The Rhondda Leader

RHONDDA BRANCH- TEMPLAR MALINs Bank Chambers, St-ation St., for NEW TEETH Bow open every Monday and Friday from 10 till 7. 3S43

OUng Cyclist's Death. J?IISt,ed with a Cant at Forth. Willi Bond, a young collier of 18 j> i) Was?e'-j^d^n^ at 11, Smith Street, a 0111 tlio t>r nS homewards on a bicycle Sk Wlio th Palace on Saturday night, d^iou bearing the Porth Goods of 0 7; ed with a marine store i c°ming from the direction sii the shaft penetrating his He was taken to Dr. Joyce's sf was medically treated, avi^ar taken to tfie railway Wv ?-d R+a,.sent home. On arrival at rating Ration, he was placed in a on '-Etedd]IU' w^ere be was attended by Vr the nJr and afterwards taken home <8 Kvl ? ambulance stretcher by i oerts and James. On arriving tir^as again treated by Dr. h6 -^r- Munro, and it was found &r> y trv ^stained fractured ribs and o tbe spleen. He suffered Ha+' P.in oain?' an^ succumbed about tli Ve of ay* The deceased was a 6 localit^lsto1' an(l bad only been in An j or about five months. tnS touching upon his death 6 Workmen's Institute, W i". ^hvs\ °\ Tuesday (before Coroner ,'exan/i ^,en evidence was tendered g^^asedWh°- accompanied a descri^f • Sat«rday night, and who Lpf» ?^lon the accident. L as Son' tbe driver of the cart, said de re1\Q:dn as the accident took place e. e all possible assistance to the in • Th gave evidence as to the tS -?d' and the Coroner re- W.OU thft -mi? appeared as if deceased 4^8 a brake°ng s^de the road in °f Accidental death was

Cardiff Empire. Those marvellous acrobats, the Craggs, will appear at Cardiff Empire next week. The Craggs are one of the very few pro- fessional families in which the old tradition that every member must become an acrobat is still faithfully preserved, and to this day, as soon as the pro tern. bab can toddle, he is taught to tumble. Mr. J. W. Cragg commenced in days when, as with medical science, the possi- bilities of the acrobat were not dreamed of. Never did an apprentice more loyally serve the master Experience, and he was rewarded by finding himself at the head of one of the most remarkable families of acrobats in England. It was the Craggs who brought into vogue the evening dress —styled the gentlemen acrobats. This was many years ago, and since then the black clothes and the shirt fronts have been adopted by many. Mr. Cragg's policy from the first was perseverance-he was determined that his family should make their mark in acrobatic history. They have. Their fame is world-wide. They have done "the grand tour" more than a dozen times, and on one occasion on the voyage home from America they astonished the passengers by doing their astounding fall act on the deck of the liner. The Black Hussars, coloured instru- mentalistsl George Ridgwell, vocalist; the Moulier Sisters, clever bar performers, from the London Hippodrome; Les Frasettis, violin, harp and xylophone soloists David Poole, the ventriloquist; and the Sisters Sprightley, character comediennes, are the other members of the company.

Topical Tit-Bits for Toilers. LBy Democritus. in a long letter to the Western Mail last week, Mr. William Brace reviews, ana in some respects criticises, the recent report ol the tlghtliours Day Depart- mental committee. Mr. Brace considers tne committee s findings satisfactory on the wlioie, naving regard to the fact that they were arrived at solely on the evidence or opponents of the proposed limitation of hours. Dealing with Clause 12 of the report: —" That m certain classes of mines, such as the house coal mines of the Forest of Dean, and the thick seams mines of South btattordshire, the difficulty of adapting the work to the reduced hours would be so great that it might be necessary to make special regulations for such cases Mr. Brace points out that in these two coalfields the average number of hours worked at present is supposed to be eight, and very pertinently asks: What have these coalfields to fear from a general reduction of hours to eight from bank to bank r The change with them will be infinitesimal as compared with other coal- fields. Une would have thought that if any coalfield could justify special treat- ment, it would be those coalfields at pre- sent working the longest hours, for the change with them would be revolutionary as compared with the Forest of Dean and Stalioadshire. The creating of uniformity in working hours for all coalfields would relieve and not increase the economic competitive pressure on districts like those the committee have relied on to establish their proposition. Clearly," concludes ldr. Brace, the committee could not have very carefully considered this clause before agreeing to it." -+--+- Another fallacious finding exposed by Mr. Brace is that contained in Clause 13 —" That the health and physique of coal- miners at the present time compares favourably with that of any other class of workpeople, and while we have found in the districts in which the longest hours are worked that the same standard is not maintained, we believe that a legal limitation of hours underground to eight per day cannot be expected to produce any marked change." Nlr. Brace shows how this clause is self- contradictory, inasmuch as it admits that the standard of health is Highest m dis- tricts working the shortest hours, yet without giving any reason whatever in support of their findings the committee comfortably assume that a reduction in working hours would introduce no lm-1 provement." After vividly describing the hard lot of the miners, who have to spend their lives in an artificial atmosphere, far iroin sun and daylight, doing their work w ltil a small glimmer of artificial light in a place which, even at best, compels them to breathe into their lungs a continuous quantity of fine dust," showing how work under such conditions undermines the mmers health, and how a great nuniner are compelled to leave pit work because 01 laiiing eyesight, asthma and other com- plaints contracted by' following taell- lJCCupatlOll, ivxr. Brace ends his able Letter with an emphatic assertion that an eignt hours' day cannot fail to have an enormous benencial iniiuence upon the iiealtn of workmen. It is refreshing to note what colossal Lgnorance exists on the question of miners wages and to what extent they are affected by the advances or reductions brought ibout from time to time. A Cardiff daily contemporary, dealing with the recent decision of Lord St. Aldwyn granting the South W ales miners' demand for iij per 4 cent. advance, makes this innocent Lieclaxation An increase of 2s. 3d. in the ij obviously. means that a. man who was earning JUs. a week will nofsv be get- ting Li lbs. 4id." The mistake made is that the 2s. 3d. in the £ is granted on the gross earnings, whereas it is really granted on the lb/9 standard wage rate. For this writer's information, I will give an example of how the present advance operates. A man employed at a standard wage of 3s. 4d. per day, or Ll peir week, would receive in May (immediately before this advance) the sum of Li 8s. 3d. per week, being his standard wage of LI, plus 41i per cent. on that standard. He will now receive for his week's work the sum of ILI 10s. 6d., being his standard wage plus 52t per cent. on that standard wage of Ll. Mr. Tom Richards, M.P., gave evidence at last Thursday's sitting of the Royal Commission on Mines. Among many use- ful suggestions for reform made by Mr. Riehards were the following: —(1) The creation of another class of assistant in- spectors (one to every 10,000 workmen), composed only of persons having practical knowledge and experience of working in the mines, preference to be given to those holding certificates of competency under the present Act; or alternatively the amending of Rule 38 so as to permit the appointment by workmen of persons as examiners who are, or have been, prac- tical underground workmen. -+--+- (2) The amendment of Rule 4, which deals with the appointment of oifficials, and under which the owner, agent or manager might appoint persons wfco had none of the special qualifications neces- sary for the efficient discharge f the important duties of fireman. Mr. Rich- ards strongly urged a qualifying examina- tion and certificate of competency for firemen. -+- (3) The reduction of the long "hours at present worked by firemen (10,, 12, and sometimes 14 hours per day being worked at present by these officials), and the relieving of firemen from some of the multifarious duties now alloted to them, so that they may be able to give more attention to ventilation, gas, and the safety of working places. -+--+- (4) The abolition of the prevailing .cus- tom of enforcing discipline at the eolSiery by fines. (5) That it should be made obligatory upon the officials to supply every work- man with a copy of special rules, and that printed copies of those portions of the Mines Act and Special Rules dealing with spragging, timbering, riding on trams, care of safety lamps, &c., be dis- tributed periodically amongst the work- men. -+- (6) That an exhaustive inquiry should be instituted into the best; method of dealing with coal dust, with a view to minimising the extent of any explosion that might take place. (7) The provision of travelling roads independent of the roads in which the hauling is done by machinery, or that haulage roads should be of sufficient width to admit of a footpath clear of the trams. (8) That the use of safety lamps be insisted upon in all ventilating districts where inflammable gas was found; that safety lamps and naked lights should not be permitted in the same ventilating dis- trict; that the present practice of allow- ing the manager to select the type of safety lamp, and the quality of the oil to be used, should be changed, and that fire- men should on all occasions report the presence of gas if found during the working shift. (9) That proper ambulance appliances should be kept in each district in the mine, and not at the mine," as at pre- sent provided; that provision should be made for dealing with an explosion at every colliery; that every appliance pos- sible to assist rescue work be kept in readiness and workmen trained for the purposes; and that the present unsatis- factory system of coroners' inquiries be amended and supplemented by the investi- gation authorised by General Rule 45 in all cases of serious accidents. (10) That improvements be introduced in the sanitary conditions of the mines, in order, as far as possible, to guard against the introduction and spreading of ankylostomiasis, and that all special rules should be prepared by the Secretary of State, after ascertaining the views of owner and workmen, and should be con- firmed by Parliament. In the House of Commons last week, Mr, Gladstone, replying to questions put by Mr. Glover (Lab., St. Helens), said he could not state when the Bill to shorten the hours of Labour in Mines would be ready for introduction. He hoped to bring in the Bill this session, but as to passing it into law, that was another matter. Asked by another Labour mem- ber whether the Bill would follow the lines suggested by the Departmental Com- mittee, Mr. Gladstone advised his hon. friend to wait until the Government had had a little more time to consider the matter. In reply to a question dealing with the administration of the Workmen's Com- pensation Act (which comes into force next month), Mr. Gladstone wrote —" I am having prepared for official publication a leaflet giving a synopsis of those pro- visions of the Act which are of general importance. I have also under con- sideration the question of drawing atten- tion by means of public notices to the liabilities imposed upon employers by the Act, and to the desirability of insurance." In a claim for compensation brought by R. Thomas, Bodringallt, against Messrs. D. Davis and Sons, and heard before Judge Bryn Roberts at Pontypridd on Thursday, his Honour held that applicant had prejudiced the employers' defence by delaying the giving of notice of injury. This is one more example of the import- ance of giving notice of injury imme- diately, however trivial the injury may appear to be, as in this instance appli- cant contended that the delay was due to a belief that he would soon recover and did not want to bother with compen- sation." ■

14 Years' Suffering. Anaemia and Gastric Ulcers Cured by Verxo's Seaweed Tonic. The story Mrs. Excell, of The Glebe, Banning, Maidstone, Kent, tells of the wonderful cure of her daughter by Veno's Seaweed Tonic, is of great interest. Mrs. Excell writes My daughter suffered terribly forfourteen years,seven of which she was quite bedridden. Doctors attended her for a long' time and said she was suffering from gastric ulcers with consequent aneemia, but they could not do her any good, and at last gave up all hopes of her recovery and said she was incurable. "The poor girl suffered tortures, and the pain of wind on the stomach was dreadful. However, seeming- one day a little better, I carried her to a bath chair. She could not put her feet to the ground, and was as helpless as a baby, but still she did not improve. At last, seeing in the paper about your Seaweed Tonic and what it had done for other sufferers, I determined to try it. I got a small bottle, and after two or three doses it seemed to do her good, so I persevered and got her a small bottle every week. In three months' time she could walk about as well as I can and she is now quite cured. For all skin and blood diseases, anaemia, -weakness, and all digestive troubles Veno's Seaweed Tonic is the safest and surest remedy 5 known. It cures the worst cases of indigestion, torpid liver, flatulence, kidney trouble, and -J female weakness, and a bottle should be in H every home. Price 1/1 & 2/9 of all Chemists, For all round purity and potency, Veno's -1 Seaweed Tonic is unequalled. 3539 —.—.——— j

fatal Accident at Treorchy. i An accident occurred on Monday morn- j iii7 to David Jones (62), ripper, residing j at 25, Prospect Place, Treorchy, whilst following his employment at the Dare (Ocean) Colliery, which terminated fatally. The deceased was clearing a, fall, when a large stone fell on him, injuring him internally and his thigh, and nearly severing his leg. It was decided to amputate his leg, but he died soon after his arrival at his home. The deceased leaves a widow and seven children to mourn his loss.

fi » Colman's name and trade mark (a bull's head) are on every tin of Colman's Mustard, and distinguish it from any Possible substitute. I possible substitute. In ordering Colman's MuS' tard, therefore, insist on seeing these marks of merit. COLMAN'S D.S.F. t COLMAN'S D.S.F. MUSTARD X S.H.B. < | —I»»l I'll III Willi H—BBMgH————I Boots that Wear! Prices that Please I ARE OBTAINABLE AT THE PUBLIC BENEFIT now Aftmo- JSOOT COMPANY. They LOOK WELL! FIT WELL! WEAR WELL! I Branches-TONYPANDY, PENTRE, FERNDALE, PONTYPRIDD, &e. 3407 |Don t be Alarmed 4 1 Whenever you find yourself suffering from Indigestion, or its attendant ailments, such as Loss of Appetite, Wind, Headache, &c. These are not wanted, but what is required is a 7d. or 11- Box of Davies' Indigestion Pills Which will speedily restore you to a normal condition and make life worth the living. Forewarned is forearmed, so get a Box in readiness from any Chemist in the Rhondda, failing which order direct from D. E. DAVIES, Chemist, Treorky The true worth of all things depends first, last, and always upon their Quality. INmost of the businesses of the Welsh Tradesmen, jj or the Wholesale Traders, or the Street Vendors, or wherever you go on Welsh Soil, Greader & Sons' Scales and Weighing Machines are to be found. 41 For thirty-one long years their reputation has steadily increased. From small beginnings Greader & Son, Manufacturers, has become a landmark for industrial Wales. 41 The history of this success is the history of Quality. Consistent with their quality, Greader & Son Repairs and Scales are the cheapest and most reliable on the market. t] Never in the manufacture of their Scales' repairs, have they employed or put second-rate materials, or put any substitute-and they never will. n a E_- a__m own GREADER & SON, Caroline Street, CARDIFF. THE ROATH FURNISHING CO., 42, CITY ROAD AND VERE STREET, ROATH, CARDIFF. NAT. TEL. L324. Wouldn't it be to your ad- vantage to let us have that Furnishing order ? You need not pay all at once. We shan't mind waiting and you can remit a few shillings each week. Scores of people are doing this to-day. Only a few Shillings a Week! Think of the advantages You won't find a better solution of the Furnishing Problem anywhere. So easy, too; ask anyone who has tried it. Then come and see our extensive showrooms— est in high-grade Furniture. I full of all that's best and new- If you will call or send a postcard we will give you further particulars of our Easy Payment Scheme; also a free illustrated Catalogue. Write now AW Railway Fares Refunded on all orders over 95. If you will call or send a postcard we will give you further particulars of our Easy Payment Scheme; also a free illustrated Catalogue. Write now SMT Railway Fapes Refunded on all orders over £ 5. Western Valleys Branch— CHURCH STREET, ABERTILLERY. .-Imm r -yo- -r -r -r M- MY OWN SELF-RAISING: FLOUR At 2id. per lb. ONE WORD -'PERFECTION Is all that can be said of it. J A Product where every care is taken to ensure the Finest Grade, and the utmost care is maintained through each process in its preparation. Try it. £ To be had only of J E. Meredith & Sons, • J 27 PANDY SQUARE. The Maximum Wage is Earned By all those using PREECES SnsSbl MINERS' AXES "11, Glynfach Road, Cymmer, Aug. 10th, 1906. Dear Sir, I am pleased to say that since I bought my Axe with you last year, I have won 5 Timbering Competitions, at Abergavenny, Pentre, Llantrissant, Eglwysilan, Portb, t-ae prize money amounting to f,17 Os. Od. Yours truly, 3473 JACOB DAVIES." J. PREbCE & Co., Hannah Street, PORTHc