Llais Llafur

.1 6, C. DEAN, The Tailor ♦ Rainproofs, Naps, Fleeces and + Cheviots, to order, er for im- mediate wear. 30/ 35/ 45/ LierapnoH Blue Serges (regd ) guaranteed Indigo Suits to order from 37/6 to 63/ Return Railway or Motor Fare. paid within 20 miles of Swan- sea on production of ticket which can be shown after the + order is given. Please note the address- J 22, Castle Street, Swansea. +

A POUND | 0. 0 t A WEEK. 0 0 ¡ I ? PAGE 4. ?  PAG): 4. ♦

ADVICE TO I.L.P'ERS a ENLIST ?-CERTAINLY! A mem ber of the staff of "LIais Llafur" who has been in correspondence with Mr J. Ramsay; Macdonald, M.P., on the subject of the war, has received the following reply from the hon. member:— "You ask me what my opinion is re- garding the duty of the individual member of the I.L.P. now should he enlist? Certainly, provided he can, and does not take the view of passive resistance, or is not a member of the Society of Friends. Those will find innumerable openings for their energies in salvage work of all kinds. When a country is actually in war, it has to face the consequences of war, and it must protect itself, whatever the causes of the war may be Who- ever surveys the situation in Europe at the moment, either from its political or its military point of view, must see that the most tremendous issues a.re at stake; that when the time for peace comes, everything is to de- pend upon the position of our own country. At best4 it will be difficult to suppress military and jingo interests and passions, Vut I am perfectly clear in my own mind that the only hope which Democracy in Europe has is that Great Britain will appear as a victor at the Peace Congress which is to re- make the map of Europe when the war is ended. When the time comes, I am going to try and get the people to con- sider causes for unless they do that, all the evila from which we are now suffering will re-appear. t this is not the moment for that. We have to keep together the institutions and liberties which are embodied in our -own country because, without them, Europe is to be banded over to the rule of military castes." This highly interesting document should do much to clear away misapprehension as to Mr Macdonald's attitude to the war.

POUND A TfEEK CAMPAIGN I THIS WEEK'S CONFERENCE AT CARDIFF. Subsequent to the meeting of the Welsh Coal Conciliation Board on Tuesday a meeting was held of the executive council of the South Wales Miners' Federation. Mr W. Brace, M.P., presided, and those present included Mr T. Richards, M.P. 1 general secretary), and Mr A. Onions 4treusurer). It was resolved that the officials should attend and represent the Federation at .a general conference called by the War Emergency Committee of the Trade Union Movement to be held at the Windsor-road Congregational Chapel on Saturday next. The conference, it was explained, was convened in support of what may be termed the JB1 a week movement for soldiers' and sailors' wives and for the widows and dependents of those killed in the war. The officials were given instructions to urge upon the •conference the adoption of the scale for- mulated at the conference of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, held in London last week. A discussion took place regarding the position of workmen enlisting while on strike. It was resolved that in the case of any workman enlisting while on strike and in receipt of strike pay from the I Federation the strike should be continued to be granted to the workman's depen- -dents. A deputation attended from the work- men who have been on stop at the Grovesend, Brynlliw, and Morlais Col- lieriep, and, after the whole matter in diepute had been thoroughly discussed "the council decided to reserve final de- cision in the matter until the next meeting.

130 OPERATIONS 15 36 HOURS. Dr. Doyen, the famous Paris surgeon, has been* doing wonderful work among the wounded in the hospitals scattered throughout the north-west section of France, known officially as the 10th Armv Corps region, of which he is in charge. "His energy was amazing," said a surgeon who accompanied him recently. "In 36 hours we performed 130 opera, tions, nearly all of a critical character. "But Dr. Doypn's greatest work for the wounded ]iqq been in his treatment j of tetanus. He has reversed tHe figures of mortality. Whereas 80 per cent. of the tetanus victims died, now 80 per ,wnt. are saved." -———— —————

Every, house in the little Norfolk village of Coxford, near East Rudha.m, has sent a. man to serve with the col- ours. ————— —————

A German submarine mine has been ■wafihjfl ."rhTc ci the Northumberland «ca £ t Crcc-weii.

HOW SOME BULLETS MISS THEIR BILLEJS How great a part chance plan-o in the fortune of battle is shown by the experience of many of our wounded soldiers brought home for treatment. One man in the 2nd London Territor- ial Hospital owes his life, apparently to the fact, that his tobacco tin inter- vened between the bullet and its billet. This, says the "British Medical Journ- al," caused the bullet to lose much of its velocity, so that instead of probably proving fatal it merely lodged in the upper part of the thigh. In another case two men were sharing between them the task of carrying a tin of "bully beef." One of them was arguing with his comrade that it was his turn to carry it and had received a. re- fusal. Just then a bullet hit the tin and embedded itself in the beef which it never fully penetrated. If it had, the carrier's wound must have been fatal. Another man, when lying down firing was shot in the neck. On his arrival at the hospital the bullet was found near he eighth rib, the wound in the neck having quite healed. The man stated that when hit he was convinced that his right arm was blown off. There was no paralysis of the arm, but the man suffers from intense and almost constant neuralgin. Among "interesting medical cases" received at the hospital is that of a man with a remarkable history. He was on a canal tank when a large shell exploded close to him. Hb was 1In- injured, but the concussion disabled him and hurled him into the canal, where lie remained, unable to help him self and up 1!0 his neck in water, for 16 hours. As a result of the explosion he is quite deaf in one ear and partially so in the other, and is smffering from neurasthenia. Whether the deafness is due to nerve injury or to injury of the ear has not yet been ascertained.

PAMPERED BLACKLEGS. BEER, TOBACCO, CIGARS, SAND- WICHES AND NEW SUITS PROVIDED BY MUNICIPALITY Few people might have suspected it, but one of the next best things to being born into the peerage is to become a blackleg. The "scabs" who were em- ployed at Leeds during the municipal strike lapt iwlinter Idid t-hemselver, as proudly as any aristocratic company of diners at the Hotel Cecil. Some of the facts as to the lordly fashion with which they were enter- tained by the municipality have been made public by one of the elective auditors for the city. Forty casks of beer, each containing 36 gallons, went into the New Wartley Gasworks alone, and {, C'>r orders g iven by the gas department were for 25,700 bottles of mineral waters. The total number of pints of beer or- dered for the police was 4,954. OVER A THOUSAND CIGARS. I A vast quantity of tobacco was con- sumed, the orders given were for 1411b. tobacco, 134-1 lb. of twist and Rotunda mixture; 151 lb. twist, Union Jack, and Redbreast; 166 lb. of tobacco, 190 lb. Bond of Union. The cigarettes consumed ran into hundreds of thousands. Over 1,100 cigars were supplied. A large number of luncheons, at 2s. each, were supplied, and all sandwiches were paid for at 4d. each. Among the food orders are 13,4751b. of roast beef and mutton at Is. Footballs, draughts and draught boards, cards, dominoes, and a gramo- phone were provided for the police and scabs. New suits of clothes were claimed by 141 men at a cost of over £ 200. Apparently the "City Fathers" felt they must draw the line somewhere, for there is no record that the blacklegs were given fur-lined coats, foot-warmers, Thermos flasks, polo outfits, or silk py j amas. Perhaps the working men of Leeds will bear in mind at the next election the very proper regard for economy dis- played by their representatives.

GOOD NEWS FOR SWANSEA VALLEY. OPENINGS FOR TINPLATES IN ITALY! The British Chamber of Commerce for ItaJy furnishes a list of articles in which there are openings for British manufactures in Italian markets, Among the manufactures in which British competition is suggested are textile goods of all descriptions; oils and chemicals, tinplate, ironmongery, shipbuilding supplies, piece-goods, iron. pipes, old iron, hardware and small-! wares, hidea and skins, machinery of all sorts, machine tools, coal, metals, and cutlery. British manufacturers are asked to communicate with the British Cham- ber ci Corn?rcice at Genoa.

  ADVERTISING ACUMEN. (Dedicated to those business Goths among us who are not hesitating to ex ploit the war and its patriotic sacrifices by making them the pegs on which to hang advertisements of their wares.) MR. BLOB (PILL-MAKER): "Ah, he has had his uses after all!" By kind permission of "The Herald."

DRINKS FOR WOMEN. NONE IN LONDON BEFORE HALF- PAST ELEVEN A.M. I Upon the invitation of the Com- r missioner of Police a consultation has I taken place at New Scotland Yard be- tween the Commissioner, Alderman Ed. Johnson, chairman of the London Cen- tral Board of Trade Protection Societ- ies, and Mr Frank P. Whitbread, re- presenting the London Brewers Coun- cil. It was-agreed that all licensees with- in the Metropolitan Police district should be asked on and from Monday next, not to serve women with intoxi- cating liquors for consumption either on or off the premises before 11.30 in the forenoon. The Central Board is communicating with all licensees inviting their loyal co-operation in the matter.* I WOMEN AND PUBLIC HOUSES. In a letter to Mr Bonham Carter, secretary to the Prime Minister, Miss C. Nina Boyle, head of the Political and Militant Department of the Women's Freedom League, makes further objection to the suggeste d ex- clusion of women from public houses. The writer quotes the Women Police Volunteer Corps as an authority for proving that drinking by women has not increased. She says that "repeated attacks on our liberties are provoking the deepest indignation among men and women alike, and are producing a strong feeling that tHe truce voluntar- il called by women suffragists has been gravely abused by the Government. We make a special point of demanding that the War Office shall on no con- consideration be allowed to meddle with matters concerning the rights of women.

EAISER S HAIR TURNED WHITE. WHAT AN ENGLISHWOMAN LEARNED I 1 I IN BERLIN. I An English lady has just returned from Berlin, where she has been living under tolerably normal conditions since the war started. She received letters from England and wrote them almost as if war were non-existent. But in this period she saw an astound ing change in the attitude of her Ger- man acquaintance. As she left, one of them who came to- see her off at the station said: "We began by fighting. for Colonies; we are low fighting for existence." Berlin is a damping ground for rumours. Almost every member of the Royal Family has been killed and brought to life again, some of them more than once. Victories are reported dailyand cause momentary excitement, but the constant questions asked of all who have come back from the front or have special information are these "How far are we from PariB P" "How far are we from Calais?" Amid all this crowd of rumours the English lady could only vouch for the truth of one: "It is absolutely true," she said, "that the Kaiser's hair has turned white since the war began!"

INVASION AT CHRISTMAS! 1 Germany has a little Christmas pre- sent for England's stocking up her sleeve. England, hear and tremble! Here is what the "Kolnische Zeitung" I says:— 'The English need found no hopes on their much-vaunted Fleet, for before it has had a chance to sink our vessels German troops will have landed at Lon- don. The fact is absolutely certain. They have a very nice surprise in store for Great Britain as a Christmas pre- sent—the landing of our troops on her soil. We may add that it is in the ancient Hall of Westminster, and with all becoming pomp and circumstance, that the Kaiser will dictate the terms of peace to his vanquished and humbled I foes."

GAMBLING CHANCES OF WAR I War (says the military correspondent of the "Standard") is the biggest 1 gambling transaction on which the human race can embark. Chance— luck as we call it—plays an extraor- dinary, part in warfare, often counting more in the scale than skill and pat- ienoe and endurance. Luck, they say, favours the greatly daring or the supremely reckless. Therefore in war no enterprise is too hazardous, no hope too forlorn, especially for a side in desperate extremity. Germany will make more gambler's throws than one before she gives up the game, and they will be made against us. Nobody can doubt that who takes the trouble to observe how bitter is the hatred with which the Germans regard us.

A mifie drifted ashore at Hartlepool and exploded against the rrx'ke.

DURATION OF THE WAR. t Mr H. B. Lees Smith, M.P., one of the Liberal members for Northampton, who is engaged on Government work in France, states in a letter received in his constituency that when he left Eng- land everybody to whom he spoke ex- pected that this would be a very long war, and spoke of it lasting for two or three years. "I should say that a more accurate estimate would be six months from the present time. I am usually told that the war will be long, because when it is carried into German territory the German resistance will be even more tenacious than it is at present. I have formed the opposite conclusion, that Germany, has already made her supreme effort, and that her resistance will grow weaker henceforth. I am con- vinced that the morale and confidence of her troops, the most vital of all factors in war, are sapped, and that we shall witness something in the nature of a collapse. -u_-

FATE OF FAMOUS RUGBY PLAYER. Among the surgeons on board the ill-fated hospital ship Rohilla, accord- ing to the latest Admiralty lists, was Dr. F. E. Chapman, the famous inter- national Rugby footballer. The name of Dr. Chapman is unfortunately miss- ing from the list of those saved. There are thousands of followers of Rugby football who will greatly regret his I loss. He was undoubtedly one of the best Rugby three-quarters that had played for England in recent years. had a wonderful dancing sidestep which would, when he was on the run, carry j him through inv opposition. He was a r'ood gport<>ian and a fine u, a n.

FROM THE FIGHTING LINE I SIDELIGHTS ON THE GREAT WAit WHY THEY LEARNED ENGLISH. "All Germans can talk a little Eng- lish. When bandaging a wounded Ger- man I asked him where he learnt it, and he said in the German military schools. He said they all learned it. I asked for what purpose, and he said: 'So as to enable German soldiers to get their necessary requirements when they invaded England.' (What a hope they got!) "They are all able to say 'Ptudon, my English friend!' They get too much pardon from us. They show our people very little mercy when they get into their liaiads.From Sergeant F. Folks. 5th Royal Irish Lanoere, to a friend at Yeovil. "PERFECT INFBRNO OF DEATH." "I have been in a perfect inferno of death. and it is only by the mercy of God that there is any of the second troop of C. Squadron left. "I am very glad we had such a fine leader as Major Campbell, for it was bv his splendid example and that of Lord Wodehouse that we did not mur- der one another while fighting in the street, dismounted and with bayonets, like infantry-men. "We had to take the town a+ all costs, and it cost C. Squadron nearly a dozem and my troop half a dozen men, for it was hand-to-hand. I will say the Germans showed splendid courage, but we went one better than they did, for we did our duty. Our fellows faced certain death with a joke on their lips, but we did not know it was going to be so bad as it was. "I shall always remember the srene as a terrible nightmare. -Frorn Pte. H. N. Hawkin, 16th Lancers, to hia wife. I FIFTEEN AGAINST SEVEN HUNDRED. In the course of a despatch from Northern France, "The Times" cor- respondent describes how a small band of British held a trench. Our men have fought with extra- ordinary valour against great odds. After the capture of Lavenite only 15 men held a trench in an iwlafed posi- tion for 24 hours against 780 Germans. On their right waa a ruined farmhouse with a garden, ion which wire entangle- ments had been constructed. On the other side of the garden there was a wood, behind which the main body of our troop s were entrenched. In front of the trenches were two lines of wire en- tanglements. one at 50 yards distance, the seoond at 150 yards distance. On the further entanglement tin cans had been suspended. The enemy began their attack lion-, the whole in the night. Rockets burst into blue flame over our positiqo, giving the advancing enemy temporary, glimpses of our position. They reached the outer line of wire, the tin cans tinkled. Our men reserved their fire for a time, then poured in volley after yollev. The enemy recoiled, advanced again, and dug themselves in wi.hin a few hundred yards of our trenches. Seven hundred of them attacked the Isolated trench on the left of the farm- house garden. All day just 15 men kept them at bay, opening fire when- ever they dared rie to advance. Ontv one of the 15 was hit, wounded in the thigh. The enemy came, and darkness. One of the 15 crawled under the wire into the garden and reached the main position behind the wood. He brought hack 30 bandoliers fied witr cartridges. The gallant band held out till f-ir o'r-'ock the next morning, when relief oame to them.

CLYDACH COLLIERY FATALITY. At the Clydach Police Station. on Saturday evening. Mr C. J. C. Wil8ên (deputy coroner for the county) con- ducted an inquiry into the circum- stances attending the death of Thomas David Llewelyn, of 24. St. John's road, Clydach, who died on Friday morning last from the effects of injuries received whilst employed at the Graierola Mer- thyr Colliery, Clyflacli, on Wednesday. October 21st. Mr W. E. Morgan re- presented the Miners' Federation, and Mr John T. Jones acted as foreman of the jury. Ivor Llewelyn, son of the deceased, said he and his father were working to- gether as daymen at the Graigola- Merthvr Colliery. They were employed in withdrawing timber in an old stall road known as No. 1 Heading Noitb. Port Arthur district. Deceased had sounded the roof. by tapping it with a sledge-hammer, when a fall ef roof oc- curred, and witness found deceas.ed in a stooping position clooe to the fall. De- ceased was alive when he reached him, and had nothing of the fall upon him. Deceased was in the act of preparing to put the chain round the timber when the accident occurred. Enoch Thomas, of Ynysmond road, Glais; Arthur Thomas, of 10, Peny- wern road, Clyjdach, fireman and Dr. T- Havar d Jones, of Clydach, alkzo gave evidence, and the jury returned a ver- dict of accidental death.

Mr and Mrs. Vernon Hiirtc hovu bar* taken into their hone Ma eft en: t faviiy of Hc'gian refugees. wl:o?« hou • vas xvrryltfvl in the bombardment of Anwcr) by rhs Gentians.