The Cambria Daily Leader

Sun Rises 4.57, Sun Sets 7.2. Lighting-up Time, 8.3. High Water, 6.30.

TRAMWAY FIGURES. Mr. Tegetmeier, chairman of the Swansea Tramways Co., at the general meeting of the shareholders in London to-day, was able to announce that the receipts for 1912 were E888 more than in the previous year, and the number of passengers carried nearly half-a-million more. The extra 484,000 passengers would have given the company, at its former rate of average receipts per head, an increase of over £ 2,700. The chairman's speech contained some further interesting details. The passengers carried at the workmen's fare of a half-penny per mile (at all hours of the day) were 876,190 more than in 1911, and these totalled nearly 20 per cent. of the whole of the passen- gers carried. Thus it will be seen that, whatever views may be entertained about the main points of the agreement made between the Corporation and the company-and there are critics of the bargain-it secured for one class of the workers of Swansea a very valuable concession. The preferential treatment given those who can show a trade union ticket is undoubtedly a boon. Of course it works out unequally, as the system was bound to. In the majority of towns, all cars in service up to a certain fixed hour in the morning are considered workpeople's cars; Mr. Tegetmeier to. day stated that he thought the Swansea arrangement, by which workpeople can travel at the reduced fare at all hours, is unique in tramway undertakings in the kingdom." There are advantages, and disadvan- tages attached to the system now pre- vailing. The preferred clasfi know the advantages; the disadvantages are ap- parent to the man whose income is that of the workers—often it is considerably less—and to whom the concession does not apply. In Dusseldorf the difficulty has been met by issuing books of tickets at reduced prices to small independent producers or dealers, officials and clerks, who live inside the town, and whose in- come, subject to taxation, does not ex- ceed L104 per annum. It would be im- possible to institute such a system here I The only remedy is to press for an en- largement of the class who ought to secure preferential treatment, and here we hit another difficulty. Up to a certain point," says an authority who has studied this point in all its bear- ings, "the granting of increased facili- ties on tramways will probably lead to growth of traffic sufficient to compensate for the reduction of the average fares, but whether the granting of preferen- tial treatment can ever have a beneficial. effect on the finances of tramway under-' takings is doubtful. If too many general concessions are made, the result will be a decrease in the net revenue. If much preferential treatment is granted, the net revenue will be dimin- ished, as the ordinary fares will have to be raised to prevent this from hap- pening. And again: "A system of preferential facilities must always be extremely ar- bitrary in its application; people who stand most in need of assistance may easily be excluded, and others who re- quire none may be helped." In the spring of 1911 the management of two of the largest municipal tramway un- dertakingB in the country were engaged in resisting proposals to extend the time for running workmen's cars, on the ground of their financial conse- quences. However, the system is in being in Swansea, and it is clearly no small concession. We can only hope that, with the continued prosperity of the company—and we are glad to note the chairman's generous recognition of the vaJue of Mr. David James's ser- vices-it, may be found possible and desirable to enlarge the facilities, or, better still, to seek for further patron- age by reducing the general fares. The tram habit has scarcely been caught by Swansea yet.

THE FORESHORE DISGRACE. I It is sincerely to be hoped that the Swansea Council will give serious heed to the surroundings of the Tuberculosis Ward on the foreshore. and that the members who are showing a new in- l terest in sanitary questions will thiuki it worth their while to visit the place and see the conditions for themselves. There is only one word to describe these conditions. They are disgrace- ful. Here we try to give our stricken people a. chance to strengthen their enfeebled frames by housing them where the sea air can work its will un- checked. We build i m-ai-d upon the beach, and open its doors and windows to the breeze. But the west wind brings with it to the people inhabit- ing the ward, or inking a constitu- tional in the enclosed space around it, the stinks of all manner of refuse— dumped in cartloads not a hundred yards away! On Friday carts were de- positing decaying stuff of all sorts. Rotting sti-aw was strewn about, and rotten vegetables and filthy sacks I The reader may imagine how plesaant was the smell, and he may imagine also how intolerable the situation will become when the weather grows warmer, ana the sun works more strongly upon tne tip. This state of things ought .not to be allowed to continue a day. We are not competent to judge what its effect is upon the patients who live in the open-air ward; but they ought not to be expected to put up with such a nuisance. One well-known Swansea doctor who has seen the tip could scarce contain his anger. We believe that the majority of Swansea people will feel like him unless the tipping is promptly stopped, and something done to diminish the present evils.

———— 140 WHY NOT THE QUEUE? We are sorry to ad vance a single note of criticism in connection with such a rare event as the coming of a circus to Swansea. The sight of the immense audience of children, and of grown-nps who were children once again, in the tent in Victoria Park on Saturday after- noon, was one to bring joy into the hardest heart. But in the public interest, a protest ought to be made against the system of admission that prevailed. There were, at the small entrances to the tent, great crowds that pressed to- wards the pay offices in one solid mass. Little children were caught in the crush, and it Was distressing to note their helplessness, and the helplessness of the people around. iNo attempt seems to have been made to arrange an orderly entrance. Fathers and mothers who brought their children with them had to take their chances in the pell mell, and the writer can vouch for the element of danger that existed when one was carried near the desired haven of the pay-box. Dividing one of the passages, a rope had been pegged down against which many were unlucky enough to stumble. The system was quite inadequate. We remember a similar ugly rush when the Welsh National Show was at Swansea last August, and at all the turnstiles people pressed, a disorderly mass, for entry. Surely the quoue sys- tem would solve such problems as these? If it is possible to work it successfully upon such occasions as a big football match at St. Helen's, when we all naturally fail into line, it could have been adopted with equal success on Saturday. In this matter the Cor- poration have some responsibility. They loan the Park, and they should see that the arrangements are such as not to entail the breathless rush for admittance that was the unfortunate experience of many hundreds who visited the circus, it only needed some one in authority, when the crowd com- menced to gather, who would have in-' stituted a queue. Perhaps this matter will not be lost sight of in connection with the coming of the Bath and West Shoitr. We learn by painful experience. There was a time when the galieryites at Swansea concerts had to go through a trying ordeal before they reached the heights of the Albert Hall. To-day the queue system always prevails. It can be applied quite as well to circuses and shows.

I OSCAR WILDE I I To the Editor. I Sir,—In the King's Bench Division I on Thursday, Lord Alfred Douglas, the plaintiff m the extraordinary libel i action which centres round the tragedy  of Oscar Wiide, said that, "Wilde always took names from the p,-aoe? where he was staying at the time." It will, therefore, not be without in- terest to your readers, that in the third act of "An Ideal Husband"-a play coruscating with flashes of sparkling dialogue—there occurs the foll,owmg:- lirii, Cheveley And you aeked me to be your wife. Lord Goring: That was the natural result of my loving you. Airs. Cheveley: And you threw me over because you saw. or said you saw, poor old Lord Mortl&ke trying to have a. violent flirtation with me in the conservatory at TENBY. Yours, etc., T. Andrew Richards, [ I W oodlands, Neatlv.

The Tradition of I the Race. BY W. E. DOWDING. I EVERY spring the Protectionist  lancy plays around the emigra- I tion nguie?. Year alter year, since 1903, the Tariff Reform League has bid us see how our fiscal system is squeezing out the best blood of our race. At this moment, tnowers of black and white leaflets are descending on the heads of puzzled stay-at-homes, calling Oil them to count how many millions have deserted the old country in how many years. And the Protec- tionist Press, whociG favourite headline at this time of the year is Flight from Free Trade, devotes its news columns to the vivid appeals of emigration agents and the crying needs of the overseas Empire. Indeed, towards this question the Protectionist attitude is as "intellectu- ) ally disreputable" as toward all the others. The main platform purpose ot Tariff Reform is tne development of the resources of the Empire, in order that it may become self-sustaining. Yet the passage of population from the developed to the undeveloped parts of the Eripire is spoken of as the result of the so-called antiquated, let alone fiscal system under which the mother country lives; and we are left to suppose that such changes as the Tariff Reformers would make would stay emigration and leave the colonies to be peopled and the food of the Empire grown by those who have no share in our traditions and no drop of blood 11 their veins." Nothing meaner, nothing more dis- creditable to the Opposition, nothing more insulting to the intellect of the electorate, has ever been tried, even by the Tariff Reform League. A Climmer of the Truth. Protectionist journals grow tired sometimes of keeping up the pretence. Since last spring's outburst I have collected some of the utterances of these journals on the subject. Thus, in blief We must send a constant stream of vigorous Briti-sh emigrants to Canada in order to counteract the effect of emigration from the United States into the Dominion. —" Daily MaiL" "Australia needs immigrants more than they need her, and must learn to cater for them. The present Federal Ministry should be especially anxious to promote immigration by all meane in its power."— Times." A few weeks i„go, Mr. W. A. S. Hewins, M.P., wes re-elected chairman i of the Tariff Reform League Literature Committee, the body responsible for a multitude of leaflets and newspaper i articles that attribute emigration to poverty and hopelessness, under Free Trade. Yet even Mx. Hewins ilire not face an audience. it seems, and repeat the foolisli falsities of his committee's "literature." He said last year (and with every word of the paragraph we agree) he knew the value of emigration; he also knew what use was made of emigration figures, but Englishmen had emigrated since thafcays of Elizabeth, and the race had not Buffered from it. The only way to carry on the English tradition was to emigrate." Why Emigrants Co. 1 There was a time when British emigration was directly due to poverty and hopelessness. But land in North America was free in those days, and passages thither were te be had for nothing. To-day, the British emigrant is only assisted to cross the oce.an; he must arrive on the other side with Jnouey in his pocket; and he may not have land out there for nothing. Canada doe-s not want paupers. Her emigration agents reap their richest harvests when work is plentiful in thesp, islands, when men can save the money needed towards their passage, buy suitable outfits, and take the requisite number of sovereigns away with them. Thii point was very emphatically stated by a Scottish Tanff Reform newspaper, the Ed nburgh Evening Dispatch," on the 8th of March last, in an article which, it will be seen, quotes the Daily Mail." "The main centre from which the emi- grants are drawn is Scotland. Here the exodus is beginning to cause some un- easiness. 'I was talking with a large em- ployer of labour here,' a Dundee emigra- tion agent wrote recently. 'He told me there was no reason for people to leave to find work. They could employ two thou- sand more hands in the mills if they could get them. Why, when trade is at its apex and employment so abundant, should so many emigrate? One of the most ex- perienced shipping agents supplied the answer, and (says the 'Daily Mail') his views were confirmed by others. A time of good trade is always a good time for emigration. he said. There are large numbers of people, young, strong, and ambitious, longing to go to the Dominions, but never able at ordinary times to save the money. Their wages are too few for them to save £10 or £ 12 for fare and personal funds. All their friends are as poor as themselves, and so they cannot bor- row. When good trade comes along they can save enough to go. This applies specially to workers in towns But the marked feature of the emigration this year is not so much the townsmen who are leaving England as the large proportion of- countrymen. The prosperity in British manufactures does not apply to the land. Multitudes of small farmers have been ruined by the two bad seasons; 1911 was too dry and 1912 was too wet. These men have been sold up or have had to quit. They do not want to become townsmen. Those who can afford it are making their way to Canada or Australia, and they are just the kind of men we want.5 A Protectionist Protest. I Mr. Jesse Collings, iNi-P., would find something elsc, for these men to do. Even he cannot control rain and Sl yet. He would keep them at home t? re-people our rural districts which are now a desert, or fast becoming I one." But, Mr. Coliings, feudal Tariff Reformer though he be, does not descend in political argument quite as low as some. In a let;ter to The Morning Post" (January 23rd, 1913) j Mr. Jesse Collings r< lorred to a speech delivered in London by Mr. J. S. Dcmnis. manager of a department of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Mr. Dennis had urged that the Dominions should get a share of the surplus of the agri- culturists. of Great Britain. "It would be well for the public to under- stand what all this means," wrote Mr. Coliings. "It means that Mr. Dennis, the agent, as he said, of the strongest, land sell- ing organisation in the world, wan simply touting for Britiah customers with money to buy the land, which his company has for sale. Earl Grey spoke with approval of the sending away of the best men and women from the Mother Country. It seems to me that he would be acting in a more patrk manner if he werc/ to exert his great influence in forwarding mr-azures to put those best men and women on the mil- lions of acres of uncultivated land which exist at home, and so re-people our rural districts which are now a desert or fast becoming one What 'I thank MT. Coliings for especially is his recognition of the fact that British emigrants are attracted, not driven, and that Free Trnrlp has nothing to do with the case.

Foreign Affairs. BY J. C. SQUIRE. THE news of friction between BuX- garia an(1 Servia nas troubled the Stock Exchange a little. But lew save me most panicky people reahy believe that a serious rupture or-reta, tions is in prospect. According to the stnet letter Bulgaria is in the right ill this quarrel, 6iie and Servia made, before the war, an agreement lor allo- cating 1-he prospective spoils. b-ut insdy they have taken more than they thought tney would, and seconcLy, the Servians have aone an unexpectedly large share of the work, even joining in the capture of Adnanopie. It is only to be expected that tneir piea snouid be that circumstances alter cases and that they should claim mor§ thaa they did before. Bulgaria, although she is stronger than Servia, would be 1n. sane to be stubborn on the point j neither sue nor Servfa could ^taad another war just now. Also tho Powers would be far more resomte ia attempting to preserve peace in this case man they were when a Balkan war against Turkey was in question and in their hearts most of them rejoiced at tne prospect of getting nd of the 'lurk and his problem. There seems now little doubt thai Montenegro will accept a bribe from j the Powers to suppress her aspirations towards Scutari. Only, in order that her dignity-for the least of us may indulge in a proper pride—may be saved, she insists tnats the money shall not be called compen- sation for the foregoing of Scutari, but a war indemnity. Whether tiie' i'uweri will agree to tins terminology is doubt- ful Though the Powers may weU give Montenegro a penny to stop fighting (so to speak) how on eartu can they, unless language ceases w mean anything, give Montenegro any- thing that can be called an indemnity—. unless indeed they advance the money and recover it from Turkey, which they certainly do not mean to do. And, beyond this, to award Montenegro an indemnity would be to recognise tha principle of an indemnity not only ror her, but for all her Allies. And this is just what the Powers have been very properly refusing to do all along. Incidentally I saw a funny newspaper headline the other day. It was obviously quite serious and ran: "Montenegro Rebukes Powers The new Albanian throne will prob- ably be tilled by Prince Wiinelm of Sweden, who has been nominated by the Powers and accepted by the repre- sentatives of Albanian national" ism, Prince Wilhelm belongs W one of the most sensible and industrious Royal Families in Europe. He is popular in his own country, and a person with strongly marked indi- vidual tastes. These include a pro- nounced taste for water, to which bever- age, during his visit to America, he in- sisted on confining himself, much to the horror of his plutocratic hosts. He is married to the Grand Duchess Marie Gaulovna, a first cousin of the Czar. Should he become King of Albania, ho will have all his work cut out to foster a healthy and harmonious co-operatioa between the various tribes—Mohamme- dan, Catholic and Greek Orthodox-of his subjects. lie himself is, of course, a Protestant. A huge sensation has been caused by the declaration of De Liebknecht, one of the best known Social-Democratic members of the Reichstag, that t he great gun-making firm of Krupps has been deliberately spreading a war- scare in French newspapers in order to get more armament orders at home. Another member (a Catholic of the Centre) adds that for years it has been established that Krupps have sodd cannon cheaper to foreign countries than to Germany. It is reported that several people at Essen (where the Krupp works are) are in prison await- ing an investigation into certain sus- picious facts connected with official secrets. The Prussian War Minister ad- mits that there is some substance in what Dr. Liebknecht says. At this stage, without knowledge of the real facts, it is impossible to comment on the business. But the non-moral way in which large commercial concerns can be run is no new discovery. There are those who believe that the interests engaged in the manufacture of ships and guns are a far greater obstacle to a reduction of armaments than are the jealousies and animosities oi peoples. The Belgian strike shows no signs of weakening; 400,000 men are out; th4 industries affected rather increase than decrease; and now (dreadful thing) Brussels is even deprived of some of its principal newspapers. Though slight fracas between strikers and police have occurred in some places, the strike is as a w hole proceeding in the most good- humoured and orderly way. Judging by British precedent, I suppose that the result of this is that the Belgian Tory Press informs its readers "Miners Laugh while Nation Starves," and so on. That is the striker's dilemma. If he riots he is a brutal savage if he does not, ho is a cool and callous cynic. Optimistic democrats assure me daily that the strikers are bound to win. That victory may be believed when it is seen; but, if it comes off, its effects will be felt all over the world. The report that King Alfonso had postponed his Paris visit is untrue. He will go to see President Poincare next month, and he is sure of a l great reception in the French capital. The public was delighted by his de- meanour when he was shot at last week. He always does this. He seems almost to like bombs and bullets. Directly one comes along he springs to the ground, raises*, his hat, says "Long live Spain!" or "Hey Presto!" and then leaps back into the saddle. Assassins very often have quaint motives. But surely the man, Sancho Alegre, who made this attempt on King Alfonso, did it for the quaintest reason on record. He did it in order to get back on his wife. That lady had refused to post him any walley, and bis rejoinder wa-i that in that case she should live all her days under the disgrace of being the widow of an executed regicide. This is far-fetched, to say the least of it. ok- What is going on in China? Since Dr. Morrison, the famous correspon- dent of the "Times," took the job of Political Adviser to the Chinese Govern- ment we don't seem to get anything like such full information about China as we used to do. There is a complete lack of information here regarding tho prospects of the new Chinese Parlia- ment. Sun Yat Sen, who so nobly sunk his own claim to the Presidency in order to support Yuan Shi Kai, is now said to have thrown Yuan over on tns ground of alleged treachery to the Cre- stitlltion. If this be so, it may m«i|<?} a serious weakening and discord L?, China at a critical moment. For t,n(A%) is no chance at present of the anti-Yua* movement being strong enough to dis- possess that powerful man of his authority. He is master of the capital and looks like remaining w. There appears some iikeHiKxxi of the Parlia- ment s hirking the ticklish issue of the Presidential election for a tame a.nd confining itself to innocuous legislation-