Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
11 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
l Political Notes
l Political Notes By F. W. Jowett. I TWO NEW "STUNTS." i The press campaign for the promotion of I hatred has given birth to two stunts which for the present Mr. Lloyd George has dodged. It will he found out later that he has dodged them, but the election will be over then. One of tb e stunts" is the demand for an indem- nity from Germany to pay the war debt of Great Britain, to which demand, if it were made. there would have to he added the war debts of all the Allies of Great Britain, for their churns would be equally sound. The other" stunt" is the demand for the exclusion of Germans from this country. A BARRIER. l I Mr Lloyd George knows very well that tne Government have no intention of trying to make Germany pav the war wsts. What is morc: die knows that tl? Goverumenta?d? barred from makmg any such demand by their NotTaccepting President Wilsons peace ?d.- tio^ In that note the Bnt.sh Government d?s- tinctly accepted Pre?d.nt ??<on's conditions, wh?h contained no prov?h that could po?My be construed or twisted into a reference to in- demnities. This fact is emphasised by the re- servation which the Allied Note ill reply to President, Wilson contained in regard to this matter The reservation in question was to the effect that the Allies, claimed the right to de- mand compensation for actual damage suffered by individuals. THE JINCO YELP. Tho'straight answer to those who are running the indemnity "stunt" was not given by Mr. Lloyd George for the simple reason that he dare not risk doing so bf't..)l" the election. If he had sa-j that }> > couV-1 yfai yment of the war d?bt as one oi the condition otpe?c?, aud That if he did he would be ?ty of a grave breach of faith in the eyes of the whole civilized world, the Jingo pack would have been yelping at his heels directly. He, therefore, pretended to agree with the demands for an indemnity, but protected himself by a qualification behind which he can shield himself when concealment is no longer possible. Germany must pay as far as she can," said Mr. Lloyd George, but we are not going to allow her to pay in such a way as to wreck our own industries." THE RUB. Sir Auckland Geddes estimates that if Ger- manv had to pav indemnities to wver the war costs of the Allies the bill would amount to £ 50,000,000,(100. To meet such a colossal lia- bilitv the whole of the German people would have to become the slaves of the Allies for an indefinite period. Germany never boast-ed of possessing more than £ 200,000,000 in gold, and the debt would have to be paid in goods. Under the Capitalist System of industry the inevitable result of importing £600,009,000 worth of goods into Great Britain to pay interest and sinking fund on our debt E8,000,000,000 of war debt I would be to deprive millions of working people of their work and wages. NIGHTMARE OF MILITARISM. If the British nation were a Socialist Com- monwealth, of course, the result would be differ- ent, for, in that case, the arrangement would be that the British people would be almost com- pletely fed and clothed by slaves in Germany, and might employ themselves luxuriously ac- cording to their own pleasure. That is, if the arrangement could be made to work without force, which is unthinkable. Indeed, to main- tain such relation: there would have to be a permanent military occupation of Germany. What a nightmare of militarism this would be;:¡ But. of course, only people who have become so saturated with the gospel of hate that they are bereft of their reason, and those who do not think f(g themselves at all. are carried away with stunts such as the indemnity for the payment of war debt. The pity of it is that ereat Uritaiu is afflicted with a. Prime Minister who, as a mere electioneering dodge. pretends to believe in the proposal. CAMOUFLAGE. The second ''stunt" to which Mr. Lloyd George played "artful dodder" relates to the exclusion of all persons of German nationality. This is, in short, the demand. To avoid giving a direct reply to the demand in question, Mr. Lloyd George employed his favourite device of misrepresenting it. He pretended that it re- lated ohiy t-o enemy aliens who have abused their position here. He worked himself into that state of apparent indignation which some of us have seen so often and asked: What about those people whom we received without question for years to our shores—who. after we did so and gave them equal rights with the sons and daughters of our households abused our hospitality to betray the land that received them. NEVER AGAIN." And the re- ports state that Mr. Lloyd George at this point banged the table and the au dience cheered vociferously. "POOR DELUDED AUDIENCE." Poor deluded audlence f Unfortunate British people afflicted with an "artful dodger" as Prime Minister ? The audience were deceived into thinking that Mr. Lloyd George had identi- fied himself v :+1, the nt" and had agreed that people of German nationality should not be allowed to set foot in Great Britain in future. Whereas, in point of fact, he had only delivered himself of the perfectly harmless declaration that spies and people who betray Great Britain will be excluded. THE TRICKY BIT. It would have been more difficult to tell the audience which cheered vociferously" at New- castle that Great Britain had given its pledged word to make peace on terms that must in- volve no discrimination between those to whom we wish to be just and those to whom we do not wish to be just," and that on these terms there could be no discrimination against for- eigners merely on the ground of their national- ity. To persons who have abused their liberty here, or, as Mr. Lloyd George prefers to say our hospitality," of course, lie could properly say never again," but the audience did not realise that it was for this only that they cheered vociferously." ABUSE v. FACT. Mr. Winston Churchill is in many respects a fit lieutenant for service under Mr. Lloyd George. He has cheek and impudence, although he is not so artful as his chief. The other day he abused his critics and called them all sorts of names. He said they were ne'er-do-wells, degenerates, pacifists and defeatists, who would have led us to a shameful surrender." He did not respect his audience sufficiently to offer any proof that his critics had, in fact, advocated a policy that led to surrender, and, there does not exist among them one who is so far degener- ate as to defend his Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaign as a legitimate gamble." He, how- ever, was capable of that.
The Russian Position.
The Russian Position. THE ACTS OF OUR RULERS. "MANCHESTER GUARDIAN'S" REMARK-I ABLE REVELATIONS. We make no excuse for printing in full—even during the throes of a. general election contest— the following leading article from the Man- chester Guardian of Friday last. A quiet con- sideration of this leader, coupled with the fact that the Russian democracy has so far expressed its opinion of the "occupation of their coun- try hy healing its differences—apparently un- bridgeable a short time igo-between the Men- sheviks and Bolshevists on the ground of "unity in defence of the freedom of Russia from foreign occupation, "to make even the mild Labourite turn rouud to the Coalitionists who are playing so stromdv on the ignorant use of the word "Bolshpvist." with the question Who are the real Bolshevists on your own definition of the word MAKINC DEMOCRACY SAFE. I We have a British army killing Russian peasants and Russian workmen in the Arctic, and British troops engaged in the same occupa- tion in Siberia. The cold is so bitter, the cor- respondents tell us, that the water-cooling cham- bers freeze in the machine-guns. Our men, pre- sumably, have to keep their blood warm by the consciousness that they are suffering in a good cause. What the cause is they have never been told by the Government that sends them to freeze and die. They have to gather its nature from what goes on about them. This is what they see. At Archangel shortly after they ar- rived tfoev saw the Government, which waft sup- b i I posed to have invited them and to give Allied intervention its democratic certificate, suddenly interned by some soldiers. In Siberia they have just seen some officers arrest the Prime Minister, overthrow the Government, and make an Ad- miral Koltchak, a notorious reactionary, Dicta- tor. A court-martial has solemnly pronounced that these officers have deserved well of their country. We are not told what impression these events make upon our own soldiers, but we know the opinion of the Czechs. They say, so the "Times" correspondent tells us, that they a.re being made the tools of the enemies of demo- cracy in Russia. Doubtless our own men think the same. And they are right. Our blood and our money are being poured out in Russia to help in the restoration of the evil system which the Revolution overthrew. Whatever we may have intended, that is what we are in office doing. How long is thi thing to go on?
Advertising
WORKERS! I Vote and Work for WINSTONE
Advertising
LIPTON98 for QUALITY The Largest Tea Distributors, Manufac- turers, and Retailers of Food Products in the World. I Tea Merchants by Special Appointment to U.N. King George V. LIPTON LTD., Cltl Road, LONDON, E.C. 1. BRANCHES & AGENCIES THROUGHOUT "THE UNITED KINGDOM. ————
J. H. Hudson Withdraws.
J. H. Hudson Withdraws. C.O. CANDIDATE FOR ECCLES UNFORTU- NATE POSITION. Our Comrade J. H. Hudson, who is suffering imprisonment as a C.O., and who during his days of freedom as a teacher in the Eccles Muni- cipal Secondary School was selected as Labour candidate for that Borough, is withdrawing from the present contest because of his unfortunate position: Questions were asked in Parliament recently as to the possibility of his release from prison in order to oonduct his oampaign, but the I reply stated that no exceptional treatment could be meted out to individual prisoners for such | purposes.
The Dawn of Deliverance. I
The Dawn of Deliverance. I INTERNATIONAL MEANING OF PRESENT I irpl-Qlo .P. AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PRESENT I ELECTION. iJOINT SOCIALIST MANIFESTO TO BRITISHI PEOPLE TO THE WORKING-CLASS: I The war-struggle between the Allied and Cen-I hal Powers has terminated in a crisis of unpre- cedented social and political upheaval in Europe. The great movement of working-class insurrec- tion which first burst forth in the Russian Revo- lution is now sweeping westward across the mid- European States, the monarchies and military despotism in Austria and Germany have been overthrown and the old political systems in Hol- land, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, and other lands are being shaken to the base. That this movement will in a greater or lesser degree manifest itself in Great Britain it is im- possible to doubt. Already there are signs of deep and fast spreading working-class unrest in many industrial cities of our country. With the return of several million of men from the front, the dislocation of employment resulting from the stoppage of vast munition and other war indus- tries, the inadequacy and inequality of the pro- vision for the discharged soldiers and sailors and the dependents of those slain in battle, and the widespread sense of resentment aroused by conscription, profiteering, and the suppression of civil liberty—a grave situation must soon con- front the whole nation. ON THE DEFENSIVE. I Realising the peril of their position, the ruling clas.ses in this and other countries which are as yet unswept by the revolutionary onrush are taking steps to fortify their power and preserve their class privileges. Here in Great Britain the Coat-litioun of the two piSittoal sections of the landlord capitalist cl ass formed during the war against the riva,l military and imperialist powers of Germany and Austria, have resolved to con- tinue and consolidate their combination in order to strengthen their grasp on the organisation of the State and to weild the instruments of Gov- ernment for the preservation of their imperialist rule and capitalist interests. Through the lll- strumentality of their ambitious puppet, the Prime Minister, they have decided to snatch a new lease of Parliamentary power by means of a General Election forced on the country while yet the people, gagged for four and a-half years by the Defence of the Realm Act, and stupified by the falsehoods of the press, and now excited by the joy of peace, are unable to realise the ex- tremity of their plight and the unscrupulous statecraft that has been imposed upon them. THE UNDERLYING REASON. I It is evident, also, that the Allied Govern- ments are resolved if possible to frustrate and suppress the revolutions of the exasperated peo- ples of Europe. This, as is openly avowed by press mouthpieces of the capitalist reaction, is the real object of the Allies' invasion of Russia, and of the provisions in the Armistice Treaty for the surrender of German merchant shipping and the maintenance of the food blockade of the German ports. In view of these circumstances, it is important surely that the organised workers of Great Bri- tain should take immediate action to safeguard their own freedom and well-being, and to safe- guard the common interests of International Democracy. THE WORKERS' DUTY*— I We therefore earnestly appeal to the British working-class to demand the immediate abroga- tion of the Defence of the Realm Act, the re- storation of all their pre-war civil liberties, and the tiberation of political prisoners convicted or held in prison without trial, including those im- prisoned for their public utterances, for print- ing or distributing literature and for resisting conscription under the Mlitary Service Act. We further appeal to the workers to demand the immediate withdrawal from Russia of the AA litli- ed armies, now waging war against the Rus- sian Revolution, and the cessation of all armed interference with the self-determination of the democracies of other nations. And with this de- mand must be included the demand for the withdrawal of the food and mercantile blockade against the German Revolution, and the desist- anc ? from all economic pressure designed to in- timidate and subdue the revolutionary move- ments at home and abroad of the working-class. I AND PRIVILEGES. I Surely, now is the time for the workers to realise their true position and power as wealth producers and c?)xens, and to put forward their littmo,gt efforts for the emancipation of Labour and the upbuilding of a n?w sodal common- wealth. Through long ages the working-class, from whose toil the rich have exacted their abundance, have suffered an existence of pover- ty and industrial and political subjection. At last the dawn of an epoch of deliverance flashes wide over ihe Eiiropeai, sky. Iii the growing light of that dawn let the workers of Great Bri- tain rouse themselves, and joining hands with their fellow workers, march through the gates of freedom now opened wide.
Advertising
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! Issued jointly by the Executives of THE INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY THE BRITISH SOCIALIST PARTY. THE SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY.
Our Long Sought Opportunity.…
Our Long Sought Opportunity. I JUST WHAT THE ELECTION MEANS. BY-CEOR CE BARKER. lj'KLLOW-WORKl':RS-Men and Women, The Coalition has given Labour an opportunity it has been seeking for years. It has put all the foes of Labour into one camp, so that Labour now has a straight, clear fight, the issue of which will not be long in doubt. The Coalition Government has nothing whatever to offer to Labour. Take Land Nationalisation, for ex- ample Lloyd George, the hero of Limehouse, is now the oracle of Belgravia. His ideal Land System is the present system, which nearly caused this country to lose the war. At Wolver- hampton, he said: "The cultivation of the land had increased enormously during the war," but lie did not say that the landowners and farmers had put two hundred million pounds on the cost of food. The Coalition land policy is, in plain English, a fraud; and so is all its policy. If Lloyd George wants to banish poverty in these islands, why does he not give the people free access to their heritage—the soil of their native laiid The plutocracy would have no use for him if lie did. His boast of a 5/-minimum wage for the agricultural labourer was a disgrace to his Government, and an insult to the people of this country. All the best men are leaving the Coalition. Clyues is gone, Sir Chiozza Money is gone, and those that are left are of no account, and the Labour Party would be well rid of them if they stayed in the Coalition. But they are not wanted in the Coalition unless "they can deliver the goods," so these disinterested patriots will try to worm their way back in the Labour Move- ment. These are not the men we are interested in. I want to see a real Labour Party that will stand for the principles of the workers' Inter- national; that will open the prison doors to all political captives; that will put an end to the war on the Russian and German Industrial Re- publics and that will give us at once a free platform and a. free press. LABOUR'S CHAMPIONSHIP. The Labour Party stands for these great prin- ciples—the Coalition is for their strangulation. The three pillars of the House we propose to erect, resting upon the common foundation of the Democratic Control of Society in all its acti- vities, may be termed respectively:— (a) The Democratic Control of Industry; (b) The Revolution in National Finance; and (c) The surplus wealth for the common good. We want to govern and control our own lives, only Labour can control Labour. We have had enough of government by company promoters, bank directors, lawyers, and profiteers. We have had a four-years' war for Democracy—those that have lost the war have won the Democracy! And now conscripted British workers are being used to fight their old Allies, the Russian work- ing-class, because they are trying to establish in Russia an Industrial Commonwealth. Watch that the same outrage is not done on the German Republic and then on you, the workers of Bri- tain. War for Democracy, forsooth! What does Lloyd George think the workers are ? He thinks he can bribe Labour leaders by O.B.E.'s, or {ut them in blinkers and put the reins and bit in the mouth of the workers. One thing he cannot do, he cannot bribe and bamboozle the mass of the workers. We know him. We have had some. He and his class have been in. power all too long, and have made Great Britain a paradise for the rich, and a huge, hideous slave-market for the working-class. We have had enough of vague, windy words; we want deeds. We want actions, not electioneering promises and plati- tudes. We want the goods. To the intelligent worker it matters little or nothing what Lloyd George says. To put it bluntly and in plain English: the worker does not heed him, because he does not believe him; that is the fact. Lloyd George says lie has extended the fran- chise—yes; and now he wants to select the can- didates. The Premier wants it to be made known that he does not want Mr. Toady Lick- spittle to be opposed. Result: Mr. Faeing-Bot-h- Ways retires and Lickspittle gets a free seat with a Lloyd George coupon. And this is the Democracy we have been fighting for for four years! Is it? Is it? Not much, Mr. Prime Minister. No wonder it is reported that the officers, and soldiers at the front are making a bon-fire of their proxy papers, they are fed up to repletion with the balderdash dished out to them by the mile. They know this is a rushed election, and millions of their comrades are un- able to vote. Don't, pity a disabled soldier— give him a job" on the overcrowded Labour- market So much for the vaunted admiration of the men who have saved civilisation." We may rest assured the disabled soldiers will not forget this gratuitious insult. There is only one party that will do justice to the disabled soldier, and that is the party of his own class—the Labour Party, and they know that from cruel experience. The only hope of the workers is their political and industrial pow er, and the using of that power through their own class. There is a rude shock awaiting those who think the worker can be hoodwinked by the Coalition clap-trap. Capitalism is the enemy, and Lloyd George is its prophet. Electors, do you want to continue for years to pay three half-pence per mile to ride 3rd Class on the Rich Man's Railway? Do you want to have the cost of the war put on the shoulders of those least able to bear it? Do you want to see the eighty million pounds worth of national factories, paid for out of increased taxation, sold at a mock auction to private capi- talists? Then Vote for the Coalition Candidate. If not-VOTE SOLI. FOR LABOUR.
An Appeal to -the Electors…
An Appeal to the Electors of Merdare ON BEHALF OF ACRICULTU,RAL AND RURAL WORKERS. ABERDARE'S DOUBLE OPPORTUNITY. BY JOHN DAVIES. (West Wales Organiser, Agricultural Labourers' Union). One of the most interesting chapters in Bri- tish history is the story of the struggle of the workers to establish and develop powerful Unions for their protection. This highly neces- sary work has been accomplished by the indus- trial worker, and particularly by the miner. The latter is now influential and powerful by virtue of the strength of the Federation. The miner has also succeeded in some measure in receiving direct representation in the nation's Parliament. But there is a class of worker, who, owing to his isolated position, has hitherto been a sorry condition, without a strong protective organisa- tion, whose wages has always been beaten down to the bare subsistence level. I refer to the agricultural and rural worker. It is true he is awakening, and is at present engaging enthu- siastically in the work of developing a strong organisation for his defence. The National Agricultural Labourer and Rural Workers' Union is eminently successful in West Walps, and boasts nearly fifty branches in the counties of Pembroke, Carmarthen, and Cardigan, and close upon 3,000 members. The future of the Union in the three counties is bright and pro- mising. NICHOLAS' HELP. We are indebted to the Rev. T. E. Nicholas, the Labour Candidate for the Aberdare Division, for the pioneer work he has accomplished on behalf of the agricultural and rural worker. Mr. Nicholas raised the banner of Trade Unionism in West Wales, and in spite of the abuse of em- ployers, he kept pegging away, preaching the principles of organisation in the remote and al- most inaccessible hamlets of the three counties named. He has covered many weary miles on his bicycle to serve the workers on the land. He has been successful in establishing many branches of the Union, and the success obtained so far is in a large measure due to Mr. Nicholas' unwearying efforts. Mr. Nicholas is well versed in the needs of the Miners, Tinplaters, Railway- men, and other industrial workers, but he is also especially well versed in the needs of the rural worker. The Agricultural Labourer and Rural Worker is not at present in a position to secure direct representation in any constituency in Wales. There is no candidate now before a Welsh constituency that can fill the double role of representing both classes of worker-the in- dustrial and the rural-in the same degree as the Rev. T. E. Nicholas. ABERDARE'S DOUBLE OPPORTUNITY. The workers of Aberdare have now the oppor- tunity of securing direct and adequate repre- sentation in the House of Commons. They have also the opportunity of securing for the Agricul- tural and Rural Worker the finest worker on their behalf in the whole of the Principality. Many of the electors of Aberdare hail from the agricultural counties. They were driven forth to seek a livelihood because the prospects in the places of their birth were unpromising. They still love the old home, and the old oountry-side passionately, although the conditions were such as to compel them to leave the hallowed neigh- bourhood. Remember the need of your fellows in the country. Their need of an adequate wage their need of decent houses; their need of small holdings. They have a great land-hunger—but the land is denied them. But if you return the Rev. T. E. Nicholas, the cause of the oppressed workers in rural districts will be represented in the House of Commons. Mr. Nicholas knows your needs, but he also knows the need of the country worker. In your own interests VOTE FOR NICHOLAS, but I would urge you also to Vote for Nicholas in the interest of the Agricul- tural and Rural Workers. Don't forget the service rendered to the Rural > Worker by the Rev. T. E. Nicholas, and see to it that he is triumphantly returned to the House of Commons to champion their cause.
I-John Hodge's -Decision.
I John Hodge's Decision. STEEL SMELTERS ASSOCIATION CALL FOR HIS WITHDRAWAL FROM COALITION. The Executive Committee of the British Steel Smelters' Association met privately last Thurs- day to consider the position of their secretary, Mr. John Hodge, Minister of Pensions, who is standing for re-election at Gorton. Mr. Hodge had previously stated that the decision whether he remained in the Government rested with his trade union. Seen after the meeting, Mr. Hodge said, The decision is that on constitu- tional grounds I should not join the new Coali- tion Ministry."
AN EXPLANATION.
AN EXPLANATION. We are informed that the statement: made in our last issue that Sir Edgar Jones, Coalition candidate for Merthyr, had never joined the army'is not correct as a statement of fact. We are told that Sir Edgar attested under the Derby Scheme, and was medically rejected five times. We desire in the interests of fair-play to giva the same publicity to this fact as we gave to the statement that he had not joined the army.