The Cambria Daily Leader

THE "STRONG" HAND. I We have had, from South Africa, an illustration of the working of the strong hand" that many people clam-oured for in this country in the days of the coal strike. We do not fancy they will like the illustration! General Botha, under the powers of martial law-and as t. Chronicle to-day reminds us, the Duke of Welling- ton once defined martial law as neither more nor less than the will of the general who commands the army; in fact, no law at all-has taken a step un- precedented in modern British history. The Luddites, as the loom breakers of Yorkshire, were called, disturbed the country very seriously in the early part of last century. They were dealt with according to the spirit of the time, and treated with the utmost rigour of the law, but when many of them were trans- ported beyond the sea, it was with the full warrant of the law. Here, however, citizens are, in the words of Mr. Justice Wessels, "kidnapped," and hurried out of the way in manner we are used to associate with Adelphi melo- drama at its best. There is no wonder that this course has aroused general indignation, whifti will not be confined to the Labou r Party. Still, cool and wise heads arc wanted at this period of crisis. The relationship of a self- governing people to the Mother Country is not to be lightly meddled with, and we will do well to refrain from wild counsels of interference.

DOCTORS' INCOMES UNDER THE ACT. Greatly to the public loss iu the way I of valuably and instructive information, nothing has been allowed to leak out in Swansea, officially, as to the incomes of the doctors under the Insurance Act. It would, of course, be a comparativcly simple matter to calculate a doctor's earnings from the number of insured persons who have selected him for their medical attendant. If, say, that number is 2,000, the doctor will be en- titled to 2,000 7s. ( £ 700), plus a share of the pool made up of the capitation grants of insured persons who have not ¡ chosen their doctor and any part of the "floating" sixpences not required to pay the chemist. But so closely kept is ¡ all information at Swansea regarding the Insurance Act, that it is extremely difficult to arrive at any satisfactory estimate. "We do know, however, that those upon the pan-el have no cause for complaint! Figures given for Manchester support the statement there made that there have been various indications of a general character that doctors have benefitted very greatly from the Act. It is, for instance, known that the :narket- value of assistants lias greatly increased during recent months. Partly, « at least, this is explained by the work ¡ which the Act has brought to the pro- fession, and by the scale of the earn- ings in large insurance practices." It appears that at Manchester the largest incomes under the first year's working of the Act are thus distributed: Earnings. No. of Doctors. to £ 1,700 I £800 to t I, 20f) 20 £ 675 to 13 At Glasgow there are five doctors with Insurance Act incomes above £ 1,000 a year; eight with incomes of £ 8-15; 16, of £ 766; and 40 of £ 600. At Birmingham ther are twelve doctors over the £ 1,000 mark. Rbughly speaking, the doctors on the panel in Leeds have made an average income' of £ 300 per annum out of the Act. This includes those doctors who, although on the panel, have not cared to treat insured persons in any numbers, so that the average for those who have seriously worked under the Act would be considerably higher. IL is calculated that in at least half a dozen cases the income has been well over £ 1,000, and that some forty other doctors have earned incomes of between L,500 and £ 1,000. There are another fifty who have earned between £ 300 and £500.

!MUSIC' AT SWANSEA.j Interesting Proposals and ?? 0//??\ To the Editor. Sir,.—May I be permitted to express! my appreciation of your references to i the peiiorxuaijce of "Tho Apostles" at ttibLt-b jiali on Monday last, and to join lliGbe pa-an. or praise to Dr. D. vaughan Thomas, M.A., and tlie excel- lent baud oi peiiuiimeii who! assisted him so admirably. Rarely, if ever, has so devout and reverent -a Performance been iieard locally. To those who were privileged to bo present it was an inspiration. But, I am creditably informed that the cost of production wa<s approxi- amately £:¿UO, much of which was ex- pended on all orcnestra. My object in writing is to ask if it is not possible to convene a meeting of the mns?ciaim 01 the town to formulate pro- posals for the establishment and main- tenance of 4? town orchestra, to bo subsidised out of tho The musicians could appoint ccrtaiu of their number, such, 1 would say, as Dr. Thomas, Messrs. J. F. Fricker, Arthur Hey, L. it. Bovvan, Thuiria# (Ebenezer) and Whittaker, and Megan Glantmve and Mies Jones to consult with a tiub-musical committee from the Swansea Council as to the best means of enc.onraging orchestral and vocal music. Possibly they would suggest the teaching of in- strumental music in the elementary schools, as in Sheffield; tho mainten- ance of town conductors of juvenile, intermediate and senior orchestras; the formation of a town choir; provision of weekly or monthly popular concerts a director of music, etc. this orchostra, and choir to give annually at least one performancs of tho best available workii ina:, hall built by the Corpora.tion, as at Llandudno, and other watering-places. These, of course, are merely sugges- tions. Any moneys expended by the town would be amply repaid by the ele- vation of thought; increasing devotion to art; and the lessening of interest in the coarser forms of amusement. ]f the musicians of Swansea, think the ideas mentioned worth consideration, I shall be pleased to arrange a first meet- ing. I await with interest the views of vour musical readers.—Y ours, etc.. I C. W. D. I

JACK JOHNSON'S VISIT I To the Editor. Sir,—In your editorial in yesterday's Leader," is the following: Alderman Miles was quite right when ho said that the objection to Jack Johnson was not because of his colour. There are other and graver objections, etc." I maintain that Aldermaju Miles is quite" wrong, unless he or anyone else can prove that Jack Johnson has done anything that it is illegal for white men to do. i think that's a fair ques- tion. As far as I have read there is nothing definite to his discredit. If there is, what is it ? Perhaps the crimo is that he married his wife they tried to convict him as a procurer, I under- stand? I am quite rigl-it in say- I believe I am "quite right in say- ing Jack Johnson's first "grave objec- tion is that he is bLick; the second, and serious, criijie is that he whipped Jeffries, the white pugilist. Most of what has been said of Jack Johnson's character is no more than slanderous gabble. Did riot Johnson offer to iueot the Rev. F. B. Mevei: for lialf-aii-liour's audience with him before the Press? But it never came off. Wc are not Americans, but we don. appear to be II better than them in our methods. Let's have the truth.-Yours, etc., Comet."

MR. MARTIN R LECTURE, Td tho Editor. Sir,—Re Mr. Ma.rtin' ,I. lecture on Swansea Improvements, nught 1, through the medium, of your columns, invito Mr. Martin to deliver his lecture at some suitable centre say, Llewelyn Hall or Mond Bo<jms> at isoine early ct a L C. Reading your report I imagine Mr. Martin is on the right line. Person- ally, and I know I speak for several others, I should bo most grateful to havo an opportunity of hearing his dieme outline, and to .seo the views I I Y oui-s, etc., and charts exhibited.—Yours, etc., Foreshore.

DIFFERING PROPOSALS. To tho Editor. Sir, 'May I venture to point out that the Pubiic House Trust System and the system of Jji^intertot-ed Man- agement ar<5 very dilferent proposals lior. the regulations of the liquor traSc. 1 The simple proof that they are not the same is the fact that we now have tho Trust System iii- this country, while we cannot have Disinterested Management without an Act of Parlia- ment. Again it may be pointed out that these rival systems arc supported by two different societies. To confuse the I two .system* is thus to mislead public opinion.—-Yours, etc., Abstainer. I

The Lord Mayor of London, formally opened the extended premises -of the London Chamber of Commerce yester- day in Cannon-street, E.C. The senate of Don don. University yes- terday accepted with thanks an offer from Mrs. Keobey Ray Fletcher to transfer to them the property known as the "Gül¿ings" at Loughton, Ess-ex, for the establishment of post-graduate research scholarships in science to be called the "Kebby Fletcher-Warr studentships. ,i

Tinplate "Pool." From the Men's Point of View. I (By Councillor Ivor H. Cwynne.) THERE appears to be a general de- a sire among the employers in the i Itiapiete trade of South Wales for a mure organised system of govern- nig the tinplate market than at pre- sent exists. It so often happens tiiat they never seem to bo conscious of this but when they find themselves helpless in the hands of the middlemen, stumb- ling over each other to sell plates re- gardless of cast. Had something of tiie nature of that initiated this week been done in 1910 or 1911 (which could then have been accomplished with ease) we should not have experienced what we have during the last 12 or 18 months. The latest move is to form a pool, which means nothing more or less than the control of the market in accordance with its requirements, or to a&si mi- late production to demand. There is nothing new aiiout this. Thirty Years Ago. We can remember a similar method being adopted by tinpia-te employers A'2 to 33 years ago, and at different periods afterwards. This is what the Board of Control attempted to do, and thus is what the man 6-uoceedod in doing through t'l.i 36 and 40 box rule. The principle is the same; the method of bringing it nbout may be different. It has always been contended that any restriction upon the output, on the hues adopted by the men, wa>s detri- mental to the trade, nnd did not give the Welsh manufacturers the same ad- vantage as manufacturers in other countries And to a certain extent wo have to admit this to bo a fact, UlaSf- much as a good output reduces tho cost of production. H, however, another method of cur- tailing the output is adopted, every precaution ishould be taken to see thatfc such method is not an hardship upon the men, or upon any jxiiticular sect-ion of the employers. Hence my reason for penning these few notes. While 1 am not in possession cf all the points in the discussion that took place, what has Appeared in tho ureses in reference to it is evidently correct, in- asmuch as wo do know that an- other trade, which is in close affinity with our own, ba. already adapted a similar method to restrict its output. The Men and the Pool." It appears that the basis of the ar- rangement is as follows:—" That a period be taken over which the maxi- mum output of various works should bo ascertained, and then a proportionate amount of the whole output of the trade bf> allotted to each individual works; those exceeding the agreed out- put to pay into a pool, and those turning out a kv«er quantity to re- ceive payment from the pooL" This, on the face of it, may appear very fair and just, but I do not think it will work in practice sü. It may prOVe of advantage to a section of the em- ployers, and to the disadvantage of another section of the employers, while the men in both cases are compelled to suffer without any relief whatsoever. Even if they do not come up to the pro- portion allotted to them they will re- ceive no compensation for the loss; their employers, however, will .com- pensated. But this is not the chief evil. In th*> first place, we have to find out the average output at each works. I have in my mind two works within a few yards of each other. The output at ono would not amount to more than 40 boxes per shift, while at the other it would be between 55 and 60 boxes per shift. This is not entirely due to the machinery or the conditions of working. Certain employers have a knack of getting more out of their men than others. According to the proposed ar- rangement both those works would have to be reduced proportionately. If, for instance, they have to he re- duced 2.5 per cent., it would mean that the works with an average of 60 boxes per ashift would be reduced to 45 boxes per shift, and the works with the 40 boxes to 30 boxes per shift. Glutting the Market. I To the ordinary mind this would still appear fair and just, but the tinplater with the average 40 boxes reahds. and so does his employer-that the 60 box mill is responsible for the gluttinfT or the market, and that if the other fel- low had acted in a similar manner to liiniselfj there would be no necessity for the pool, or any attempt at curtailing the output. Tholl let us take another view. 1 he earning power cf the men of tho 40 box mill is reduced by 25 per ('pnt while the men in the 60. box mill, hav- ing been reduced, would still be oarning about 12 per cent.. more than the men in the 40 box mill earned previous to the reduction. Such a condition must cre- ate much friction ancfill-fûeling amongst both employers and men—unless there is some redeemable feature that has not yet- been brought to light. Emerging From the Wood. I am in perfect agreement that some- thing should bo done to provent a repe- tition of what took place during last year, but I am afraid that the method upon proportionate liitGs is not going to attain its object. Taking the condition of things as they exist in this country, and in. foreign countries, in their rela- tion to the tinplato trade, we are now, I think, emerging from the wood, and we are hopeful of better times during this year; yot, if there is any necessity for curtailing output, it should as far as xiossibie apply on an equal basis to all works. If any differentiation does exist it must of necessity cause trouble. An organisation on the lines sug- gested could be of untold advantage to the trade, if brought into existence to curtail and prevent the erection of new mills until they are absolutely needed. Much of our trouble to-day is due to tho erection of too many mills. Take the last four or five years. The num- ber of new mills has been out of all proportion to our increased demand or even that which we could expect. And, providing this organisation were main- tained not only during adverse timers, but also during prosperous times, then we could hope to assimilate production to demand. Dividing the Burden Equally. There still remains the one fact that if the employers reduce the output, either by periodical stoppages, by stop- ping the mills so many days in the week, or by stopping so many milk, the i employers mu?t be prepared to explain awav their arguments to the meu ia May cf last year, when in order to pre- vent the stoppage of certain wor? they suggested the .?amo thing. We do not object to any metw\beÜ1g adopted providing <he burden is p?ally divided, and that the weaker spet?on shall not now be expected to hear as j great a burden, or even rl;Q.r.I.I' than the stronger section* n

News & View The Bulwark of Art. The Philistiuo i„s one of art'e but warks.—Mr. Waiter Sickcrt. A Great Imperial Pcspie. Do you think avy man would desirl to preserve relics of our times and &aj these were the living places of a greaj Imperial people?—Mr. Chiozza Money M.P. A CirS in Two Sizes. The fluctuation in size of a servant of Kilburn, aroused the suspicion of hei! mistress, she said that when the girl came into her service she was very thin, but when she went out on her first day off she looked much stouter. When she returned, however, she was as thiu as ever, and that aroused the witness's suspicions. On going through her ward- robe she missed a quantity of clothes, and the prisoner admitted stealing them. No Jam for Naughty Boys. A reduced menu -as a form oi punishment for unruly boys in the re- rormatory and industrial achoola waa adopted by the London Education Com- mittee yesterday. The following ia punisnment d.k3t Breakfast.—More porridge and more bread and butter, but no jam. i n •—More meat, more vego tables, but no pudding. Pea. -Mors bread and butter, but ni p] uiii cake. ng Hunted Stag's Torture. The lesidents of Hayes, near Ux- bridge, recently witnessed the revolting spectacle of a stag being hunted throu^ their main street, and, in an exhausted state and bleeding from wounds caused in leaping oyer railings, taking refuga in a pond, from which it was lassoed. ywing to the serious nature of it4 in. juries, the wretched, beast had to bo destroyed. The stag wa<$released neai Stoke Poges for the amusement of tilt members ot Messrs. Headington's Hunt., Mr. Hyncman's Engagement. A surprise has been caused in Socialist circles by the announcement that Mr. H. M. Hyndman, the chair- man of the British Socialist Party, who in a few weeks will celebrate his J 72nd birthday, is engaged to be married. Jiis fiinelo is Rossalind Travertt daughter of Major J. A. IVavens, of Arundel. She is an active worker in tb,, Socialist movement. Mr. Hyndman id the eldest &on of the late Mr. John, Wyndman, M.A., who left £ 150,000 to nuiid and endow churches in East Lon- don. His first wife, to whom he WQ6 married in 1876, died last yd,a.r.. Shaw's Successful Nonsense. Not even Mr. G. K. Chesterton's acrobatac brain," saya E. A. Baugjhaq in iJia "Daily News and Leader," oould find in the nonsense of Mr. Bernard Shaw's "The Music Cure" a text lor a paradoxical sermon on tho seriousness of nonsense. For Mr. Shaw has written "utter nonsense," tS he himself publicly states on the pro- gram. And right funny nonsense it is. Inserted in a Revue it would bo immensely successful." The curtilin goes down to "You made me love you," and the author's name is found a.mon those who made the gowns amd stlIX plied tiie cigarettes. Force v. Law. Mr. Justice We-ssels put hia linger on the central issue says the "Daily News and Leader" to-day, referring ta the South African, deportation, when he observed that it a GoVernrlent desirgp to use lurtv to uo a ,.i.al act uo Court., can t oy it. Vviiat Cnnui u I Botha has demonstrated is the complete subjection of law to force. We are accustomed to see the executive obey and enforce respect for the judgments of the Courts, and we forget that, a,s soon as the Executive ceases to ren- der this obedience, the power of the Courts, and with it the whole fabric of civic right and liberty coliapses. Derivation of Flapper." A correspondent to-day says that a "Flapper," according to The Cen- tury Dictionary," is "a young bird when first trying its wings; especially a wild duck which cannot fly, but flaps along on the water." Murray cays the word means a young wild duck or, partridge." Another refers one to Gulliver's Travels," where the absent-minded philosophers of Laputa can only be got to attend to sublunary affairs by an attendant "liapper" who "flaps" them out of the world of dreams into the world of reality. So a girl flapper keeps things lively. Mrs. William Morris's Beauty. The death of the widow of William Morris, the famous Socialist poet crafts- man, reminds "The Times" that she became famous almost against her will through her rare beauty, which was of a very rare and distinguished type. it hfw long been made familiar by tho pencil of Rossetti, who drew and painted much from her for some 15 years after their first meeting. All the world knows the masses of dark hair, tho ivory complexion and exquisite features, the beautiful hajids, and tho great grey eyes, which were so imicjuo and so overwhelming in their beauty. Only her intimate friends knew tfij kindliness, the good sen, and tho girlish love of fun which remained her a until the end of life. Blow Your Own Trumpet! The War Office are now advertising the Army in the daily Preiss. In our advertisements you see A very gruat variety Of things you often wish to use, And at no price would you refuse. You may get things to cure all ilia, (In bottles, powders, pots or pills); That take off fat ajid make one it And certain "one night's cure" fa gout. Tho Colonies will find you jobs Far from old England's madd'ning mobs; • (And in thoae countries you wLl16tay. Foi w.m t of cash JOU" faro to pay). Y ou'Jl find M>-e Iieight-inci?a&in? schools, That want to make men bigger fools. But if vou would your fortune coin, The British Army y™ should join. J. H. R.

6(1 OR is. To the Editor, Sir, It is a thousand pities the direo* tors of Swansea Town a.re so slow in gra.sping the situation re Saturday's cup tie match. What a glorious, opportunity of filling the money bags i.s going! To put the matter in common language, there would ho no holding the crowd thafr would flook to a sixpenny gate. EvoM. given a very wet Saturday a packed field would be certain at the lower charge. But under these circumstaneasi who would pay a shilling? .If the governing body would a&k a,? football enthusiast his opinion on thl» shilling admission question they w<mJ' feel uneasy. Now directors, look to thot future, and charge sixpence.—Youra% etc., Aiv Admirer 01 tne swans.

Hafod Singera and Lanfern Le&un fcffi Prof. Jevons at Mond Hall, Friday, i p.m..