance of 12s. 6d. per week. The members of the War Cabinet, who are entitled to an official salary off:!5.000 a year (one or two of them with a house ii-et- of rent and taxes) think 12/6 sufficient for wives of sailors and sol- diers. who. in their opinion, ought, to go out to work. But hundreds of thousands of men have joined the forces during this war whose wives have not worked otherwise than at housekeep- ing, which is a very necessary and useful occu- pation in itself. They expect their wives to go on with the housekeeping in their absence, and if the home is a good one there is work enough for a women to do. ifslw. keeps it fit for her husband to return to, without going out to earn wages to supplement the pay and emolu- ments of her soldier husband. Kvery soldier's wife who has been left with the miserable pit- tance of 12/6 a week should « rite a personal letter to the Prime Minister telling him in plain language what she thinks of rite War Cabinet and the decision tli4, v Ita%-t- with regard to l2t:1.. iii sfc afc UNSATISFACTORY FEATURE. n There is also the question of separation allow- ance on account of soldiers who were appren- tices or in receipt of progressive wages when they enlisted, and the War Cabinet have con- centrated their mighty intellects on their posi- tion. The result is most unsatisfactory from the point of view of the soldier's parents, but dis- plays great ingenunity in dodging the real de- mand in regard to these cases. The War Cabi- net has decided to pay a fixed sum of 5/- per week to parents of soldiei-s who prior to enlist- ment were apprentices, scholars in a Secondary School, or were in receipt of progressive wages and were, therefore, unahle to show that their parents or relatives were receiving any financial benefit from them. But there are a number of conditions attached to the payment that will rult. out a considerable number of claims, and the full effect of these conditions it is not pos- sible to estimate in the absence of information from Government sources. For instance, the concession only applies if the sailor or soldier is over 21 now, and was under 2'i years of age on the date of enlistment. This allowance will T only he paid if the sailor or soldier or his parents apply for it: and it will date from Octo- ber 1.-t next. The same date of commencement applies to the In, separation Illownnf-e-, on account of children under 14 and motherless eh ildren, before-mentioned. APPRENTICES' CLAIMS. Presumably, sailors and soldiers who enlisted when they were apprentices or in receipt ot pro- gressive wages, or were scholars in a secondary school who have been killed in action, died ot i wounds or of disease aggravated or caused by the war. may be claimed for on account of pen- sion. This is not definitely stated in the official announcement in.Partitrii(-ntai- papers, but it is implied in a passage stating the reason for granting allowances for apprentices which speaks of th" hardship in these cases being accen- tuated by the fa-ct that pension on the soldier's death depends on the allowance his parents drew while he was alive." This can have no meaning if the War Cabinet does not intend it as an admission of a right to pension in oases where pension has previously been refused on account of the soldiers who were apprenticed, scholars in ii secondary school, or who were in receipt of progressive wages prior to enlistment. Parents Ai-iiosc, claims for pension have been re- fused on this ground should, therefore, bear this in mind and look out for further announcements on the subject, fn the meantime an effort will

I Very Much Alive. MANIFESTO OF THE UNOFFICIAL REFORM COMMITTEES OF THE S. W. MINERS. PREAMBLE. .b a consequence of the changes operating in the industrial field, it Is becoming increasingly imperative that the workers should relatively change their methods of organisation. Trade ['monism in it., present state only assumes a defensive attitude towards Capitalism. This at once indicates the need for a complete over- hauling of our present methods and outlook. In its initial stages Trade Union organisation was coniined to a mere struggle for existence, and; perhaps, the advocacy of tempora.ry reforms, or changes in iv or king conditions. At one time this was justifiable, and even in-- evitable on account of the very nature of the basic" conditions of Capitalism. It. is no longer necessary, but, unfortunately, its remnants are left as a reflex of former conditions. Another feature has characterised the Trade r njonlovenwnttha t of craft distinction and, consequently, organisation by craft, and not in- dustry. This, with its disastrous features, is but another outcome of the various stages through which the working-classes have passed. No longer are these things necessary. They must now give way to the inevitable result of the further concentration of Capital, incidental- ly reflecting the need for organisation on a class basis, and not by craft. or trade; The policy now adopted in obtaining concessions from the employers in the shape of shorter hours, better wages, etc., may seem to satisfy, but it is only of a deceptive and temporary nature. It does not strike hard enough at the root of the mat- ter. Indeed! there is every indication that the capitalist class will readily agree to expedi- ents of any kind. which have the effect of per- petuating the present system of production for profit. Unfortunately, the official method of corn bating this system is stereotyped^, and in- clined to relegate all vital questions to negotia- tion. ind discussion by the Executive with the State or other body. This state of affairs can- not be allowed to continue if the workers are to survive the severity of the post-war period, and take up a, positive attitude towards ques- tions that vitally affect our class. The Unofficial Reform Committees of the South Wales Miners do not seek to administer the Official Organisa- tion. We definitely claim the right to propa- gate to educate; and to interpret the mind of the rank and file. Our functions have a. two-fold aspect; Firstly. to supervise the Executive Council, and urge them along w hen they display tendencies to loiter, or impede the progress of the workers; secondly, as an educational force giving lucidity and sequence to the aspirations of our class. In reply to the abuse and calumny of our op- ponents on the Executive Council, we present the following concrete proposals for your im- mediate consideration: — 1.-0XE organisation for the entire mining in- dustry. 2.—Abolition of "piece-work" rates. 3.—Six hours per day. 4.—.Five days per week. o.— £ 1 per day, with payment for six for five shifts worked. 6.—Abolition of contractual obligations (of four- teen days' notice). <.—Fourteen days* holiday annually for all workers in :incl al)(itit the mines., ti-itli pay- ment ror .same. 8.-1"1111 rates of wages to be paid as compensa- tion in case of accident until date of recov- ery—with the abolition of Companv Oom- IjensHtion doctors. —Boys under IS years of age to be paid the 9d. obligatory under the Minimum Wage Award, after which age they shall be paid the full-rate wages. IO.-Fiill rates of wages to be paid to soldiers and sailors on active service, or discharged. 11.—Immediate ownership and oontrol of the mean^ of production. I Is there anything of a chaotic or aiia,i-(-hici naturp in these submitted proposals? AN APPEAL To those to whom the future of working-class solidarity irieans the destruction of the Capital- ist system of exploication, we commend the above objects as a means.of achieving our rela- tive freedom. On behalf of the Unofficial Reform Commit- tee NOAH TROMANS, Chairman. SAMUEL FISHER. Secretarv. T. WATKINS. S. JONES. GEO. DOLLING. [Our readers, all of who must have shared with us a fear that the "Unofficials" were dead, the appearance of this Preamble, with its internal evidence of a very lively interest in the Democratic solution of the coalfields' industrial future, will be welcome; and that welcome will be all the more hearty when it is realised that the period of silence now broken by this voice, was not a period of somnolence, but the quiet of constructive retirement, which will give us in the immediate future an "Unofficial Confer- ence in Cardiff, to be followed by a more per- fect organisation of the coalfield.—Ed.]

(mem bers of the Merthyr Town Council); Messrs J. Adkins, T. J. Evans, J.P., John Williams, J. E. Jones, and William Harris (Merthyr Trades Council); Mr. S. Bolwell (chairman of the Merthyr Board of Guardians); Messrs. Tudor Davies and W. Bevan (Dowlais); Mr. E. Roberts (solicitor to the Dowlais Miners), to. gether with representatives of the Merthyr and Dowlais districts of the Miners' .Federation and a posse of the Merthyr Police, under Inspector J. G. Lamb. Deacons of the Bethania Welsh Congregational Church acted as bearers, and the officiating minister was the ReT. J. ROWer Evans.