Pioneer

I Mid-Rhondda Notes. Cambrian Workers. On Sunday, November 25th, a mass meeting of the Cambrian Collieries workmen was held to further consider the income tax. A resolu- tion which was passed at a previous meeting was thrown overboard, and a resolution was adopted recommending payment. A great deal of feeling was shown in discussing the matter, and a lot of personal, unnecessary insinuations were made by both sections; those who thought that the tax should be paid, and those who thought otherwise. The Chairman, Mr. Noah Ree-s, J.P., seemed to be in a bad humour and thought that all those who were opposed to the tax and could not see eye to eye with the Exe- cutive were out to destroy the Federation. It is very curious how rapidily some people can change their point of view. It was quite within the memory of the youngest individual present in the meeting, listening to Mr. Rees' eloquent speech about doing things in a constitutional way, that he used to be connected with those people whom he charges to-day with being out to destroy the unity of the Federation. We are quite sure that he, when out to advocate such drastic reforms as those contained in the miners' next step, had no such object in his mind as to destroy the trade-union which he belongs to; and it would be well for Mr. Rees to remember that the people who he so bitterly opposes now are doing more than following the path which he once travelled, and that the change is not in his opponents, but that his new relations and associations have caused a complete change in his own outlook. It will be also useless to speak of unity in the labour movement until we can learn the simple lesson of refraining from attributing ulterior motives to those who hap- pened to disagree with our views. Some of us fail to see that to leave the field entirely in the hands of the Capitalists during the war will in any way strengthen our movement for an after the war fight. If we fail to do our duty to-day we are not likely to be able to do it to- morrow. The Capitalists are under no delusion as to what they should do during the war. There isn't a single capitalist's concern which has not us-eel every possible opportunity to ex- ploit and tyrannise the workers, and to talk of leaving our differences with these people to be settled after the war is playing the Capitalists' game all over. That is, just what they want us to do if they can keep us meek and lowly until after the war we shall find ourselves well se- cured and we shall have to go through a de- grading period of slavery.

Pontycymmer Notes. Geo. Neighbour's Visit. On Wednesday last week the Rev. George Neighbour, Mountain Ash, addressed a, meeting at the Ffalddau Institute, Pontycymmer, on Current Events," Comrade Tom Jenkins in the chair. The address was much appreciated, and many went away with a bitter conception of what the I.L.P. stands for. He told how overy" great movement" went through three stages: (1) When people ignored it; (2) when they ridiculed it; and (3) when they persecuted it. The third was the best because it proved who was true to the principles of the movement. He very clearly showed who the true patriots were. The Liberals and Tories were now coming to the workers saying they wanted their help to form a "National Party." It they "who toil not neither do they spin wanted us, then they oould come into our Party. Acoident at the Duchy. I A collier named W. J. Morgan, of Station- road, Pontyrhyll, met with a serious accident,at the Duchy Oolliery on Tuesday lafrt week, which resulted in both his legs being broken and his back injured. He was cbnveyed to Cardiff Hos- pital where he is progressing as favourable as loan be expected. Weeding Out. The management of the Duchy Colliery had given notice to part of its workmen, but owing to the contention of the agent that seniority should prevail, they have now given notices to au. I.L.P. Forginq Ahead. I The second meeting of the I.L.P. was held at Carmel Chapel, Pontyrhyll on Friday last, when Comrade Will Jones gave us a very educative address on Capitalism in Peace and War. He took us from chattel slavery to the present day wage-slavery. Comrade A. Pearce was in the chair. We opened with a hymn from the hymn sheet, True Freedom, then, we had a recitation by Millie Pearce, entitled "Lift up the People's Banner," which had a good effect. After the questions the Red Flag" was sung with gusto. "Pioneers" sold well at the meet- ing. Meth Jones is coming shortly. Our Condolences. I Our sympathy goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Squire (Pontrhyll) in their sa-d bereavement, Mrs. Squire losing her mother recently, and last week her brother, Mr. Branch, was killed at Ton-Phillip Colliery, Kenfig Hill, by a fall of archway while waiting to go in for the afternoon shift.

Theatre Royal. I Very few of the confessedly sensational sexual-morality plays of to-day possess the power to enthral that always resides in," How Girls are Brought to Ruin," that has attracted such good audiences to the Royal during the first three days of the present week. There is a something in the. work that lays strong hold on the" gods" and that holds stalls and circle in an equally iron bond of interest though per- haps loss demonsitra-tive in, its expression. And the Morton-Powell Company is just the enthu- siastic little aggregation to give effect to the play's very plainly worded lesion. They have played it with a vim and zest that has made me almost regret that they were not running this fine little melodrama right through the week. But, as I pointed out last week, it has been decided to divide the present week, and from to- night the stage will be occupied with a particu- larly good version of Ouida's famous play lJn- dder Two Flags," 31 play that shares first place in the hearts of all lovers of the truly romantio play with" The Prisoner of Zenda." I question whether there is a legitimate stage in the world upon which Ouida's masterpiece has not drawn the loudest cihome of delighted audiences; and its representation GIlt Merthyr by a company of players auch as these have proved themselves, should tax thc- Theatre to its utmost, capacity during these next two days. N,ox-i week we are to have a treat, and one we owe to some pa-trons of thei Theatre who have made representationat to the management which have been readily acceded to, to stage, that fine dr80111" "The Old Home." I am not sure whether this grand atory of real life hag ever before oocupied the boards ai the Royal, but I am perfectly convinced that it but neectm a visit to oNe of the two houses on Monday to turn all of us into keen advertising agents for "The Odd Hoate,1 amongst oar frieadcb. PLAYGOER.

I Women Workere I. Series-No.6. ;,¡.t:j;ti.:tí')lj';i;Xf'C; A good ■ "THIS is Rowntaee's Cocoa. The stuff to keep you S warm and chful. I drink it with my breakfast fl|Bff H every day, so I ?<7?. Oaen I am delayed no nd of a H Nt ?me, and I shouJd get desperately hungry if it wasn't B ? for that cup of RGwnt-reés I had before I started. R H And when you come in from the cold at night a BE a?i cup of Rowntree's to your supper is just grand! a? 1 Koumwuijocoa I I O I JE ?MM???????????M?f' a aw4tw S

T onyrefail N otes.1 A Cruel Protest. I Our Correspondent writes: —Quite a sensa- tiaii was created last week by some of the Coed Ely workmen. It appears that arising out of the decision of a general meeting to grant as- sistance to a section of the workmen who have been hit very hard for some time owing to no work in one of the pits, a very small number of workmen made a protest against the decision, on the pretext that the meeting and procedure was unconstitutional. A second general meeting was heJd to reconsider the question and proved to be very unfavourable -and menacing to the dissenters. On suah ait issue, i.e., on a matter of food for the hungry and needy a protest on such a procedure on the grounds 'of oonstiDu- tionalLsm is ridiculously absurd, and deserves all the reproof that can be exercised. It is said that those who protested were in favour of the payment of the grant. If that is true, and they agreed with the decision of the meeting, why protest nd impede the decision P You can- not put your immediate needs off for some fu- ture time. With the ever growing difficulties in the cost of living and shortage, precious time cannot be wasted in quibbling about sectional- ism and constitutionalism, nor any other "ism." Action, and immediate action, is the only course to adopt in such emergencies. But it appears that some persons are obsessed with the idea that time and misfortune will abide, whilst its critics have talked out every point of divergence. These expressions are made without reference to any person or any political opinion. A Quibbling Objection. I There is dissatisfaction in the minds of some persons concerning the attendance of persons who have become students of the Industrial His- tory Class, and who are not members of an affiliated body to the Education Committee. It is said that the class should be closed to out- sider, on the ground that they should not benefit at the expense of others. It is difficult to understand such reasoning in matters of education. The Education Committee was formed for the express purpose of educating all the Labour forces in both industrial and poli- tical action and efficiency. The two methods it proposes at present is by public lectures and classes. If it is not right for any outsider to attend and participate in the class, then it is not right for any such persons to attend public lectures. Fancy a local election meeting held, at which only members of an affiliated body were allowed to attend! If success is to be obtained either on the industrial or political field, the people must be educated beforehand. It matters not who they are. The want of interest in such matters is long overdue, and it is the duty of every Labour man to help and not impede the wheels of progress. A monopoly of education has prevailed too long already in the hands of the ruling class. Here we have a common plane and our interest as workers are identical and prejudice on other questions should not be exercised by anyone. Council Employees Grievances. Last Saturday, November 24th, a deputation of the District Council employees attended the Trades and Labour Council to state their griev- ances. After hearing their case the Trades and Labour Council came to the decision that they could not deliberate on their behalf until they were organised as a trade union. Also it was decided that the Secretary should oall a meet- ing of the unorganised employees of the Coun- cil with the new to organising them immediate- ly. This step will 1 surely be of material ad- vantage to the workers concerned in the near future; otherwise there is little hope of justice. The question of representation on the Food Economy Committee was deferred until the next meeting. A Regrettable Error. iI The Sacred Concert that was held at the Cinema last Sunday, for the benefit of the War Memorial, was very sparsely attended, and. did not prove to be as grea.t a success as was anti- cipated. This was probably owing to the price of admission which was Is. The Committee re- sponsible for many such arrangements are for- getful of the fact, that the people are overbur- dened with taxation in every form. In spite of the many worthy causes then are limits be- yond which workpeople cannot go. Many peo- ple undoubtedly would have liked to patronise it if the admission had been less. It may be said that it was not Irom lack of avmfmthy but economic difficulties. The Cymrodoifiea Society. A meeting of the above aoeiety took plaae at the Mwthodkt Kail reoentlj when two papers were read viz., "Gwvl iVIabsantau 11 an6 Enwau'r Ardal," by the Rev. Gwryd Lewi, and Mr. David P. George. The first paper dealt with thig origin of an ancient Welsh holi- day or festival held by the Roman Catholic- Church. He showed also its relation with the' drama. Wales produced several dramatic poets, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the greatest of which was Thomas Edwards, of Denbigh, known throughout Wales as "Twm o'r Nant." The lecturer also pointed out how the above festival had degraded into debauchery and how it was put an end to by the religious revival of the 17th Century. The second paper dealt with the origin of the present names of farms and other places in the district of Tonyrefail. Both essays were- very instructive and interesting. We may say that those who failed to avail themselves of this meeting lost an intellectual treat. The attend- ance was rather meagre, and both lecturers de- served a much larger audience. The chairman for the occasion was Mr. John H. Richards.

A Book of Radiant Joyoosness. [Punch Almanack for 1918—" Punch Office,. 6d.] There is no more difficult duty at present en- joined upon us than the duty of smiling. Every inst-liact and thought is overshadowed by the, war, which is certainly not a thing to smile over; and Mr. Lloyd George has rendered the task still more difficult by revealing to us the futility of the politician. Still, however difficult the task the duty is a clear one; and the abjuration to Smile, damn you, smile," is evolving from the puerility of an alleged humorist, into an em- phasised command. But still we must have some- thing to smile over, someone to smile with; and I am putting in a word for the smile-producing merits of the new number of Almanack." Mr. Punch has clearly recognised his responsibilities and every page, nay, every picture and every line oi letterpress is a rich seam Jl1 which the most melancholy may mine- drams" of sunny smiles. It may be hack- neyed to say that there is not a dull line or curve in the bright little volume, but it is true; indeed, even the advertisements are refreshing, though mostly they will appeal to others than myself and the readers of the "Pioneer," who. do not, so far as I know, run to shilling cigars, 95/- shoes, or 21/- bottles of scent, even at Ohristmastide. The offioeof "Punch" have' very sensibly turned out the new number at the old price of 6d.; and I myself feel that it is worth about three timee that sum regarded from the economic standpoint of use-value alone; whilst the humour of the presentation pIs,tlt which cleverly cartoons G. Bernard Shaw patriotically acting as a scarecrow, and portly G.K.O. revelling in his job as "chuoker-out" at the War Office, that shows us, amongst others, H. G. Wellg acting as Chaplin to the Forces, and Charlie Chaplin "hooking" recruit with his stick is worth another equivalent of the w hole cost.

RHEUMATISM-KIDNEY TROUBLE. Rheumatism is due to uric acid crystals ia the joints and muscles, the result of excessive uric acid in the system that the kidneys failed to remove as nature intended, and this acid ie 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 suck- 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 lor, postage free, from Estora Co., 132, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C. Bargood, and Aberbargoed Agent-W. pAMMr WtLMAMS, M.P.S. Printed and published by the National Labour PreM, Ltd., at the Labour Pioneer Pressj Williams Square, Merthyr Tydfil, SATURDAY, DECHMBER Ist, 1917.