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1{J. H. THOMAS IN SOUTH WALES.
1{ J. H. THOMAS IN SOUTH WALES. I Great Meetings at Swansea, Cardiff, Maesteg and Newport. I J The Full Story of the Railway Negotiations. I J No Surrender of The Right To Strike. I J FREE AND ABSOLUTE RICHT. I At the Swansea meeting, Mr. Thomas said as the result of the dispute they .started to discuss the relationship of the railways for the future, and in that connection lie laid down one clear and definite policy wlii-ch he had reiterated often, and which he desired the railwaymen to ik clearly and definitely understand, viz., whatever I > might be said about the evil of strikes, no Gov- ernment, no statesman, and no machinery yet devised would ever prevent the working classes of this country reserving to themselves the free and absolute right to withhold their labour at -any time- It was the only bargaining power they | r possessed, the only weapon that had enabled <3 them, after years of struggle, to enjoy the con- editions they enjoyed to-day. I As a matter of common fact, it was true to ? say it w a<s tmly?the power to strike that ever Qpm- I pelled the railway companies or the Government H to recognise the justice of the workmen's de- a.nd.s. That Wing their long and bitter experi- ence, if that were the one weapon above all 9 others they had been able to use successfully and effectively, it was too late in the day to talk to ? the working classes of this country about giving fr 5,1 P the power and right to strike. a BUT STRIKE THE LAST RESORT. I But holding those views strongly, he equally ) 1 Ù tJ 't' d '} lav down another propos i tion, and it was this— power carried with it responsibility, and nothing Was more dangerous, nothing more fata] to the ?est interests of the men, and nothing would in his judgment make the power of the strike so, ineffective a-s to simply assume that this grea.t power could he used indiscriminately and that it was the only power the workers possessed. He believed it ought to be always the, last resort, it must always be made the power in reserve. They had never discussed in any sort or shape of form j" the right to give up the power of the strike. What tltt>y had done was—they had made a i. genuine effort to establish in the railway system some machinery that enabled both local and every-day matters to be conducted, negotiated, and adjusted locally, and, they had set up a na- j tional board to deal with national questions. There were, -he, knew, a section of the men who were complaining about the delay over the ne- gotiations. and saying. It is time you called us r out .again," but, he .asked, while he had no fear that if the call were made to-morrow the re- sponse would be just as satisfactory as it was a few weeks ago, was it wise to make that the 'only weapon; was it wise to assume that that was -the only weapon to deal with it? 1 A SEASONABLE FICTION. During the last week or two he had observed paragraphs in the Press to the effect that the Executive Committee had been making some secret arrangements whereby a great national strike was to be declared on the eve of Christ- j inas. (Laughter.) All he could say was that it was the first he had heard of it. (Laughter.) All I he could say was that statement of that kind rendered his task far more difficult than it ought to be. He anted them to understand what it was exactly they were doing, because some of their own men did not seem to understand it. There were 800 grades in the railway service that they were dealing with, and there were 52 separate •railway companies, every one of winch had each of these 800 grades with different rates, and some of these grades had 19 different rates of pay. What, thev were doing was to first find a stan- dard rate that would be applicable to every grade from John 0' Groats to Land's End, that whatever a man's grade was lie would know per- fectly well that the men classed the same as him, whether in Scotland, England, or Wales, would be the same ra.te and be governed by precisely the isame conditions. In addition they had abol- ished 300 or 400 of the grades, but with some difficulties. 1 HIGH ROAD TO SETTLEMENT. I 9 These, however, said Mr. Thomas, had been -ilotililig compal-a,ble with the fixing of the etan- dard of wages, which they were fixing for all these grades on a basis which would be the s,tan- dii-d for all time; and with regard to this, on Saturday morning before he left London he re- ceived. an offer from the Government, which wQnJd have to be submitted to the men through the annual meeting for acceptance in the course of a few days. He did not want either to prejudice the situa- lion or to strike too optimistic a tone, but he did i 1 say that, having regard to all the difficulties he i had explained, having regard to the factors that had to be considered, he believed the offer that was now before them would place them on the j bight road to a settlement* 1 HAILWAY CONCESTION. I Mr. Thomas next referred to th ,p congestion on 1 the railvays, and the delay and inconvenience caused to traders, as raised by a representative deputation to the Government from South Wales. They, as railwaymen, knew that there was very serious congestion in that, area, and they all knew, and did not want him to remind them, that as railwaymen they were as much de- pendent on the trade and prosperity of any part of the community and any industry as any other section of the community. That must never be m lost sight of. The evidence submitted by this deputation was of a very alarming character, alarming because of its effect on the trade and prosperity of South Wales. During the statement of, their case the deputation stated that in their judgment much of this was due to the operation of the eight hours' day arrangement, and gave illustrations of the working of certain trades whereby some railwaymen were alleged to be positively re- fusing to work longer than eight hours. The Pri'me Minister in reply to the deputation intimated that a speech delivered by Mr. Cramp at Tondu some few weeks ago lent colour to the belief that the refusal to work longer than eight hours was based upon some policy of 'the Union to which they were giving countenance and sup- port. -• IA REPUDIATION, I In the first place he had to state that Mr. Cramp never said anything of the kind. Mr. Cramp kneww all too well—as did the speaker— that everyone regognised that to talk about eight hours as absolutely the last limit in rail- way work was to show themselves incapable of understanding how a railway ought to be run. He saw Mr. Aldington the previous day, and he assured him there was a shortage in the locomo- tive department at this moment of 30 per cent. They .might reasonably say Here is an oppor- tunity for the unemployed," but he reminded them that they were under a moral obligation that every man who was in the Army now has got to come back and take up his place absolute- ly without prejudice of any kind; and with a large number unnecessarily still in the Army they had to recognise that they were living in an absolutely abnormal period. CAUSE OF CONGESTION. It was no seoret that the shortage of engines and waggons was a very serious factor, and trade and commerce were hampered by delay and con- gestion, and he repudiated absolutely and com- pletely the charge that the railwaymen were not doing their duty; but he did want the railway- men to clearly understand that in this abnormal period, while they did want a curtailment of hours because they were against long hours, their leaders did want them to do everything they could in the abnormal circumstances to make the working as smooth and efficient as was pos- sible under very difficult circumstances. It was no good talking about higher wages and shorter hours and increased social status unless they re- cognised that all these tilings were wrapped up, dependent and inter-dependent on the general prosperity of the country as a whole. (Cheers.)
I Cardiff's -Labour Hall.…
I Cardiff's Labour Hall. I WHAT LABOUR INCLUDES & EXCLUDES. Mr. Thomas also spoke at Cardiff, wfhere he opened the new Stacey-road Labour Hall and In- stitute, a building which was bought for £ 2,500,! and has now been redecorated and fitted up for use in the Party work of social, educational, and political organisation. v Reviewing the Labour situation, Mr. Thomas said their's was a Party made to govern. It might be that at the firsit election they would not secure an absolute majority in the House, hut he had no shadow of doubt that Labour would se- cure a majority over any other section in the House. Their opponents recognised the ultimate destiny of Labour to govern, and of this there could be 'no clearer evidence than the, Prime Min- ister's speech at Manchester when he warned his fellow Liberals that the only alternative to the Coalition Government was the Labour Party with its programme of nationalisation and its large number of Anarchists and Bolshevists. (Laughter.) The Prime Minister was rallying around the Coalition everyone who stood for things to which Labour was opposed, and Labour accepted the challenge. NcT greater mistake was ever made than to suppose that Labour was going to govern only in the interests of the working class of brawn and muscle. The only people whom they ex- cluded from their definition of Labour were those who contributed nothing either by hand or brain to the well-being of the community. The diffi- culty of those only earning a fixed income at the present day was real and genuine, and Labour quarrelled with no policy intended to deaJ with that situation. But the middle classes must un- derstand that Labour had to pass through a hard and bitter struggle to obtain every privilege it enjoyed to-day, 'and the middle classes should help. MOVEMENT OF COMFORT AND HOPE. I The mission of the Labour Party was to show the way to social emancipation. It would make mistakes, for the perfect man was the perfect fool, and the man who never made a mistake never made anything. But the world to-day de- monstrated the mistakes of tht present govern- ing class, and it would be impossible to make a bigger muddle of things than they 'had done. There were difficult and anxious days ahead for those entrusted with responsibility and leadership. The world was in a turmoil, full of misery and sorrow. Great Britain, financially and industrially, was in a very serious condition. It was this World in turmoil which the Labour Party sought to reconstruct. The task was hard and the responsibility heavy, but they would face it more confidently with the knowledge that the old jealousies amongst themselves which had di- vided them in the past had for ever disappeared. Tht Labour movement was a great religious movement, and stood for something higher than mere material tllings. It was the only movement that gave real comfort and hope to the down- trodden masses of the world. BARRISTER'S TESTIMONY. Mr. Lovat Eraser said lie was present as a Labour man, and as no doubt Mr. Lloyd George would describe them at the next General Elec- tion as Bolshevists. (Laughter.) Abuse saved time and argument, but lie hoped the Labour Party would never descend to methods adopted by others. His friends sometimes remarked to him, "Fancy you on the side of revolution! and he had informed them that the one thing which stood between order and revolution in this country was the Labour Party. Revolution was the result of discontent, unhappiness and misery, and it was the object of the Labour Party to re- move those evils. In his judgment, the Labour Party was the most respectable party in the country—the party which was really anxious to bring about1 the new England we were promised so frequently during the war, and of which they had .seen so little up to the present.
I Mr. Thomas on Citizenship.I
Mr. Thomas on Citizenship. WOMEN'S PART IN THE PRESENT REVOLUTION. Mr. Thomas also found time to address a co- operative meeting at Maesteg on Saturday even- ing, when lie advised thow in the Labour and Co-operative movement not to miss an opportun- ity of pointing out to the masses that there was a moral and industrial responsibility on all of them in regard to their creed and religion. The young men of to-day were reaping the reward of the Labour of others, and they had got to pass something on to future generations. They often excused their own indifference by blaming other people for their sins. But if the masses had a bad Government it was only th ereflex of their own intelligence. (Laughter.) The duty of every citizen was to think for himself. Unfortunately, many people did with their thinking w hat they did with their washing —sent it out. (Laughter.) The Labour move- ment was fighting for equality of opportunity. The emancipation of women had come, and it was they who would show the men that there ouglA to be a better and saner way of setttling international differences t;han by slaughter. THE WOMEN'S POWER. He believed the women of England would stand for a cleaner England, and would not al- low the vote to be influenced by beer. (Ap- pLaUM'.) He wanted everybody to realise that this country was in the throes of a remliition? People often associated a revolution with more physical force upheavals, but there were other kinds of revolution, and .this was the one in thought and action and character. There would be no going back to the old order of things. He believed in constitutional rule and not in bloody revolution.
I"Houses For Heroes."
I "Houses For Heroes." I ARE THE CONTRACTORS PROFITEERINC? Sir Tudo Walters, the new Paymaster-General, and an official connected with the Government's Housing Scheme, has expressed the opinion that contractors arc profiteering, and that they could, if they would, build houses more cheaply by t300 than they are actually doing (says last Saturday's Westminster.") This is a most serious statement, for a reduction of that amount in the estimated cost of a house would bring us within sight of the solution of the financial diffi-1 culty of the housing problem, which is the hiatus between the cost-of huildmg nd the capitalised value of the rent obtainable. We hope thait Sir Tudor Walters will not be content with the mere statement of his opinion. But if it be true we are unable to see quite how he justifies the sub- sidy of LI.50 to builders, and if it is not true we do not understand how that comparatively small sum is adequate to bridge the gap referred to above.
Houses by Direct Labourj
Houses by Direct Labour j RHONDDA COUNCIL DECIDE ON EXPERIMENTAL CROUP, Further to our reference to the Labour Party's activity in the Rhondda Housing schemes it is interesting to note that theUroan District Coun- cil for the afea ha's agreed to the suggestion of Councillor A.J. Cook to experiment in the building of six or eight cottages by direct 1 ar- bour. At the meeting it was stated that some- thing like £1,000 had been spent on draw ing up plans for housing schemes which the Ministry of Health altered from time to time. Mr. Tom Owen made the suggestion to the meeting that t-lie R30,000 which the, body has invested in War Loan should be negotiated and tpoio(I to housing.
NO CHANCE IN -EAST GLAMORGAN.…
NO CHANCE IN EAST GLAMORGAN. I There is no change in the secretariat of the EA as-t Glamorgan District, S.W.M.F. The result of the ballot, announced on Saturday, showed Councillor Henry Richard re-elected by a ma- jority of 1,983 votes, the figures being:— Henry (checkweigh?r) 4,384 I Thos. Wa?kma (min?r) 2,401 }
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j_The Theatre Royal
The Theatre Royal As dainty as roee-leaves, as sparkling and pure as spring water, and as beautiful as Nature in her kindliest moods are the plays at the Theatre Royal this week. Not only are the plays the gems of English literature that the student loves for their perfeat structure, diction and .style; but the playing is perfect, too. The works live, the times they represent are recalled—not in their sordid drabness, but as the creative genius of | Shakespeare, Sheridan and Goldsmith recon- structed them—which, of course, is higher than life itself ever actually raised itself to, without being at all unnatural. It is somewhat like view- ing a Turner canvas, you have seen the spot re- presented in just such settings as he glows forth with his brush, but the Turner is greater than the original, whilst recalling it and etherialising it with powerful intensity. That is how the com- pany of Compton players have reproduced the masterpieces of the British stage. From bottom to top the company is a company not of master- mummers, but of creative artists, who mould the glorious written word of the geniuses of English literature, into still more glorious spoken word and gesture. It is the stage at its best-a. best that could never have been seriously challenged by strong men and curcus dare-devils; by trick- cyclists wd red-nosed comedians, had the Comp- ton tradition found more apprentices and dis- ciples on the stage itself. Then I am afraid I am a little bitter towards the ordinary mummer whose elocution is anyhow, and gesture too em- phatic, for one must not be far short of genius itself to translate genius as it should be trans- lated and as Compton's strolling players have translated it these last 40 years. Forty years is man's period of maturity, and from this (week's shows at the Royal I am inclined to think that the company's work could never have been so mellow, so perfect as it is to-day. My hat is off not only to Miss X ell Compton and Mr. Worrall Thompson, but to the whole company old and young, without whom those two great artists' work would be as out of focus »s a futurist- pic- ture, or a cubist's madness. From Boxing night next week the other of the Thespian masks will be worn on the stage of the Royal. Mr. Walter Howards most popular work Seven Days' Leave," that attracted a million admirers to the Lyceum in one short year, makes a return after just one year's absence. I am I one of those Who believe that no playwright ever I had a public unless his work was worth it, and that in melodrama in particular the voice of the I people is the court of justice from which there can be no appeal. That clturt has been unani- mous in its appreciation of the work of Walter Howard, and the 'success of "Seven Days Leave" both in -V h c., iiietr.P ii' both in the metropolis and on the road stamps it as the best piece of work that has come from his versatile pen, and frankly romantic imagina- tion. I remember last time how heartily the breezy Commander and the still more breezy middy were taken to the hearts of the Mer- thyr people, and how the applause that went to the Iiei-oine as she plunged into the waters on Britain's mission reminded some of us of the Rink afternoons, and I know that next week the company is going to be welcomed 4bill more joy- ously. There will be a performance on Christmas night, and a matinee on Boxing Day. PLAYGOER.
Who Had The Purse.
Who Had The Purse. MERHTYR VALE WOMEN IN COURT. At Merthyr Court on Tuesday Diana Breeze, married woman, was summoned for stealing a purse containing t2 7s. the money of Margaret Vaughan, wife of David Vaughan, Mount Pleas- ant, Merthyr Vale. I Mrs. Vaughan said she travelled with Mrs. Breeze and several men up to Merthyr on Satur- day, December 6th. Both of them had their babies and they sat opposite each other. She produced her purse at Pentrebach to hand over the tickets, and ithen slipped it into the outside pocket of her coat. The baby was fractious a,t the time and she was shaking it up and down. She discovered her loss when she got into Mer- thyr, and going back to the station, had the railway compartment searched for -her purse. One, of the men who sat next to her in the com- partment (Fred Martin) told her at Dowlais afterwards that he saw the other woman lift up the purse from the floor of the compartment. When she questioned Mrs. Breeze about the find, she denied all knowledge of it, and s-aid she would summon Mr. Martin. Martin, who i,sa.Sl)aniard, (_-ould not identify Mrs. Breeze, but maintained that he saw the woman pick it up after Mrs. Vaughan. (had left the train. In reply to Mr. J. W. Lewis, who de- fended Mrs. Breeze, M ii tin said I I it was not his business to report the purse had been picked up. The magistrates decided that there was not sufficient evidence to convict and dismissed the summons.