Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph

EDITORIAL NOTES. Mr. Brace has written very strongly in his weekly letter in the Western Mail upon the attack which has been made in some parts of the South Wales coalfield upon the Federation. It is unfortunate that these kind of attacks are made. To us, the Federation has done splendid work, but it is beyond the power of any body of workers to net at once all the reforms which they are out to secure. The growing strength of the Federation has been a stimulus to a corresponding solidarity among the owners. The miners' organisation of to-day are not fighting isolated colliery owners in temporary unity. All that the men in their wisdom have done to strengthen the weak links which snapped before ultimate success was reached, the owners have done in like manner. Small colliery owners have been ringed within the Owners' Associa- tion so that a divided purse would be impossible. The owners have no non- Unionists, and, therefore, no partial advantage to the men in strike time can be gained. Time there was when the Cambrian Collieries, for instance, would be working merrily while the rest of the collieries would be idle. Now it is a straight fight, and without backsliding handicap on either side, for even among the men the non-Unionists are not appre- ciable enough to disturb the general nature of a strike. The danger to the Federation is the division in its own ranks. Attacks from within are always more to be feared than those from with- out. When disloyalty .goes to the length of public demonstration, then it is vulnerable, and gives the opposition the supreme advantage of a divided front to attack. The day-wage men at the pre- sent time are the centre of discontent, and the air is full of personal imputations that the best of the Executive Council has not been exercised. We do not believe it. If the desired success has not been reached, it is no proof that the best efforts of the Executive Council has not been attempted. As Mr. Brace says, for men to say that the South Wales Miners' Federation had done nothing to improve the position of anybody but the colliers, and that the interests of the other classes were ignored, is a con- fession either of having no knowledge of the subject, or that the desire is to divide the members of the Federation." Then Mr. Brace proceeds to show that day- wage men have not been without an advance, and he points out that com- paring like with like, taking as the basis the wages paid to day-wage men before the Federation was established and to-day, it can be proved to demonstration that, whereas the standard rates of the colliers have practically remained un- changed, the standard rates of some classes of day-wage workers, at any rate, show some little improvement, and to the degree of that improvement the Fede- ration should be given credit. In matters of this kind nothing is lost in being accurate and detailed. To generalise is too dangerous, and must end in injustice. Therefore, the only fair test actual results. The Conciliation Board have now 50 per cent, upon the standard rates of 1879. To the collier, whose butting price is Is. 6d. per ton, 50 per cent. is added to this Is. 6d. To the timberman, who is paid 4s. 9d. per day as a standard wage, this 50 per cent. is added, and also to the hauliers, labourers, and every other class of underground workers' standard wage. If that be no-and it is so-other classes of day-wage workers secure exactly the same improved wage-rate through the Federation and Conciliation Board as the collier, which, in a sentence, means that the Federation, instead of making favourites of the colliers at the expense of the other members of the Federation, as they are charged with doing, have given the same advantage and protection to each member of the Federation, ir- respective of the class of labour they are emoloyed at." Then he argues how self- destructive is this kind of criticism. In the feature, of protection in cases of in- juries, he shows how equality of benefit has been conserved. Take as further illustration," he says, another branch of the Federation's work, viz., compen- sation. Is there a district or miners' agent that does not protect the injured day-wage worker in the same complete manner as the collier? Not only is it untrue, but wickedly untrue, to say other than in the matter of compensation, as in wages, neither the Federation nor the miners' agents have' thought other than how best to serve the members of the society regardless of the work they may be engaged at in the collieries. I am bound to say I do not understand the spirit that moves some members of the Federation to talk down their society. What do they hope to gain by it? Do they appreciate; that in so doing they are weakening and, perhaps, if continued, destroying the one institution of all others that stands four-square in their defence? I wonder do they appreciate the many difficultieri that had to be sur- mounted fo rreate the South Wales Fede- ration as it ebists to-day? I doubt it, or, assuredly, they would more jealously work to ensure the future of a united Fede- ration for the South Wales miners than they appear to be doing in levelling un- justifiable attacks upon the Federation." Last week, there was a crowded audi- ence at St. James' Hall, London, to hear a lecture by Mr. Sidney Webb on the education service, as a means of prevent- ing destitution. There is no doubt that an educated mother with practical know- ledge of domestic sciences can make a little amount go much further than a mother ignorant of the art of cookery and the general value of foodstuffs. It is well known that a large proportion of the badly nourished children suffer from unsuitable food rather than from lack of food. All who have any knowledge of the schools of the, Rhondda will maintain that view. The scope of the domestic dietary is very limited, and in food, like recreation, the essential thing is variety. Many complain against the cost out of rates of the Provision of Meals Act, 1906. The report recently issued by the Board of Education on this administration assumes that in one direction it is pos- sible that in the course of time much may be done, to deal with cases of mal- nutrition among school children so as to diminish or keep within reasonable bounds the demand for meals at the cost of the rates. There is a provision in the Act to demand the cost of school meals from certain parents. This provision does not appear to work well. In the twelve months ended 31st March, 1910, sanction was given for 96 Authorities for expenditure from the rates. The total amount recovered from or contributed by parents in England and Wales was only t295, out of a total expenditure of nearly £ 66,000. The cost from rates may appear great, but it is a gratifying, fact that a large number of Local Authorities state that there has been an improvement in the mental condition of the children. We hope that the day will soon arrive when the rihysical condition of the child will be considered as much a local responsi- bility as the mental. At the meeting which Mr. Sidney Webb addressed, Mr. Philip Snowden and himself concurred that it is wiser to spend money on the, child than to wait until the child became one of life's failures. Mr. Snowden I rightly, we think, pleaded for an all- round educated people, mentally well- fnmmipd. nhvsicallv strong and healthy. and industrially well trained.

The Week at Westminster. The Chancellor's Great Victory. The change in the political situation brought about by the passage of the Budget through its various stages in the House of Commons is extraordinary. The Tories refused to believe that the Irish Nationalists would ever vote for it. They jeered at the Government and Labour groups. They shouted day after day: Why don't you bring in your Budget? I They roundly declared that we could not carry it. Their perkiest orators kept on repeating like a catch-word: Your Budget is dead." Gloom, discomfiture, dissension have preyed upon their souls this week. They can see the Budget going straight into harbour, while the wreckers look on in helpless impotence. The first outburst, when they realised that the Government had really triumphed was a vain cry that we had sold the Constitution to the Irish, for the sake of the Budget. That cry sounded so hollow that it ceased in a few days. Then the Tories turned with mali- cious anticipation to the O'Brien attack on Lloyd George. The Tories secretly hugged their sense of pleasure that the Welshman was finished for. They tried to hide their mean, low, cowardly joy; but I watched them closely. When O'Brien openly accused Mr. Lloyd George of untruthfulness, deceit, and dishonour- able conduct, the self-styled gentlemen of England cheered with savage glee. Mr. Balfour, to his credit, turned round and protested; but it was not back bench Tories alone who cheered. Hiding, like sneaks, beside the Speaker's Chair, I saw several on the Front Opposition Bench join in this disreputable exhibition of personal spleen. But they were soon sorry for their conduct. Lloyd George proved quite easily and effectively that he had acted with unblemished correct- ness all through. The wild charges of O'Brien turned out to be baseless fictions. The little Welshman emerged triumphant from all his traducers, and the Tories sank into a deeper despair than ever, as their hones that O'Brien would save them from the Budget were dashed to the ground. Let my readers observe the meaning of all this. The Tories loudly accuse the Government of treachery because they are carrying their Budget with the help of seventy odd Irish votes; while they them- selves at the same time try with the assistance of eleven disaffected Irish votes to defeat the Budget. This policy of the Tories culminated on Tuesday night in the division lobby. The Tory Party actually voted for an amendment, moved by O'Brien, which claimed special financial treatment for Ireland. Both Chamberlain and Balfour openly declared that they profoundly dis- agreed with the policy stated in the amendment, but they would vote for it all the same. Such an alliance with eleven Irish may be set off against the straightforward arrangement of the Liberals which is merely, a continuation of the policy on the Budget last Session

GRAND CHAIR EISTEDDFOD, MAESTEG Tuesday, August 2, 1910. Aggregate Prizes, £200" Masic—Dr. 8. COLERIDGE TAYLOR, London; Preliminary, W. THOMAS Esq. Treorchy* Brass Bands—TOM MORGAN, Esq., London Literature—" Gwili Ambulance—Dr. D. /'Thomas CHIEF CHORAL—" Hark the deep tremendous Voice (Haydn) 1st. prize, £ 70, 2nd £ 20. SECOND CHORAL—"The Lord is my Shepiierd (S. Davies, G iL., Maesteg). Prjze, £20. MALE VOICE-" Spartan Heroes" (Dan Protherce). 1st. Prize, £ 20. 2nd £ 5. JUVENILE OHOIR-" Over the fields of Clover" (Adam Geibelj. 1st prize, £13, 2nd Z2. BRASS BANDS (::od Olass) Mem,ories of the past" (W. Rimmer). 1st prize, £ 10. 2nd £ 5. 3rd £ 2 ACTION SONG for Clildren.-lst prize, Z-2. 2nd til. SOLOS—ligs. each. PBYDDE8T Prize. 2gs. with handsome Chair. Ambulance Competition, £ 4. Together with substantial prizes for oth»r musical competitions Essay, Recitations, Englyn, etc. Full particulars, see programmes 2d. each, from the Secretary J. P, JAMES. 16, Brynmawr Place, Maesteg, Glamorganshire. 151) We have been requested to insert the following J IT WARSTING for the protection of the Public The public are hereby warned against ignorant men calling at people's houses, falsely representing themselves to be Dentists, or Agents for Dentists, and offering to extract Teeth to obtain orders for False Teeth. Sueb mea have had no Dental Trainin" in almost .all cases they are quite ignorant of Dentistry, and without any fixed address so that people they injure cannot trace them. In addition to this, extortionate charges' are made for rough, common False Teeth. ° On no account should the Public have anything to do with them, many persons havim' been cruelly treated and defrauded. People allowing strangers to interfere with their teeth expose themselves to MANY DANGERS. Blood-Poisoning, Hemorrhage, Disease and life-long Disfigurement often result from the dirty instruments and ignorance of travelling teeth quacks. For their own safety, the Public are strongly advised not to allow anyone, except established Dental practitioners, to inferfere with their teeth, and only to patronise respectable practitioners known to them. Persons requiring any dental operation should have nothing to do with men who canvass or those employing them.

Joint Water Bill. Scheme before House of Commons Committee. No Competition with other Districts Intended. The Pontypridd and Rhondda Joint Water Bill came before a Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons on Monday, presided over by Sir Luke White. lite Hon. J. IX Fitzgerald, K.C-, Mr. Freeman, K.C., and Mr. Rhys Williams appeared for the promoters; Mr. Ackworth, K.C., and Mr. Trevor Lewis represented the Cardiff Corpora- tion; and the Hon. Mr. Chatieri's, K.C., represented the Llantrisant Urban Dis- trict Council, the petitioners against the Bill. The Hon. J. D. Fitzgerald, for the promoters, said the Bill was promoted by the Urban District Councils of Rhondda and Pontypridd for the formation of a Joint Water Board and the transfer to that Board of the undertaking of the Pontypridd Water Company at a price which had been agreed upon between the Authorities. Counsel referred to the rapid growth of the two districts, pointing out that while in 1861 the population of Rhondda was only about 3,000, at the present time it was estimated at 138,000. the present population of Pontypridd being estimated at over 40,000. The two districts had already combined in a joint sewerage scheme. The purchase by the two Coun- cils of the water undertaking, said Mr. Fitzgerald, was very desirable from a public point of view, as the present water supply in. the two localities was such that it required to be dealt with promptly and effectively. The population was increasing and there was absolutely no doubt at all that if there was a succes- sion of dry seasons the inhabitants would be faced with one of the greatest dis- asters that an industrial population could be faced with-a scarcity of water of several months' duration in the dry season of the year. It was extremely doubtful whether the company with its present resources would have been able to con- struct the necessary reservoirs to meet the increased demand for water, and, accordingly, he thought the company had behaved prudently in coming to terms by which their undertaking could be pur- chased by agreement, thereby avoiding the expenditure which would be involved had an arbitration been resorted to. The agreed price was undoubtedly a moderate one. In round figures it was £ 335,000. which included the Debenture stock of £ 42,000, which had been taken over by the new Water Board. The limits of the supply of the new Board would 'foe the same as the existing limits of the Pontypridd Company, and the whole of the water supply in the Rhondda and Pontypridd areas would be in the hands of the new public authority. With regard to the water surmly of the Llantrisant and Llahtwit Vardre dis- tricts, it was not proposed to alter the present agreement—they would not enter into any competition with these districts in accordance with a clause that was inserted in the company's Bill in 1908. The main opposition to t the present Bill was on a purely subsidiary question by the Cardiff Corporation. Under a. clause in the Bill there was an ordinary provision that the Board might supply water by agreement beyond their limits of supply, provided such supply wasassented to by the inhabitants of the areas supplied. The Cardiff Cor- poration had a statutory area, which they supplied outside the city boundary, and what they really sought to do by, their opposition to the present Bill was to get what was a mere power of supply by agreement turned practically into a monopoly. They desired to prevent the Joint Board from giving a supply of water by agreement to any Local Autho- rity in case that Local Authority decided to terminate its agreement with the Car- diff Corporation, as it had power to do if not satisfied with the supply. Oppo- sition to the Bill on this ground, remarked Mr. Fitzgerald, was preposterous. Mr. Fitzgerald said the Llandaff and Dinas Powis district had petitioned against certain alterations being made in the Bill for the purpose of preventing the Cardiff Corporation from getting in any provision which would affect- them, their desire being to be in the position, when their agreement with the Cardiff Cor- poration terminated, to iget a supply from anybody. they liked. The only other opponents to the Bill—the Great Wes- tern Railway Company having withdrawn their opposition—was the Llantrisant Urban District Council, but their oppo- sition was unnecessary as it was not pro- posed to make any change under the Bill with the, present condition of affairs iJlJ that district. Evidence in support of the Bill was given by Mr. Nicholas, clerk to the Joint. Sewerage Board and the Rhondda Urbaii District Council, who spoke of the great need felt in the two districts for the formation of the Joint Board. The price agreed for the existing undertaking was £ 310,000, in addition to £ 15,000 towards the costa of the 1908 BIlL In oross-examinat by Mr. Ackworth, K.C., witness, said the promoters of the Bill were seeking to remove a restriction which Cardiff placed upon them. Mr. Ackworth: You are taking away from Cardiff something which Cardiff values greatly; is that not so? Witness: Evidently they value it; otherwise they would not have opposed this and previous Bills. Mr. Ackworth: You value it also. But what are you going to give Cardiff ill return? Witness: Nothing. Mr. Ackworth said the Cardiff Cor- poration objected to the repealing of a clause that was put in the. Bill of 1908 for the protection of Cardiff- Corporation without any suggestion that Cardiff was going to get any advantage in return. The Committee adjourned till Tuesday. Tuesday's Proceedings. When the proceedings on the Ponty- pridd and Rhondda Joint Water Board Bill were resumed on Tuesday. Mr. Nicholas, clerk of tlie Sewerage Board and the Rhondda Urban District Council, was examined by the Chairman- He. said that the residents of the Rhondda were unanimously in favour of the Bill. Mr. W. H. Mathias, J.P., member of the Glamorgan County Council, and ioy many years chairman of the Legal Com- mittee of the Rhondda Urban District Council, eaid that he had no hesitation in recommending the acceptance of tbø terms which had been agreed upon for the purchase of the undertaking. The joint scheme was necessary for the weI, fare of the inhabitants of the two dis- tricts. The Chairman announced that the Colli' mittee passed the preamble of the Bill? and would proceed with the consideration of the clauses. This concluded the case for the pro- moters, and after hearing counsel ofl behalf of the opposing Authorities, tIle hearing was adjourned.

Paid the Traveller. Trealaw Tradesman Sued in London. In the City of London Court on lues- day, before Judge Lumley Smith, Mre. Edith Badham, trading as the London Mat Company, Water Lane, Great Towe" Street, London, sued Mr. S. Dean, YDT' cynon Road, Trealaw, Rhondda, for £ lis. 6d. for brushes supplied. Mr. Thompson, defendant's solicitoiv said that the defendant had paid the traveller. Mr. Badham. plaintiff's husband, said that their invoice stated, All accountf to be paid at the above address. D11 15th January, net; no discount." Defen- dant should not have paid the traveller- Mr. Thompson urged that they wei' entitled to pay the traveller, as fee the order. Judge Lumley Smith said that the rule was that if a man paid a traveller did so at his own risk. Defendant paid the traveller a month after invoice was sent. Judgment must iI given for the plaintiff for the amoUJ1 claimed with costs.

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The Tories are getting really alarmed. They fear that when the Budget becomes law, Tariff Reform will have its death- blow. So Balfour has began to throw the cargo overboard. He has abandoned the tax on Colonial corn- strong forces are leading to the abandonment of all the food taxes; Lord Salisbury has joined Lord Rosebery and others in calling for the dropping of Tariff Reform altogether. What did Balfour have to stoop to on the Second Reading of the Budget? The Tories were carried into power by the publicans and brewers. The latter are. calling upon the party to kill the Budget. But the cry of red ruin is now raised by the liquor trade in vain. The Tories are afraid to save their friends. Conse- quently, there is a probability that at the next election the publicans won't feel any gratitude to the Tories, won't work for them, and won't win seats for them. That is an alarming prospect for the Tory Party. So Balfour raised a fearful swan song for the dying liquor interest. He cursed the Budget with bell. book and candle; but he knew his curses would avail nothing. And the Budget does mean disaster to the Tory Party. The genuine struggling tenant of a public-house will get to see in practice that the Budget is just to the poor man, and (a new thing) just also to the rich man. If the Budget taxes are assessed and collected before the election comes, then the farmers also will see that the lies of Tory pamphlets and speeches misled them at the last election. The Budget was worth all the un- exampled exertion of last year, worth all the work in the country, worth the 'few nights we have been kept up until the small hours this week. The Budget saves Free Trade, saves the cause of liberty: clears the way for economic and social reforms; and goes down to posterity as an abiding monument to the genius of a poor lad, who emerged from a Welsh cot- tage, and who was trained in the demo- cratic atmosphere of puritan Wales.