The Cambria Daily Leader

'ANARCHIST PLOT.' -The Premíer. i Blow at Fabric of I State. I I GOVERNMENT I ACCEPTS CHALLENGE Mr. Lloyd George, in a telegram to the chairman of the County Council at Carnarvon, says: The cause of my absence is the sudden outbreak of the rail- way strike, which can only bring deplorable consequences to those concerned in it, and to the nation at large- I have come to the conclusion that in a large and varied experience I cannot re- call any strike entered into so lightly and with so little justification, and with such entire disregard for the public in- terest. I STRIKE INEXPLICABLE. On its merits the strike is inexplicable. The Government have made an offer which every fair-minded man must regard as generous. DECLINED POSTPONEMENT. Tho Government begged the Railway Union to postpone the strike, were it only for two or three days, and they de- clined to grant even this respite to-their fellow-countrymen, and the service upon which the life of the whole people so much depends was stopped without any warning. EXPLOITING LABOUR. The Government have reason to believe that the strike has been engineered for some time by a small but active body of men who have wrought tirelessly and in- sidiously to exploit the laVpr- don o4 t his country for cubversivo u. L. ANARCHIST PLOT. I am convinced that the %,i!t of trades unionists of the land are opposed f' ichist conspiracy against the interests of the nation. The Government have no alternative but to accept the challenge thrown down to society as a whole. They intend to meet the blow at the public weal with all the resources at the disposal of the State, and iook to the nation to support the in in maintaining the fabric of social order, upon which the prosperity of this country depends. A.S.E. & F. SUPPORT, The Executive Committee of the Asso- ciated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen have decided to support the National Union of Railwaymen, and have passed the fctllowing resolution:— "That having carefully considered the demands of the National Union of Rail- waymen regarding all grades other i than those of drivers, firemen, and cleaners, and also the offer of the Government in response to such demands, we consider, in view of the rates of pay now ruling in other industries throughout the coun- try, such an offer is in the main totally ihadequate to compensate the men for the work performed and to meet the ex- isting cost of living, and we think that if industrial peace is to be secured such offer must be increased. We, therefore, press upon the Government to improve their offer, and thus avoid further public inconvenience, and hereby decide to ex- tend any support necessary to bring this movement to a successful issue." GREAT DISPARITY. I Asked as to whether the locomotive j engineers would strike at midnight, Mr. j Bromley said that was a difficult (juestion to answer. There was a great disparity between, the demands of the National Union of Rilwaymen and the terms of the Government, which left no doubt, as to ivKrt taken. j ley, to help our fellow trade unionists, and not necessarily to assist the N.U.R. in their claims!" Mr. Bromley added: This is the reply of my executive to the suggestion in the press that steps are being taken, to .deal with the railwaymen. should a strike ensue." CAN ONLY END IN ONE WAY. J Government Free From Reproach. I Mr. Fisher, Minister of Education, at Slieffield last flight said the threatened railway strike caused the deepest grief and unfeigned anxiety. If the strike took place it could only end in one way. It was the clear duty of the Government to see that the industries of the country were not paralysed, and that food was distributed to the people. The Govern- ment would not fail in its duty. He hoped it might yet be possible to avert the catastrophe. The Government had nothing to reproach itself for. and the men's leaders had taken a grave step which he was convinced was not likely to command the. approval of the great, mass of railwav I servants POTATO SHORTAGE. I A well-known wholesaler said this morn- ing that there was a shortage of potatoes to-day. Fruit to-day will be fairly plen- tiful, as also will be other vegetables, but if the strike lasts over Monday he fears there will be a general shortage of fruit and vegetables. --(Continued on Page Five). J i I NO IRISH STOPPAGE. All Irish trains are running to-day, but there are no mails from England. HALF-TIME: SWANSEA TOWN—Nil. CARDIFF CTTT-—Nil. Half-time Score: S-w&nsea, Seconds 1 con. goal (5 pts). Loughor nil, TO-DAY'S PACING, Betting: 7 to 4 Flying Spear, .3,.(Õ-hay 1, Wimasti 2, March Along 3.—14 ran. ) I > f' f „ ??

1 CORSETS ;«• fi { ¡' VJfJ/ Elegant & 11. i Co I E 1J Easy i| E 1.. I' L-,q g I i 1 Exceliect. Stocked by 6 ?4 ctass .Prop?. | ?forncQ.r???c?cpp? 1 71, Wood St., LONDON, f

HOW NEWS AFFECTED" SWANSEA. Situation at Works, Docks, I I an d Collieries. MUMBLES RAILWAY STOPPAGE. Swansea had not taken the prospect of a railway strike seriously, and was still toping it would be avoided when the H'ess announcement came as a bolt from tha blue, and with a certain note of ÎiHFitability about it. 1 ""When Swansea people living in the xicinity of railway termini awoke on "%fcurday morning they were not long in t-eaTising that the expected had hap- Venecl, for quite a Sunday quiet reigned —no puffing and shrieking of locos, or tattling and whirl of traffic, ana, of more local interest, none of the peculiar sounds Of the Mumbles train. MUMSLES RAILWAY STOPPAGE. The whole of the Mumbles railway em- ployees, it transpired, are in the N.U.R. intimated to the manager, Mr. I'avid James, early in the evening, that they were conforming to the national policy. THE MILK SUPPLIES. 'n 1. I I  -1? Une ot tlic earliest enecrs was on nuiK tupplics. The evening's milk came through all right, and in cases in which it had not been collected on arrival was Slivered to retailers from the closed Nations on Saturday morning, with the t;ews that the usual morning's supplies 'ere not available. Thus the town's sup- Idy is this morning down to at least half | th normal, and not knowing of the ,}'oo<l Control Department's arrange- ments, some were early lamenting t'he ill-1 effect of this on invalids and children. I -— «o j STATION SCENES. A Leader" representative visited j JTigb-street station early on Saturday JWArning and found everything 'deserted and at a standstill. The contrast to the usually bustling scene was curious, for .tp??TS laden w?h '-a?s of rabhi? a?d; ?b '?ts parcels ?t'?'d a? iC they ha^'beeh left inc the process of removal to the W&els department. The latter place was piled choc-a-bloc "frith luggage and parcels of all descrip- tions. A crate containing live ducks con- signer! to a Swans?a gentleman, s<_(Ufiwk'Hl "Ulstily. and the noise resounded hollowly through the station. Each platform had its long train of Carriages standing with doors open and occasional windows down. Not a soul could be- seen except an inspector or the stationmaster, w (10, asked for a state- -on the situation, could say ab- "kolutely nothing. NO ASSURANCE GIVEN. The o&c<'s seemed to be manned as usual &nd we were authoritatively informed by a representative of the Divisional Super- intendent (who remained awaiting de- velopments all night, and only left the station about 8 a.m.) that no assurance «ould be given as to the disposal of goods ?Rrl passenger traffic. Bid the service 7t)rk according to Schedule last evening?" asked our repre- l??st af?,ked our rel)re-I Everything worked like clockwork '"ntil midnight," was the reply, -when \-HY man ceased." LAST TRAIN TO LEAVE. Apparently the 1ast train that left Swan" ea was "the 11.5, but the official 1"nuld not say whether if got any further t haD the place where it should have reached at 12 o'clock. All the pernor. 1 of the different ofifces were on duty, anfl there did not seem to be any immediate J "Possibility of' the clerks ceasing wcrk. Outside the station there were the usual tuckets, although access to the precincts ~fras barred by an inspector, who wearily Assured anxious enquirers that no trains '\I-ere running anywhere. One enquirer \-a: persistent in his efforts to enter the station, and eventually he succeeded, to ^Uierge a few moments laier t^itli a lieg of golf clubs and a satisfied expression. CARTS AND LORRIES. Several light delivery carts stood m the front of High-street, whilst at Wst a dozen drays and heavy delivery Wagons—horses arl all—wore drawn up, "Httside the goMs ^yard entrance. The Bates were closet'. Our man asked1 a carter how long he had been waiting Since six o'clock," he stated. And are you going to continue wait- J11g p" It's the only thing I can do," was the reply. Meanwhile the horses pawed and fidgetted impatiently, although one or two 111('n had had the forethought to remove their beasts from the shafts, so as to RivH them a little freedom. OTHER STATIONS, randore station was quite as forlorn as the central station, and a police ser- geant and a solitary official seemeù. to be ^he only persons near the place. A long train of cattle was drawn up in a siding, ^nd the animals moved restlessly about 31, their conned spaces, and stared in ))rplexity at the strange quietness and isolation. At the three other Swansea stations, trio L. and N. W j ?., the Midland Rail- way, and the R. and S.B.R-, it was the vz,,r?? tale from the oScials—scme of hem weary-eyed after an aU-night watch In the hope of an encouraging turn of ^ents. Victoria Station was depres- f'tigly lonely. Net a single person was be seen in the station, until one went the small group cf offices where the were on doty as usual- The ser- "ice had proceeded normally un til. the I' jjjPjpciyted hour, when the porters, lfl -livers guards, cleaners, etc., had ?"?p Od work en masse, according to the ,i,, mandate. J I The Gower and district market people who make Rutland-street quite an ani- mated t?orou?;hfare on Saturday morn- ings, were missing to-day. The high level railway running tc the South Dock hoist adjoining with the L. and N.W.R. I was a blank space from Victoria-road Bridge to St. Thomas. The stationmaster at the Midland Station informed us that the last train, had come in from Hereford on Friday evening, and since then everything had been "out of action." The same applied to the Rhondda and Swansea Bay, and the main entrances of both termini were gated and locked. A Swansea man who desired to ptay football for a Valley side haunted the precincts for half-an-hour, and found nobody to give him any satis- faction beyond the comfortless observa- I tion, No trains—and the Lord knows when there'll be any." ■*4P POSITION OF MINERSI Trucks WilI Run Short. I In so far as the miners are concerned (writes our Mining Correspondent), there can be no action except that idleness may soon be brought about by lack of trucks at the ..various collieries. There can be no question of striking in sympathy with the railvvaymen, even if the miners thought that advisable, because, first, of all, a ballot of the men. showing in one result a two-thirds majority for f-uch action, would have to be taken. The number of trucks on the colliery sidings would, however, be limited, in any and every instance, and it deyends upon that L-ii uiber as to whether a par- ticular colliery can be kept going for a few day,probably not yaore than two or three days anywhere. STRIKE STARTS The Press Association says the railway strike throughout the United Kingdom, called by the National Union of Railway- man becamo effective at midnight, and led in many centres to numbers of pas- sengers !>eing stranded and unable to complete their journeys. At Birmingham, for instance, the train from London ar- rived at a quarter past midnight, and was left standing in the station. At York the station was crowded at mid- night by people waiting to travel north or south, but the railwaymen left the pre- mises quietly. At Derby 85 per cent, of the employees in tlip carriage and wagon works are out. and the bulk of the station staff left at midnight. The loco men had not then ceased work. The Naval authorities at Plvmouth have stopped all leave and recalled those absent. The scene at Bristol principal station was quite orderly, but up and down trains conveying mail and perishable goods were left in the station. THE IRISH SITUATION. The Irish headquarters of the N.Un- issued a statement late last night that strike committees were being formed in various centres to meet emergencies. The ni embers were exhorted to remain at work until cal]oo uPon to act. The opinion is ^neially hold among Irish railwaymen he strike will not extend to Ireland, at any rate, for the present. TRANSPORT MEN. To Meet on Monday. The Exchange Telegraph Co. learns th«-|g3 meeting of the executive of the Na?M? Transport. Workers will meet at Fix Monday t.? consider the posi- tion. THE DOCKS. Oniy Two Tips Wcrkiraj. I Thr>. position at the Swansea docks is immediately apparent to anyone bv reason, of the inactivity in the various departments of loading and discharging. There are only two tips operating, and when the line of wagons containing coal arc accounted for work will auto- matically cease, as there will be no loco- motive power to carry on. The general cargo work is proceeding, various material being dealt with by the coal contractors' engines, the drivers not being members of the N.U.R. But work in this direction may cease at any moment, as the great amount of conges- tion that must take place OIl account of shunting operations and the inadequate supply of locomoti ves will bring about a condition of things that must eventu- ally result in making anything like dis- charging and loading operations quite Impossible HARBOUR AUTHORITIES MOVE. However, the harbour authorities are doing their utmost to fa.mhtate matters and keep things going as long as they possibly can. The only two coal tips working this morning was one at the King's Dock and another at the Prince of Wales Dock. The feeling prevailing among the majority of docks business men is that the strike would have come sooner or later, and now that it. has taken placo it must take its course until one side or the other submits.

THIS MORNING'S HOPE. I — I Cramp and Geddes Confer. I The Press Association says-:— Mr. C. T. Cramp, president of the National Union of Railwaymen, had an interview with Sir Eric Geddes this morning. While this visit does not necessarily, indicate that an effort is being made to re-open negotiations, it shows, at least, that the Railway Union and the Government, j are still on consulting terms. The Press Association further says: Another indication that fresh points have arisen since the breakdown of the negotiations was afforded by the sudden visit at 11.15 a.m. to the Ministry of Transport of Sir Herbert Walker, chairman of the railway man- agers. Sir Herbert arrived while Mr. Cramp was with Sir Eric Geddes. I SIR ERIC GEDDES AT DOWNING STREET. Exchange Telegraph Co. says: Sir Eric Geddes called at No. 10, Downing-street this morning and saw the Prim e Minister for some time, re- turning to the Ministry 01 Transport. HAIG AT MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT. Press Association says: Field Marshal Haig called at the Ministry of Trans- port this morning and had a nrolonged conference. TRANSPORT WORKERS: LIVERPOOL STATEMENT. The Railwaymen's Union official stated at Liverpool to-day that the transport Wor kers had promised to onle out on Monday in sympathy.—Exchange.