Pioneer

TRADE UNION ? NOTES. SEE PAGE 3

POLITICAL NOTES. By F. W. JOWETT. PAGE 2.

Trades Council and Uncer- tificated Teachers. I ELIMINATE BUT DON'T STARVE THEM. 'MPORTANT DISCUSSION AT MERTHYR. I th'l'he most important question befoe-? the Mer- Ti-lade? Conncii on Thursday wa? the vexed "?ble;?? the payment of the uncertificated '?cher. The discussion became somewhat acri- :onloHS, although it centred entiray i& a ques- ti ?Q of tactics—every delegate being agreed th1 ? elimination of the unc-ertinoated teacher is consummation devoutly to be hoped for. It as ultimately decided to, write the Labouri ?Up asking them to agitate for a decent mini- um fm' this class of teacher, and 20/- si,ig- sted as the figure, The discussion arose out I the Town Council report presented by Coun- tt ?' -Francis, who in reply to Mr. Bert Brobyn ??tcd out that the Trades Council waa com- ted to a policy of emcient staffing in the ools. He felt that the Merthyr authority hOld lead the way in doing away with the un- ?'t'?cated teacher in tll(3 school., by t aklg it impossible for them to ?et into the profession for a short time, during l,hici, ale", should be preparing for their college Naming ?Rt-t Brobyu agreed that the uncertincated ?tcher was not so desirable a? the trained telebei-- but they had to live, and ?-? long aa alit?.rit.? employed them they ought to be "?? a fair, living wage. Councillor Francis retorted that he was pre- tared to consider them, particul&rly those who  spent more than ten years in the service of he authority, but he was not prepared to per- ?tuate them. For anyone to stand up and say t Qese teachers were doing the work &s. well as alnecl teachers was absol ute nonsense. As a ratter of fact the authority Was • giving them ^Qsideration, although Mr. Fisher did not take en) into consideration at all. A teacher's ^Salifications must either be decided by the 3t- tornments acquired in college or university, or OY must declare those attainments useless. 1 lr, John Adkins quite .agreed that there lQuld be some period for the termination of the neendlcated teachers' agreement but to at" rnpt to get rid of them by starving them out "as a very dirty game indeed in his opinion. long as the Education Au thori ty muployed ft-- M .a living « J-, Mr. -1. R. Jones (N.XJ.R.) felt that the mini- r.^ln wage should be increasod to something over £6G per annum, and he moved that the Labour embers should do something. see that this done. John Williams said that the ultimate analysis the question reduced it to a consideration of The schools were built for the benefit Qf the teacher or the child. If then we came to the conclusion that the employment of the 1.ln- floated teacher was disadvantageous to the Qllld then we should make, up our mind a once ttlld for all to do away with them. "Education as the most important question we had, and we ?ould do our best to see that WH got the very ?t possible people to conduct it. Surely, the ;achel' who had qualified in a training college a? better than the teacher who had not quali- ? ab all. t¡cir. NNT. out tlia,t, the unœrti- t-o-ated teacher, in the claim for £ 100 instead of R65I contended that the nnoertHic?ted teacher ihght as large a class, and taught it as effi- ??ly as the trained certincated teacher. If t at wa? ?Q then as trades unionists he put it to ein that the 10g1e of the position was that the ?-??'tincatcd teacher should be paid exactly the  rate as the certincate<L The trouble wa? at most people did not know what unceTJfi- teacher meant. There were two c lasses, Ifir.st tllc' supplementary teacher, of which we la .,(. 1, d. t. f feal 26 in Merthvr, and whose condition of ap- jw Anient was that she must be a "girl over 18 S of age and vaccinated and, another cla<4 ??? had qualified to go to college. Take t.0both qualified to go to college: one a.lted ?'' time and ?? o??' went to college 41) had the position exactly. It was no go od ?'inging up the question of expense' be- cai Se ?t did not arise? for the certificate could ]je 'ot without going to College. The Trades q, "Iiis thii-i,,o? was up against the resolu- tlO,? Passed bv tha Labour Party, Tradea Union Congress> Miners' Federation and ot her bodies tiiri °l a,K^ time again that none but qu&lined tpa chers should be employed. t! },{r. H. Adams asked if it WM not a fact th&t fcVfw.^rulent who went to college got his or her \rtlficate after tWo or three years there, and ^rono' that ]us assumption wa* absolutely tono' a???c?lor Dai Davies had very little consider- atio*1 for ??? uncertincated teacher, and favoured their elimination, but, he said, do not let ^155 sweat them. Let us give generous con- sideat,i-on to those who have been with us for Jpo., ?.? ?s." ID Francis said it was the intent i on of the '?????' Francis said it wa the intention 01 'tlcation Authority to give special con- atioll t o the tmcertificated teacher who had 1)" -el) ?? employ of the Committee for ten year.s °r ?pw.u'd.s. The resolution wa? unneœs- fary s11!06 t^le Labour Group had been consider- ing th matter that day, and the matter was to hav ?'sful re-consideration. T]le j, 8°^Ution was, however, put and carried as HotGd ?Uddip? COlTæpondence was a letter from J. S. MiddW0 011!' Secretary of the Labour Party, re- atiiig Trade: Council m-otest over the alrt.?'s 0 ,por of Roberts in the Norwich elec- tion al111^ the wishes of the local L,R.A.Mr. ^iddlei-A^ .wrote: "The Labour Party Execu- tl 'V. tiVe amnn? ? meeting to-day and to-morrow, aHd aiiKjri3tr s:t oth?r business we h",ll have before 'is the relJ01 Norwich bve-election. I re- f?ret thafcouncil should have adopted the Tesolut'. 011 -itbolit heing in full possession of the ^acts. T*k f16 Was no meeting of the Party "xecutivp o!^eriuent to the decision of the Nor- T fv,, ] W'ell T-i--ad '?'- C6uncil. The Executive wIll" not ha, Ih. ?i ■ the Trad? Council before them ally 74util Wus week." Mr. Joh? AdkiM' oomment on thifi letter, More basnbeozling," wae the only (me m ade. The Blaokburn Trades Council reeolution call- ing for a legal 36-hour week, without a reduc- tion in wages, for all Indus erics to come into operation the day pe.a.08 is declared, and com- mitting the Trades Union Movement to a down- tool policy in the event of Governmental refusal to legislate this course, was again before the Council, after having been sent to the lodges. Several lodges gave it unqualified support; the N.U.R. endorsed all but the drastic action sug- gested for its enforcement, while the Class Teachers' moved an amendment favouring 36 hours, and deleting the down-tools policy. Mr. W. Harris, who supported this spoke well on the increased productivity of Labour, and the prob- lem of unemployment that would be raised in so acute a'fol'm by the demobilisation of 6,000,000 men if this policy had not been adopted, and Mr. John Williams felt that the demand for 36 hours was not extravagant, though he did not think that we should get it. Still it was all a game of barter and we must ask for much to get a little. Mr. Price pointed out that the teachers' pro- posal became a mere pious resolution because it eliminated the only cohesive power that could make it effective. However, the amendment was ruled oat of order and the Blackburn resolution carried with a few diasmitiente. A resolution supporting the Popela suggestion gestioii that Conscription should bo abolished for all countries on the termination of this war, was unanimously adopted on the motion of V, r. H. Evaias, who believed that there would bo a bitter struggle to banish Conscription, and who was anxious that we should start on our abolition campaign now. The Council associated itself with the Shop As- sistants' anti-sweating of girl assistants propa- ganda, and. in particular felt it desirable that trade union parents should see to H that their daughters should immediately on entering such employment attach themselves* to the Union catering for them. A resolution was also unanimously adopted calling for a revision of the present, penal nature of the Work of National Importance on which conscientious objectors are engaged. The Coun- cil further pledged itself to do all in its power to assist the Spanish working cl ik-A,, to secure the release of its leaders arrested in the recent dis- turbances there. The whole Spanish, position was explained by Mr. M. Esteban, 8.W.M.F., Dow- lais, who attended as a deputation of the Span- lais, who atteiided 4is a deput ati<)n. of the Span- 'lo-ni-015 of Arising out of the report of Mr. Enoch Wil- liams on the comments of the National Guilds League on the Report of the Whitley Committee on Reconstruction, it was decided that the Exe- cutive should study the Whitley Report and pre- sent a summary of its proposals, together with a comment on its policy, to a future meeting so as to give the lodges a lead in the adoption of a trade union attitude towards it. Mr. Williams made good use of his opportunity to propagate the guild theory. A resolution was also adopted petitioning Lord Rhondda to unify all the Food Control Commit- tees in South Wales into a Federation for the purpose of securing uniformity of prices 'in the area. Mr. W. Harris pointed out that at pre- sent prices differed in different localities, and the effect of this was to cause a flow of commodi- ties from the low priced districts into the higher priced Satisfaction was expressed at the better light- ing of High-street, but it was felt that the side streets were still yet too feebly illuminated to be safe, and complaints of some dangerous sites are to b* laid before the Chief Constable.

Ordered Out of Court. Describing the affair as violent and cowardly, Mr. R. A. Griffith Stipendiary) at Merthyr on Friday fined Ivor Davies (17), Owmfelin Farm, Bedlinog, 20s. for assaulting a seven-year-old boy, Cecil Carter, 'who, alleged Davies, whilst he was coming home from school along a footpath traversing a field belonging to defendant's father, John Davies, struck him with a stick. For the defence it was stated that no undue force was wsed in putting the lad off the field where he had no right to lie. P.S. Gill gave evi- dence that the pathway waa a public one and added that there were no warning notices on the field to trespassers, when defendant's mother and sister interrupted, "Yes there are!" whereupon his Worship ordered both persons out of court. A summons brought against Ellen Carter, mother of the lad. by Davies for assault was dismissed.

RHEUMATISM- KIDNEY TROUBLE. I Rheumatism is due to uric acid crystals in I the joints and muscles, the result of excessive uric acid in the system that the kidneys failed i to remove as nature intended, and this acid is to a great extent the cause of backache, lum- bago, sciatica, gout, urinary trouble, stone, gravel and dropsy. The success of Estora Tablets for the treat- ment of rheumatism and other forms of kidney trouble is due to the fact that they restore the kidneys to healthy action, and thereby remove the cause of the trouble, and have cured num- berless cases after the failure of other remedies, which accounts for them superseding out-of-date medicines that are sold at a price beyond all but the wealthy. Women frequently suffer from ills, aches, and pains under the impression that they are victims of ailments common to their sex, but more often than not it is due to the kidneys, and in such cases Estora Tablets will set them right! The test is at least worth making, as woman's happi- ness and success in life depends on her health. Estora Tablets fully warrant their description —an honest remedy at an honest price, 1/3 per box of 40 tablets, or six for 6/9. All Chemists or, postage free, from Estora Co., 132, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C. Bargoed and Aborbargoed B&B&T WILLIAXII, 1&.P.S.

I Home Rule For India I THE VISiT OF MR. E. L. IVER, M.A., TO I MERTHYR. THE AWFUL POVERTY OF OUR HINDU PEOPLES. Mr. E. L. Iyer, M.A. (Madras) the Home Rule for India League native speaker who visited Merthyr and Aberdare on Sunday and spoke on the conditions of his native land before good audiences gathered under the auspicoo of the I.L.P. branches concerned, will have no grounds for oomplaint of the sympathy with which the democracy of the valleys has didorsed kis pro- gramme of autonomy for the big. Asiatic depen- dency. Our sympathy was all with him and his fellow Hindus in their struggle for what we all consider as a primary essential of all Democratic evolution. If that fact will enheflrten the League in its agitation it will have accomplished something, but what will accomplish more will he to see to it that the facts which he enumer- ated shall sink with vitriolic bite into our con- sciousness, will stimulate interest in that great coloured world wo arrogantly speak of as "ours," and that out of his meeting and our studies shall arise a consciousness of our responsibility for the injustices meted out to the native East Indian. Tl-,tat is the first requisite of reform. Whatever may be the moral value of mere sympathy, the material, tangible values of Mr. Iyers' propa- ganda will be expressed in the concern we show in this matter when the next Parliamentary elec- tion presents us with an opportunity of ascer- taining the views of would-be ALP.s on particu- lar topics. The faots which Mr. Iyer adduced from the writings of English commentators on our Indian Empire, amply illustrated how much better it will be for our own souls if we ask the smug carpet-baggers who solicit the favour of our votes and support at the hustings" Are you prepared to work for Home Rule for India in the House axd out of it?" than if we merely ask what is his attitude towards the question, of Dis- establishment and Disendowment. Of course, an easier way of seeing that our Parliamentarians do their duty in this question will be to see that only Labour and Socialist M.P.s secure our sup- port. but even there it will be our duty to see that they know about India. At all events, we have a duty, and it is up to us io fulfil it. This question is of even more pressing import than its correlative Irish problem. A lot of blame attaches, alas, already to those of us who have known some of ohe facts and have kept them in our skin..For instance, one is a little puzzled that Mr. Harry Evans should have kept silent on the subject until he told us from the chair on Sunday of the revulsion that Keir Hardie's Indian tour revelations awakened in him. Just how deeply he feels we can gauge from his remark: "We are all familiar with the way in which Belgium ruled the Congo; and the way in which Itussia governed her Jews. Neither of those two cases were, in my opinion, very much worse than the way in which we have gov- erned in India." And what we say of Harry Evans applies to all who read and agreed with Hardie's book, while equally we have been crim- inally responsible that I knowing of the shocking treatment meted out to the Hindu on the Rand in Australia,, and knowing of that cowardly Canadian "direct routs" legislation we have been content to sit still and twaddle our platitudes. At the same time we have to face the fact that despite our sympathies in the past—and we have always advooated the grant- ing of a full measure of self-government to our sister island—we have accomplished little of practical value, still, our sympathy is the best guarantee of our inteiltioit when w. have be- come conscious enough to give it direction, and it is probable that a growing sympathy well and continuously expressed may not only enhearteii those directly interested in the realisation of Home Rule for India, but will also act as a cor- rective on the heavy hand of bureaucracy which otherwise might descend with appalling force on the litttle band of enthusiastic natives and their supporters who stand in the van of the Home Rule for India. Movement. Just how real this bureaucra tio oppression and suppression may be we can guage from the recent act of the Indian administration in the case of Annie Besant and her most prominent colleagues; an action that was only tardily reversed when English Labour and progressive thought had sat up and howled. .Unfortunately Mr. her on Sunday depended more on a legal minded case, than on a presen- tatioRof his own views a-,t native. He con- victed our bureaucracy on the evidence of the words of Anglo-Indian historians and writers; rind convicted them beyond doubt so far as a Democratic audience is concerned but that audi- ence would have been equally with him on his own evidence, because, so far as Merthyr and Aberdare are concerned we admit the absolute right of any people to self-government, and wor- ship the plebiscite as a very respectable and im- portant diety indeed in our new creed of demo- cratic materialistic pantheism. Still it is pos- sible to briefly, and, perha,pe, interestingly, give the thread of his story. He began by re- minding us of the antiquity of Indian civilisa- tion, I and, incidentally, opined that she had lived through the ages that had seen the glories of Babylon and Nerevah because she has a mis- sion yet to perform in the world. At all events he succeeded in surprising us with' the know- ledge that India had her democracies at a time when the amiable caveman, and kitchen mid- den er of Europe was cudgelling hie apish wits to scrape a precarious living from the exercise tif his skill as a welder of flint-tipped weapons, and peeolithic tools: and that she had a repub- lic 600 years before Christ trod the hills of Pales- tine. He also showed us that it was a. misnomer and perversion of the facts to say that she htd been tyrannised by her ancient kjIlg, and had suffered under the suzerainty of her Moham- medan emperors. The worst act of the woret emperor had been the imposition of a capitation tax of 2d. per head per annum; and when it was remembered that this dreadful deed syn- chroniseêl with the burning of heretical catho- lics by protectants, and heretical protectants by catholics in Europe, this seemed to fade into in- | aigniftcartce. The reality of the eulture and røli- _I gion of Hindustan had only to be recalled to be admitted. But not w) the economics. It must have been a surprise to many to learn that India yields about £ 40,000,000 a year to Britain and that the selfish dividend-hunting policy of Gov- ernment instituted by- the" John" Company, in the days of its charter, still characterised Eng- lish rule despite the proclamation of Victoria the ,G-ood that My subjects of whatever race, colour or creed will be treated with equality." Mr. Iyer's point of the economic necessity to lie un- scrupulously on the part of missionaries and Anglo-Indians we all agreed to. The missioner had to misrepresent India as being a land of bad morals and nQ religious reality, or he might be asked what need he had to go there; and the Anglo-Indians' whole financial interests were wrapped up in the false story of Indian incapa- city for government and the equally incorrect representation of India as a mass of little states which without the restraining hand of Britain would be warring perpetually the one 011 the other. It was not so surprising to learn that the Capitalist—the ubiquitous animal—who sucked up enormous profits by the Ganges to use in the war with Labour by the Thames; had the bureaucratic administration well under his thumb, and secured tremendously valuable legis- lative edicts. The question of taxation gave us some startling food for thought, and it was Hardie who was quoted as saying that the amount of taxation raised direct from the peasant was 60 to 65 per cent. of the value of the yield of the land, and that in addition, local assessments probably brought this to 75 per cent, of the actual har- vest reaped. The audience gasped to learn that the average income in India was something under ld. per head per day the official staticians placing the figure at £ 2, and El 6s. 8d.—the la- ter being Lord Curzon's statement—whilst the unofficial staticians estimated it so low as 12(. 6d. per head per annum. In contrast with this Russia's average per head per annum in,.ig LI-1, and our own somewhere about C42. It was not so surprising after this to learn that the bug- bear of the periodic famines were d polite fiction for English consumption to hear that India any and every year produced enough to feed her en- tire population but that profits by exportation saw to it that the food was not distributed where it was so urgently needed to avoid wholesale death from actual starvation. To learn on top of this that the famine statistics were cooked to show a diminution of mortality from hunger was practiced, Mr. Iyer also told us 00 me surprising facts csbout tho respect for vcmw ih India; a fine tribute to Mrs. Annie Besant, who, he said, had come along when intellectual India was in despair turning to Anarchy, and had said No, you are wrong. All that is necessary is to let the Democracy in Britain know all the facts, and you will get your desires," which were all summed up in autonomy in home government, with civic and military oontrol still retained by Britain. It was because of that he had come. Well we were pleased to see him, and we unani- mously pad a resolution That this meeting heartily supports the Home Rule for India League in the work which it is carrying ON."

Rhymney Valley Notes. Food Committee and Municipal Milk. There was keen discussion at the Bedwellty Food Committee on Monday respecting the po- tato oontrol, but eventually it was decided to drop the matter since the Executive Officer re- ported an excess supply in Ireland. There was a division of opinion on the question of co-oper- ating with the Gelligaer Committee for the pur- pose of forming one Committee for the entire valley. It was agreed to print the tabulated list of controlled prices. In reply to the chairman, Mr. Isaac Jones, the vendors denied the allega- tion that a "Ring'" had been formed for the purpose of forcing up prices. A resolution, moved by Councillor Evan Thomas, that Ward Vigilance Committees 'be formed for the purpose of reporting contraventions of the order was de- feated. A deputation of the local milk vendoi-e appeared before the Oommittee to protest against the prices fixed for retail distribution. Arising out of the discussion, Councillor Evan Thomas opined that a. clear case had been made out for it Municipal milk enterprise. (Hear, hear.) Councillor J. Tillot remarked that if they were to have a municipal enterprise it must be as a paying bufcinefis and not ae a charity or- ganisation. Ooun. Evan Thomas "I am in for making it pay." In furtherance of his object he moved the appointment of a sub-committee to draw up an alternative scheme of distribution to the present one. This was seconded by Coun. R. J. Jones. A member was informed that a muni- cipal enterprise would be able to obtain milk at controlled prices. Councillor Buft-on was of opinion that the geographical condition of the area, would make it impossible to work the scheme suggested by Mr. Evan Thomas; .and Mr. J. Tillot saw in the scheme an attempt on the part of Bome of the committee to kill all trade concernil. Mr. Edgar Davies moved that a, sub- committee be appointed to consider all the cir- cumstances with a view to fixing a fair average. price of milk. Messrs. R. J. Jones and Evan Thomas refused to sit on such a body in conse- quence of the remarks of Mr. Tillot. Ultimately it wa* decided to oonvene a special meeting of the committee to deal with the problem. I Council and Water Supply. At the Urban District Council meeting at New Tredegar oil Tuesday it was agreed to accept Councillor Isaac Jones' motion: That steps be taken to take the level* with a view to ascertain- ing if it was possible to obtain a water supply from the s-Kinir near Oefa Brithdir Colliery. [ E.W. I