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'LABOUR I NOTES. I I PAGE 3. ( ==-
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- - - - - Political Notes
Political Notes By F. W. Jowett. I 11. L. M. C. i Que of the Harmsworth group of papers made B Ig headline the other day of four letters— One is reminded by this of a previous ueeaion when tlie slogan -of the day was ex- passed in three letters—B.M.G. Then it was .^tended that Balfour Must (.0. and in due time r came to pass. He wpnt. Tllp present in ten- i IOn is that Bonar Law Must Go. but his passing s Ilf)t quite a foregone conclusion, for he has ?any friends in the Kin??" ?here Big Busi- j^ss n-igns and from which it issues its ('dids ?d commands to the Government. Moreover, l!Onl the point of view of Big Business there ]s I tIttle or no m? ;e agi I iit Mr. Bonar Law. for in I ? absence of his chief, Mr. JJoyd (<eoj?e, he -? PIT('d Big Business well. 1 r BOURGEOISIE ALARMED. J q On the other hand there are the professional I middle classes to reckon with as well as Big llsimss, and tlicy arc becoming alarmed at the %IlIell them. They are Jlreatened with financial disaster, and Lord „ ^°tnecmere, one of the Haruisworths, is giving ^.Pressioii from time to time to their state of i Ind in the Sunday Pictorial." In the last ^Sf.e of that paper Lord Rothermere calls for all entire change in the policy ef the Govern- ent. and he names two ministers whom it will /necessary to sack ill t-lit- MUiretl change. The two ministers, specially re- fel."t,d to are Mr. Bonar Law >nd Mr. Winston uurchill. On Mr. Bonar Law Lord Rothermere j ays the blame for the reckless waste of money :¡,nd material that lias occurred since tite armis- «<•<>. Mr. Winston Churchill's fault is that he raKged the nation into an imperialist. foreign Policy, which de mands for its fulfilment big f^aments which the nation cannot afford. Hie Coalition," says Lord Rothermere. is in e grip of the fighting .services" and he ae- Mr Chun-hill of having placed the Coali- On there. JiOW TO CET RID OF A COLLEAGUE. I I Ti ti),,It Mr. T, ,to'l ("1111 'i I IS embarked on an imperialist foreign policy. L 1 armaments to match, and that Mr. Bonar Law has allowed the resources of the nation to lasted at a time when it was more urgently uaij n(,Cessll.v to control and direct thcu' tl:'(. 1 'T) I t'-> tiie service of the community. But why the Prime Minister escape responsibility ? ill, Bonar Law ha- l>een in constant consulta- ?"?'t!thim.?nd-Mr.WinstonChurc!iii!Itas '?dc frequent visits to Paris whilst Mr. Hoyd forge was there, and presumably he secured ''?<'ppr<nat of III, (.Ili( f iol- Ill. ld- ?"tux-.s. In any case, the Prime Minister is ''?''Pon.sihi? f?r the action (? the Government, of ?'ehhcisthehcnd. And v(?t the Prime "?'"?tcr' s secretary and trusted !!putpnant is a ?''('f?<,r<? the paper in which the attack on his ^() "colleagues has been launched. Is it possible j^Ht Mr. Lloyd (.??ir?o wants to revoke, and ?nds it necessary to sacrifice two 0 £ his co!- '?''Hu?-.tii?trdprtodoso:' He lias adopted ■Slmilai- methods lief ore, and is quite capable of tliein. U,TTLE ENCLANDERS. < I "hat j, diwth interesting in i,oi,(t Kother- f«(Me's articles is not, ■however, his attack on 0 ministers, but the policy he is advocating. IA-(, he says, out the Caucasus. out of Syria, out of other ports ;),f Asia Minor and out of Turkey in Europe." Our [Mjlicy," lie goes on to say, should be to add not a single rod of land to our present °ver-sea territories, if the cost has to come out of tlw pockets of the British taxpayer." These ?'e startiinn conclusions for one such as Lord "othermere to state, and they are summed up in a remarkable passage, which the writer "(-i hy printing it in italics: "The con- of our finances compels us to abandon the ol¡ position which made Great Britain the Policeman of the world." The fact is that Lord ;iiid those who are associated with h'iiii are now in favour of the policy of those )v''oni they previously des-crib: d as Little Eng- enders," AN EXPENSIVE CONVERSION. What a confession to make after the experi- ence of the last five years! Nearly a million British lives have been sacrificed to maintain the policy Lord Rothermere has now abandoned. A million cripples is another result of the hlun- It is not the deaths, or the maimed bodies the living, that has brought Lord Rotheimeie reason, it is the lack of money. It is fear of financial ruin. When the war began the Xa- tional Debt represented the equivalent of £1.6 a hea'd for every man, woman and child in Great Britain. To-day the figure is E195 a head, and 't continues to rise." Further expenditure on "n imperialist foreign policy must be stopped. Lord Rothermere is fed up with the results up- to-date of foreign entanglements and the wars they lead to. BLATCHFORD STILL COINC STRONC. Rothermere of the Ilress see, the ted liirht, but there remains the Hulton press. J n tlu- Hulton press Blatchford is still advo- cating the old policy, the result of which has Converted Lord Rothermere into a Little Eng- ender. Mr. lii:lt(-Ilfo"Icl i,, N? preparing his readers for tlie next war. He ckarh' Ili,, foi- tl i(l ii(?-,t He cleat-ly which he contin?e? to support may )cad this eountrv into another coxinx-ntat war. 1 will quote his statement in his own words. t 1 "In t1w first place," says Mr. Blatchford, I think We may f?ike it as cd tain that besides th? de- fence of our coasts, our ov?rsfas po?sf?ions and our trade routes, we may in sonic future war he obliged, as in the last war, to light against Continental armies on the Continent." It is not enough for Mr. Blatchford that Great Bri- tain should have an army and a navy large enough to defend our coasts, our overseas pos- sessions and our trade routes," he wants to arm for more wars on the Continent of Europe, bred, as the last one was, of secret intrigues and undisclosed obligations, carried on and ac- cepted by diplomats who are largely under the influence of financial and business interests. To prepare for this contingency of another conti- nental war, Mr. Blatchford wants a conscript army and a big navy. !lit: « CONTINENTAL ENTANGLEMENTS. I The answer to him is the same as it was in I the years before the war when the diplomats were weaving the net of secret engagements that led to millions of British men being dragged against their will to fight, not in defence of our coasts, our overseas possessions, and our trade routes," but to fight against continental armies on the continent." An ] the answer is that the diplomats should not be allowed to enter into engagements secret or otherwise which commit the country to Continental wars. We tnusttakt the dcei-stoj) now that we might have taken in tilllP to prevent the last war. It is not easier to do it now than it was thell. because the relations with other nations are more com- plicated than they were before the war, and Lord Rothermere has 110 better reason for his present: jxthoy of non-intervention than he had before the lives of 900,000 British men were sacrificed. The decision to keep 04.1t of Conti- nental warfare must he taken, however, for ? ven Robert Blatchford, wi<.) aU the assistance the Hulton press can in> fu;n. wi!) be unable to persuade the people of this country to carry tlie burden of armaments uoee-ssary to prepare for another continental war. Besides, the coun- try will not have Conscription, however much Robert Blatchford may plead ?or it. Rol)t,i-t B l ktc l if(,r(I iiiav ple-.i(t CHURCHILL AND RUSSIA, I Mr. CiHircJnlJ is giving the country a remark- 'v'" ihe nccesMV\ f .-imofiils of controlli ng the conduct of Ministers, other than at present exists. Under pressure, in and out of Parliament, he declared that the Rus- all campaign would be brought to a close. What he did, in fact, was to speed up the cam- paign. Troops are said to he arriving in Russia in the proportion of two for every one that is brought away. Thirty British warships, so it is reported, bombarded Odessa for tlii-ce (iivs. A bogus government has been established in North-West Russia, the military representative Is Judenitch, who was the principal lieutenant of the Grand Duke Xieholas during the war. General Judenitch is in com- mand of forces operating against Petrograd. Every Russian adventurer willing to take the field against the Soviet Government of Russia, n1a' hesureof being .supplied with money, munitions and tanks, at the expense of the Bri- tish public. No other nation is willing and able to afford expenditure for such objects. And in Russia there are immense stores of raw ma- terials which before the war Russia e\]x>rted to foreign countries. According to a statement made by Lenin, there are more than 200,000 tons 01" flax, and over 100,000 tons of hemp, in addition to gi-eat quantities of hides, furs and wood, waiting to be exported. And in order to starve the people of Russia until they consent to have the sort. of government the Allies think good for tlwm, we deny ourselves these avail- abh' commodities, of which we are in dire need. ()f NN-Iii(,Ii in THE BANKERS' SHARE. I Of course, when further loans have to he laised to meet the obligations of the Govern- ment, there will be more opportunities for plun- der by banks and financiers. A correspondent in the Yorkshire Observer" of August 20th threw soziie light on the process by which loans are raised. He was explaining that he had no objection to a tax on capital because on the whole lie thought it fairer than a heavy income tax, and more likely to influence prices in a downward direction. He related his own ex- perience as a small investor in War Loan, and as the process described by him has been .exten- sive!y carried on, 1 "mf{Uote hi .s words, which are as foHo?'s :— "f purchased a few hundreds of a certain War Loan without money—my bankers thought my credit was good enough—and I find that the dividend more than pays the bank charges. Therefore. I shall (if this ar- rangement continues) gradually get these hun- dreds for nothing. I don't mind the crossing- off process, and I don't see that the bank would lose much, for they only backed my credit with a similar transaction."
"Bob" Repeats his Challenge
"Bob" Repeats his Challenge IN REPLY TO SOUTH WALES OWNERS' STATEMENT. Robert Smillie and Frank Hodges are back again from their delegation to the International Conference of Miners in Amsterdam. Upon Mr. Smiiiie's attention being called to a statement made recently by the South Wales and Monmouthshire Coal Owners' Association to the effect that deliberate restriction of out- put was being practised in some districts by the uiiners, the President of the M.F.O.B. replied: I will only repeat my challenge. If the eoal- owners think the miners are deliberately de- creasing their output, they should 4isk for a Gov- ernment investigation on the matter. The miners will ootil-t such an inquiry."
Our London Letter I
Our London Letter I By Our Special London Correspondent- I A FENNER BROCKWAY. Mr. Robert Smillie and Mr. Frank Hodges (how blessed the miners are in such a president and secretary!) have just arrived in London from Amsterdam, where they have been helping to reconstruct the Miners' Internationa l. I re- member that at the outbreak of the war in 1914, Bob Smillie (as we all affectionately call him) declared that had the Miners' Interna- tional been able to meet in time they* would have made the war impossible by an inter- national strike. If ever a next time comes, let's hope they will be more fully prepared. < The meeting of the Executive of the Miners' Federation tcr consider what reply the miners should make to the Government's decision against Nationalisation was postponed until the return of Mr. Smillie and Mr, Hodges. It is, of course, an open secret that the Executive is divided upon the policy of "direct action" to enforce Nationalisation, and I was not sur- prised. when the resolution of the Executive was handed to. the Press, to see that the final decision has been deferred. The Trades Union Congress, which meets in Gla.sgow next week is to be asked by the miners "to take the full- est and most effective action to secure the adoption of the Majority Report of the Sankev Commission. I am inclined to think that we shall have to wait for the General Election for a chance to fight out this matter. The Government is suffering badly just now from an attack of nerves. A few days ago it took panic over the agitation against the high cost of livillg--and introduced the Profiteering Bin Now it has taken panic over the agitation I against its wasteful expenditure—and it is making a great show of cutting down all round. As a result there is wild consternation within the army of bureaucrats at Whitehall, who seem to imagine that they are never to be de- mobbed, whatever happens to other war ser- It is good to see that the amazing ship- building programme of the Admiralty is to be reduced—but why should not the Government replace it by a programme of mercantile ship- bllilding That would be a form of expenditure well worth while. « I have been able to view boti* the Widne.s and Pontefract bye-elections on the .spot, and I think that our prospects in both divisions are good. At Widnes, so long as Labour played the Tory game of keeping alive the Pacifist-Bol- shevist" controversy by devoting the main at- tention of its platform and leaflet propaganda to it, we did not make much headway. But from Tuesday onwards, when Mr. Henderson de- clined to discuss the matter further, the cam- paign was com-entrated upon the failure of the Government and the constructive proposals of Labour, and immediately a change took place. The time was short, but I think it quite likely that Mr. Henderson has been returned-. At Pontefract our people are putting up a .splendid light—clean and uncompromising. Isaac Burns, the Labour candidate, is a good I.L.P.'or, and I shall be very disappointed if he is not returned. ,halt be N-(,i-v (1I ,?,tl)l)oI iiti,( l I f lie is not i-ettit-i le d The problem of the International is becoming acute, and must be faced by the I. L.P I bad a chat with Mr. Henderson about it recently; his view was that the recent Lucerne conference was, on the whole, a most successful gathering and that, if the German Majority Socialists will confess their guilt, all will be well. There are many of us, of course, who do not think that the German Majority were tJie only "guilty" section during the war but qirite apart from this issue, the fact has to be faced that the Second International entirely fails to represent the new revolutionary spirit in the Socialist movement—I use the term "revolutionary," of course, in the sense of demanding great, imme- diate changes in the social order, not in the sense of an armed rebellion. On the other hand, the Third International at Moscow is quite frankly in favour, under certain circumstances, of a revolution by armed force, and affiliation to such an organisation would be a serious reversal of the historic attitude of the I.L.P. At the same time the fact must be recorded that the Swiss and Italian parties have decided to affiliate with the Third International, that the French Party is considering taking the same step, and that the German Independent Social- ists are very likely to follow the same course. III The scheme to build a Temple of Labour in London as a memorial to those who fell in the war is developing slowly but steadily. The ori- ginal idea was that the Memorial building should serve as the headquarters of both the political and industrial sides of the Labour Move- ment. It is now suggested that the Co-opera- tive Movement should join in the scheme, and on Saturday the Central Board of the Co-opera- tive Union referred the proposal to the United Board for consideration. At present the various sections of the Labour movement have their London offices scattered all over the city. The advantages of a united headquarters, from the point of view of organising efficiency are obvious, and I believe that a common home for the various sections would also lead to a growth of unity of purpose, spirit, and action. The British Labour movement is extraordinarily conserva- tive in this respect. On the continent, Socialist Parties have impressive headquarters in every town of any size, often in conjunction with the Co-operative Movement. [t is to lie hoped that the national proposal to erect a Temple of Labour in London as a War Memorial will be copied throughout the country. f My journalist colleague, who is responsible for the column hooded" Under the CJopk" in the Daily Xews" quoted on Monday a passage from a letter by Mr. Bernard Shaw, which is too good to be missed by anyone. Judge Neil has apparently been asking G.B.S. why pensions are paid to war widows or orphans and not to in- dustrial widows and orphans. This was the re- ply the Judge i-eceii-ed:- 1 do not know why Governments pay pen- sions to war widows. Nor do I know why they force every man to fight, no matter how rich he is, hut do not force him to work on the same terms. Why a man with a conscientious objection to killing his fellowmen should be persecuted with murderous ferocity, -and a man with an unconscientious objection to helping them to live and pulling his own weight in the commonwealth boat, at the same time should be exalted and pampered and flattered is another conundrum which I give up. The longer I live the more I am in- clined to the belief that this earth is used by other planets as a lunatic asylum." 1 he letter of Mr. Brownlie to tlie Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress urging that Labour must face up to the problem of un- der-production has aroused a good deal of dis- cussion in London. Mr. W. Brace, M.P., has suggested that a general piece rates system should be introduced, but that is a proposal which will not, I imagine, receive much support from the rank and file. The view of the more advanced section of the movement here is that Labour should boldly declare that it is peifectly p re pa red to pixxluce more if the wealth so created passes to. the community, but it is not prepared to produce more profits for the pro- fiteers. It should therefore demand as the only way out of the difficulty the immediate transfer to public ownership of the great monopolies and national services—such as mines, shipbuilding and railways—together with direct workers" control, and, until industry can generally he socialised, the drastic limitation of all profits. By this means the rightful .suspicions of Labour would be removed and a real spirit of service might be encouraged. We have all to realise the fact that at the present time the fault lies with the failure of the Government to organise production for the community. I confess that I become angry when I read of politicians and industrial magnates who have done very little real work, either of brain or hand, piously lec- turing the working-class on their lazyness. 81: I was chatting with Miss Margaret Bondfield the other day, immediately after her return from America, on the Labour movement there. She says that the American Federation of La- bour, conservative as it is, is moving inevitably towards the new view of industrial organisation. So far, the old Unions in America have been almost en tardy craft umone., hut she says that the development of capitalist organisation into huge combines is compelling Labour to remodel the basis of its organisation along industrial lines, though the change, so far as the old unions are concerned, is taking place slowly. She states that the I.W.W. is doing excellent propaganda work, but it has little capacity seemingly, for permanent organisation. She tells nve that two unions whieh have been formed on the industrial ha.sis-the Amalgamated Tex- tile Workers of America, and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America—are taking real root, despite the fact that they have been out- lawed by the A.F. of L. She says that Sidney Hillman is largely responsible for their success. I asked Miss Bondfield if she could account for the conservatism of the A.F. of L. Among other reasons, she gave one which was new to me. and of great interest..She pointed out that the A.F. of L. has a membership throughout Northern America—not in U.S.A. only, but in Mexico and Canada. The distances are so great that tl1í' control of the Federation inevitably tends to fall into the hands of a few officials at headquarters, and they lose contact with the really live spirit in the movement. Those who have taken official part in British movements know how liable are the people at headquarters here in London to lose contact with the real life of the rank and file. The danger of that must be immensely greater in America for our little Island is not much bigger than an Ameri- can park. One other thing Miss Bondfield mentioned is worth telling. So usual is it for American capi- talists to employ "armed thugs" to break strikes, and for the authorities to concur in thi^ action, that when the A.F. of L. found a Mayor of a city who prohibited such a thing they in- vited him to address their Convention Miss Bondfield showed me a report of his speech, which contains some extraordinary statements. The fortunate city is Jersey the name of its First Citizen, Mr. Frank Hague. Mr. Hague declared that he had taken the position that, if it was a violation of law for a labouring man to protect his life, it was also a crime to import thugs, guerillas, and ex-convicts to shoot down the labouring man." During a recent dispute he had announced not only that any "armed thug who came into the city would be ar- rested, but that he would cause those who im- ported them to be arrested also! He spoke of the strikers at the works of the Standard Oil Company at Bayonne being shot down like dogs," but when the employees of the same company at Jersey struck in sympathy, lie .1 marched down with 250 police, took possession of the property, placed every strike-breaker under arrest, put them aboard a boat, and shipped them back to New York City! The strike was 'settled in two days. As our Ameri- can comrades would say—Some Mayor that! [ wrote last week of the alarming manner in which China is becoming militarised owing to Japanese aggression. Mrs. Annie Besant, with wh om I had a long conversation last Friday, gives me evidence that the militarism of Japan, fostered by the Allies, is having the same effect upon India. -The people of India, she says, are ready for self-government; they have the neces- sary capacity and instinct. But even the Na- tionalist leaders themselve.s do not want Great Britain to withdraw immediately. And why? Because they know that Japan would step into Great Britain's place. They therefore want self- government by stages, in order that they may in the meantime organise an army adequate to defend India against Japan. "The last war." "A war to end Militarism!" How hollow (Continued at foot of next column).
IVictimisation of T. C. Morris.
I Victimisation of T. C. Morris. DRASTIC ACTION PROPOSED AT CARDIFF. NATIONAL ACTION PENDING. The victimisation by the Taff Vale Railway Company of our colleague Mr. T. C. Morris, exe- cutive member of the N.U.R. for South Wales and Monmouthshire, a.nd prospective Labour eandidate for Reading (where he fought .so well last December), was within an ace of bringing the system to a standstill on Monday, for only by a small majority was the recommendation of the Cardiff Joint Committee, advocating imme- diate action defeated at a meeting of South Wales District Council Executive of the N.[ .R. men at Cardiff on Sunday. The issue is that Mr. Morris on a refusal to be allowed leave of absence to carry out his public duties, took French leave and was consequently suspended. In a statement to the executive, Mr. G. A. Warmau, district secretary of the Council, stated thai^lin interview took place bet-ween re- presentatives of the men and the Taff Vale Rail- way superintendent on August 12th, but no re- ply was received from the general manager of the company until August 23rd. The reply of the general manager was a clear evasion of the direct issue, namely, the right of the employee to obtain leave of absence for purposes of ful- filling public duties. The general manager had openly attacked the vital principle of the rights of citizenship. Mr. Morris had accepted the challenge thrown down by the general manager, which was but a culmination of the policy that the railway companies ,had long been desirous of challenging. The-speaker submitted a copy Of a' resolution of District Councils passed at Bir- mingha.m on August 24th calling upon the Executive Committee of the National Union of Railwaymen to demand the immediate reinsta.te- ment of Mr. Morris, and pledging the support of the conference 111 any action necessary to that end. The Cardiff Joint Committee, in the discus- sion that endued, took up a strong attitude in- favour of direct action to secure the reinstate- ment of Mr. Morris. Their plan was a deputa- tion of five to the Geueral Manager, and, fail- ing a satisfactory settlement that 48 hours should be served on the company to cease em- ployment. The opposition, wh-ic-h by a narrow majority I [defeated Cardiff, took its stand on the conten- tion that whilst national action was pending it would be inexpedient to indulge in an ill-timed I local strike that w ould complicate the national situation. The National Executive would meet next week, and a full report would he given by Mr. A. J. Williams, and unless there was an immediate move a strike would undoubtedly take place. In the afternoon ;1 mass meeting of local ra-il- I waymen was held at the Cory Hall, Cardiff, Mr. I W, East, Barry, presiding, for the purpose. of considering the ease and taking action. The following official report was supplied at the con- clusion The following resolution was passed after some discussion That this mass meeting, having considered the case of Mr. T. C. Morris, who was dismissed by the Taff Vale Railway Co. tor absenting himself from duty to attend public duties, after having been refused leave of ab- sence, decides that his dismissal is a direct chal- lenge to organised railwaymen and their rights to fulfil their civic duties, and calls upon the Executive Committee to demand the immediate reinstatement of Mr. Morris and pledges the support of Cardiff railwaymen to the Executive Committee in any "action necessary to that end." —
IThe Pieceworkers 14 2
The Pieceworkers 14 2 DECISION OF WELSH COAL BOARD. 'S' 'd d' I I Since a misunderstanding has arisen in the SoutU Wales area respecting the application of the 14.2 per cent to colliery pieceworkers a meeting of the Welsh Coal Board was held at Canliff on Monday to deal with the point. Mr. A, S. Tallis presided over the owners' re- ?pi-e,seiit?i,tl'vt,s and the Right Hoi. W. Brace, M. P., over the workmen's representatives, and Mr. Finlay Gibson, the coal-owners' secretary, issued the following report The meeting was held to consider questions arising in regard to the payment of the addi- tional 14.2 per cent, on the earnings of piece- workers, and as a result the following decisions were arrived at :— All allowances to pieceworkers are to bo subject to the addition of the 14.2 per cent., but the allow ance should he adjusted in such a way that with the addition of the 14.2 per cent, there is no increase in wages to a piece- worker, and that he is only paid the same amount of allowance, including the 14.2 per cent., for seven hours as for eight hours. If the earnings of a piece worker plus the 14.,2 per cent., is more than the minimum wage he is entitled to the excess. The work men's representatives asked the owners to consider the question of the rate of payment for overtime, and also certain pay- ments for Sunday work. It was decided to refer both matters to a joint sub-committee.
Our London Letter I
those cries now sound! The greater part of Europe still at war. America adopting the con- tinental system of conscription. The Pacifist Orient becoming militarised. Those are legaoies of the Great War. m I fleai- from Manchester that Mr. Bruce Glasier has again rallied a little. I am afraid that we must not be very hopeful, hut with won- derful fortitude he is still busy with his pen. He has concluded a book on The Meaning of Socialism,and is now engaged on some Re- miniscences of William Morris, and in collecting together and perfecting some of his poems, I believe his "Meaning of Socialism" will prove to be a classic in our literature. t