Pioneer

I Dowlais Veteran Honoured I lPRESENTATION TO COUN. D. DAVIES, J.P., PANTT Every Democrat within the Merthyr Boroughs and for a considerable radius beyond their con- finer, will rejoice with the Comrades and friends of the Dowlais I.L.P. in the honour they were to do our vet-eran fighteir, Coun. Dai Da- vies of Pant, last week. when they made him the recipient of a beautifully executed illumin- ated address, as a small token of their apprecia- tion of his capable, unremitting, consistent work on behalf of the workers. It was like a family gathering, that meeting over which Comrade .Fishpool presided last Thursday; and everyone was happy in having had a hand in the work of recognising the veteran leader, and an added interest* was given to the meeting by the fact that Mrs Davies had not been forgotten Alderman Charles Griffiths, in presenting Comrade Davies with an illuminated address. spoke of their long connection in the Socialist movement, and of the many successful efforts madp by the recipient in organising and bring- into being the Labour movement in the 1>1-- ou --s. He spoke of the early days of t' e i.f. P. and some of the uphill fights they t 1, e. rebuffs and victories. Through bherri a tfn-v could always hear the optimistic voice of Com- rade Davies prophesying ultimate success. He took a leading part in forming the Dowlais Co-op. Society, and was its first president in 189o. He called the first conference, out of which was formed the Merthyr and District Trades Council in 1899, and was one of the founders of the Workers' Union in Dowlais. He took: a large share of the responsibility ef brirging Hardie here and getting him success- fully returned for this borough. To his organis- ing and enthusiasm must be laid the return of the whole of the Labour men who stood for the first Borough Council Election. The Ald- erman hoped that they would have his presence, his wise counsel and enthusiasm with them for many years.—Comrade W. Thomas, one of the younger members, spoke as to the influence Comrade Davies had upon the younger members, filling them with hope for the future Mrs Davies was then presented with a locket. -Chmrade Griffiths, in a l few appropriate words, referring to the many hours she must have spent without Comrade Davies' presence when he was doing work on behalf of the movement. Master Robert then sang "The Banner of Freedom."—Mr John Davies (railwayman) re- ferred to the part Comrade Davies had taken in the N.U.R. movement.—Comrade Hugh Jones spoke to his long connection with Comrade Da- vies and of the many fights they had gone through side by side.—Messrs. T. T. Jenkins, LI. M. Francis and John Davies, J.P., Miners' Agent, also spoke in eulogisAc terms of Com- rade Davies' past work. Verses were then read in appreciation of Mr Davies by the Chairman, and written by a Friend, which closed a very happv evening.

MERTHYR I ST. MARGARET'S SPIRITUALISTS' CHURCH, Garth Place, near General Hospital, Merthyr.— The anniversary of the above church, and 3 davs' mission, will be held as follows —Thurs- day July 6, at 3 p.m., and 7.30 p.m.; Friday, Ju'y 7, at 7.30 p.m.; Saturday, July 8, at 7 p.m., at Carnegie's Library, Dowlais; Sunday, Jul'v 9 at St. Margaret's Churoh: Morning at 11, afternoon at 2; evening at 6.30. Speaker and clairvoyant. Mr J. Connolly, Blaengwynfi. A great treat in store. All are welcome. Proceeds towards the Building Fund. i BEDLINOG I I PEACE.—Bedlinog was well represented at the great Peace Meeting at Merthyr on Sunday. A large crowd of young men and women walked over the mountain to hear the Master's mess- age, and were highly pleased. This affords, a clear indication of the trend of our yousig Democracy. RAID.—Last week a raid was made on our Comrade. Mr J. M. Williams the local secret- ary of the N.C.F., when a considerable number of leaflets, newspapers, etc., were taken. The people's acclamation referred to by some of the amateur scribes of the capitalist press, how- ever, we did not find. MINBRS.—A general meeting of the local S.W.M.F. Lodges was held at Gosen Hall on Friday, last. Mr J. M. Williams presiding. The meeting was addressed by Mr John Darvies, Ageat, who mainly dealt with the coming in- come tax on wages. Many questions were ask- ed and satisfactorily answered. Mr W. B. Ev- ans wa,s nominated as a tax collector for the Bedlinog miners.

Our Appeal for Navvy Pat. I s. d. It Plont-er 2 6 Bair,good "PioneeT" Committee 4 3 Tony ref ail "Bioneet" Comndfttee 1 0 A —— 7 9

Gorseinon Notes. have just returned from Merthyr, the happy home of the Pioneer," and what a wonderful blessing we derived! Indeed, my rea- do's, the blessings are unfathomable. One Gos- pel Minister tells me that Socialism is of the. Devil" another old veteran minister told us at a Divine service I attended .that the meeting which had been held that afternoon was one of the greatest events in the history of Merthyr; where a gentleman and a lady had preached the message of Blessed are the peace makers." f os, this was the message, not of the D-vil, or from the Devil, but from two Socialists —Mr Philip Snowden and Mrs Ethel Snowden. And, 'pon my word! what an enthusiastic re- ception they had. Here were about 6.000 men and women seated in a Rink, and immediately thj two Christian speakers entered, you could h"ar shouts of "God bless you, Snowden!" hats were thrown in: the air. Talk about Lloyd George at Swansea when the workers sang and shouted, God gave the land to the people." (I wonder do they believe this still?) I tell you the truth. Snowden's meeting was "double forte" to "diminuendo" upon an organ with a vox humano" stopi., Lloyd George's meeting, of course, being the "dimo." To finish up this meeting, those thousands sang with gusto. "Beth sydd i mi yn y bydP" Who sa. ,ys So?cia h siii 's of the Dev l ?y by(i Who says a Socialism is of the Devil"? Our Editor took me over the premises of the" Pioneer Offices. There was up-to-date machinery for the printing of posters 6ft. x 4ft. or a wedding card. Aye! to me this little building was the Trafalgar Square of Merthyr, and its monum- ent upon which is inscribed Wales expects every worker to do his duty." T would ask every reader to read Snowden's speech, not forgetting our Pontardulais Com- rade, D. J. Williams, on Paclfisii-i, Socialism, etc." Socialism is of the Devii. I mere are sucn a numoer 01 comrades anxi- ous to reply to Pastor Jones, of Seion, that really I don't know what to do. The pages of the Pioneer" are always open for honest criticism." I can easily write a page of this papei- to prove that Socialism is not of the Devil. Anyhow, Chums, look up the" Pio- neer for the next few weeks. Pastor Jones is the last man I should quarrel with. We just want to understand what this Socialism is, as I overheard one in an open-air religious meeting calling it had names. Cymanfa Gawq. -1 r or my part. 1 believe the Methodists of Gorseinon and District have done a wise thing. Their Cymanfa, is held generally at Pontardul- a:s which was very inconvenient for the par- ents of children who desired to go in the mor- ning. If only the Gowerton and Gorseinon can rally together, we should get a very happy tn-e at the next festival. The Man from Clyde. Welcome! Welcome j is the wish of every smelter and tinplater to Comrade Stanley Rees, who pays us a visit for a week. Do you crave to hear him speak ? Would you like to shake the hand of one of the noblest and truest or- ganisers in the Smelters' Uu.mn? Come to the meeting on July 9—at the Palace if it rains, otherwise on the Common.

I Ystradgynlais Notes. "The Pioneer." Has the PIONEER been suppressed Those were the w ords on many lips this week-end at Ystradgynlais, for no "Pioneer" had arrived. I must confess that I felt very despondent as a result. One likes so much to hear how our brave comrades—Morgan Jones. Isaac, Sol and Joseph Shepherd. Gwilym Smith, and the oth- ers- -are getting on. The "Pioneer" is the op- ly paper that tells us these things—hence our disappointment at its non-appearance. By the way it is now seven years nearly since I had the pleasure of meeting Gwilym Smith. It was at Exeter. and I had gone to the railway sta- tion to meet the "freshers." Gwilym had his friend Levinson with him, and life first words almost were, "You are from Ystradgynlais?" I agreed. Then," he said, "you must be a Socialist." I accepted responsibility, and our hards gripped. I grip his hand again in imag- ination and say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Lecture cn Evolution. The final lecture in the series on Involu- tion," given by our Comrade H. F. Northcote, at the I.L.P. Hall, will be on "From Dwelling to Co-operative Commonwealth." Shall we have a packed hall? The subject and the lecturer warrant it. Women Workers on thb Land. I I I 1, 1, 1 1 a ccompaJiiea bv a iriena, 1 attended a meet- inc at the Chui-eli Schoolroom on Friday last to hear the case for women workers put. Colonel Gough was in the chair; and Miss Vafaghan, Miss Price and Mr Williams spoke on behalf of the movement. The gallant Colonel referred to the state of certain gardens- he had seen in the localty which had not been set, although, so he stated, the colliers who owned them only worked 8 hours and would be jolly glad to get what came from other allotments." May I remind this hard-working gentleman that he also is glad to warm his feet at a. blazing coal fire, but I have yet to learn that he spends nre, leisure time down in the mine! He fol- lowed these remarks up with a reference to the anaemic looking girls of this locality," and contrasted their appearance with the "rosy cheeked, well-built, healthy girls of the coun- try fit mothers for the coming generation— a race of soldiers." A fine picture indeed to put before the young girls present by this childless patriot! So one of the aims of this movement, then, is to produce more cannon- fodder" No wonder the local committee has up to date been successful in getting three girls orih who are prepared to leave the district to work on the farms. At the conclusion of the speeches, when the Chairman asked for the op- inion of the local farmers on the question, Mr D. L. Price rose to oppose the movement. He believed that people who had farms should be compelled to farm them. And he argued that outside labour was not only linnecessary, but wasteful. In the course of his diatribe against inexperienced women on the land, he instanced one of his servants who, on coming home on Horseback rather late one evening, "fell and broke her thigh." This remark "brought down the house." In reply to a question re- goo-dizig wage's, Mr Tom Pritchard stated that! if womas were prea-red to offer him their ser- vices he would provide them with work which would be a change- to them, food of the very best. plenty of fresh air and enjoyment. What ho! yo. miners' wives who spend your days in idleness! Enrol! Enrol! Enrol! Do not, for heaven's sake, miss this tempting offerl N.C.A.C. Meeting. The Hon. Bertrand Russell will be with us next Monday evening at 6-30 p.m. Let us have anther "house" like the one which greeted Mr Trevelyan.

I Theatre Royal. No better start could have been made of the dramatic season at the Theatre Royal than was made this week by the production, by a com- pany, far above the average of touring drama- tic combinations, playing such interesting dra- mas as "Somewhere a Heart is Breaking," and "The Mgarmon and the Maid." Both plays are from the pen of Ivan Patrick Gore, and his latest work written since he has donned the khaki, and shouldered the knapsack of a plain Tommy in the new armies, more than m.'vntains the deservedly high reputation that The Mormon and the Maid" and other dra- mas of a topical and soul-stirring interest won for him. Pei'fKinally, I regard Somewhere a Heart is Breaking" as a, better, more mature pieoe of work than its predecessors: since while it maintains the strong vein of continu- ity and interest that marks his other works; an i continues the emotional appeal to the bet- ter traits of human action, the humor* is bet- ter and the whole structure of the play more harmonious. It is a neat piece of work. and one that should live long after the war which in- spired it has ended. I told the story of the pla-, last week, and I will not repeat it here. Suffice it to say that the caste which is play- ing under Miss Winifred Maude is the best that could have been entrusted with the hand- ling of the work. They have entered into the spirit of the play; developed its pathos brought out aM the rich colouring of its execu- tion and preserved the delicate balance upon wh:ch the best that is melo-drama poises. Miss Winifred Maude herself, as the ideal melodra- matic heroine, and her part of Ruth Staveley will immortalise her in the hearts of all true lovers. It is one of the most difficult parts thu- has been written in contemporary drama, bu. never does she allow it to flag; never does she strain it to unnaturalness. She is "Ruth" whilst she is on the stage, whether she be- comes "Winnie" or not off I cannot say. C. Vivian Charles, "The Man who was Afraid," has also a stiff part to play, and plays it well. It if a part that demands much of its pres- eT'.ta?tor, and ?ets it. Gaynor Carton and Do- It i? Wildbur (his mistress) are villains of the deepest dye, as told by Harold Heath and F-reda Beckett; but they are- too clever to make the old mistakes of gnashing their teeth and pkying the stage tricks of the old villains of drama. The result is that their work is more convincing because it is more natural, and the consequence that the moral lesson of their ulti- ma re defeat is given a real power. Victor Du Can 3 and Winn ie Crichton are their old popu- lar selves. They are always welcome from Lands End to John O'Groats, and Will White an i the rest play exacting parts convincingly. Fro<nii to-day that ever-green "White Slave Trade" drama., "The Mormon and the Maid," is be played, and with the same company as has been handling Somewhere" so well, caste in the well-known parts of this popular favour- ite I expect crowded houses during these last three nights. Next week will be notable for the visit of Miss Eva, Elwes and her "all-star" company, in that popular actress-author's newest work, "J oy, Sister of Mercy." I have had the plea- sure of seeing "Joy" some short time back, and I can assure all playgoers that it was a real pleasure. The work is unmarred by sapient sen- timentalism. It is a natural work telling in graphic language of the interplay of human emotions in war-times. A play that is clean, and good and inspiring; and I, for one, trust thaL, it will meet with that full meed of ap- probation that it so richly deserves. I'LAVUUI'.K.

CORRESPONDENCE. A CLASH IN NAMES. (To the Editor of the, PIONEER.) Dear Sir,—Would you kindly grant me a little space in your valuable paper, in order to enable me to clear the air on a matter apper- taining to myself. I refer to the Merthyr Assault Case, which appeared in voHir columns last week, and which was perpetrated by an ex-soldier of the 2nd Welsh, named John Mc- Gill. Now it happens that my name is John McGill (179 .High Street, Penydarren), also an ex-soldier of the 2nd Welsh, which has made many people confuse ine with the person charged with ilie assault. 1- am pleased to state that I have no connection whatsoever with the case. Trusting that you ean find room to insert this disclaimer.—I atii. yours faithfully, SAPPER JOHN McGILL, R.E. (79800), Previously Private 2nd Welsh. 179 High Street, Penydarren, June 27, 1916.

The Editor's Appeal. Shining Fund. s. u. Cwmaman I.L.P. a 0 Mr J. 1. Morgan, SkoaveR 3 6 Baigoed "Pioneer" Committee. 2 6 Given at Door, Rink Meeting 2 6 "Well Wishers," Cefn 2 f) A. Jury 2 0 :t.tl::u'.Y Bowden î g IS 6

PONTYPRIDD A LAST RESPECT.—This Wednesday sorrowing frierds and comrades in the I.L.P. followed the remains of Fred Jenkins, of Laura Street, and late secretary of the Pontypridd I. L.P., to Glyntaff Cemetery, The Rev. (Guardian) E. Lewis officiated, and paid a well-deserved trib- ute to our late Comrade's integrity of charac- ter. He met with an accident in the Albion Colliery, Cilfynydd, on March If H3 died at the Pontypridd Cottage Hospital last Friday. The secretary (Mr Morris), W. Williams (trea- surer), E J. Williams (chairman) and numer- ous members of the I.L.P., together with Mr Dan Rees (miners' sub-agent.) followed the re- mains to their last resting place. IBICES IN AUSTRALIA—Comrade Oliver Jenk- ings has received a letter from his sister—Mrs. Fred Hill, at Collie, West Australia-this week. She quotes their prices as —Butter, 1/9 per lb; bacon 1/8 per Ib; cheese 1/5 per Ih; lard 1/4 pe: lb; sugar 4d. par Ib; potatoes 16/- per cw., carrots and parsnips 3d. a bunch (three small ones tied; cauliflower 9d. and 1/- e,ash; cabbages, ditto; beef 9d. per Yo; mutton 9d. per lb; veal lOd. per Ih; pork 1/- per lb; bread 9d. per 41b loaf. Work in mines "pretty good" on tonnage rates, and about 10 dalps shift per fortnight. A miner caal:.earn IS {- a. day. Winter there has just eommenoed. Several of our Socialist friends were, at the great meeting in the Merthyr Rink last Sun- day. We are yearning for a visit from Philip Snowden.