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GWYS and CWMLLYHFLL

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IWEEKLY BUTTER ALLOWANCE.…

KILLED BY A LOCO. I

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I CORRESPONDENCE

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I CORRESPONDENCE- "THE LABOUR VOICE" AND THE WON'T FIGHT GANG. To the Editor. Sir,-Tlle Government, no doubt, is very proud of the fact that "The Labour Voice," as stated in your "Common Sense of the Compulsion Issue," is on the side of Mr. Henderson, Mr. Hodge, and the Government. What matters it that the Trade Union Congress, with a keener in- sight into the economic results of compul- sion, has condemned the Bill by nearly two million votes. It can now proceed with confidence, knowing that "The Labour Voice" has given them its sanc- tion to bind the workers not only for military purposes but, as the Manches- ter Guardian" pointed out on Jan. 8th, industrially as well. As for Mr. John Hodge I am afraid that in spite of the championship of "The Labour Voice," he will never be returned for Gorton again to represent Labour in the name of Labour. Living in his constituency, and coming into daily contact with the work- ers that made his return to Parliament possible, I have no hesitation in stating that he is now misrepresenting Gorton for the last time. I for one would prefer giving my vote to the greatest Tory in existence than to John Hodge, for the Tory would betray me openly without pretending to be a friend of my class. The Government will also be glad to know that "The Labour Voice" has been converted to a sane way of thinking. During the Merthyr election it was very conspicuous in sneering at the I.L.P. minority. Why, only a few years ago :'The Labour Voice" was actively on the side of the I. L. P. in the Swansea Valley. But when the I.L.P. was the only party in the Valley which was considered of any value, by nature of its great propa- ganda work. It was certainly very popu- lar. Now I ask you why this great change of front? Is it because you wish to be for ever on the popular side? You sneer at what you call the "Won't Fight Gang," but it requires far greater courage to stand by the few to receive sneers such as yours than always to fight on the popular side. What does it matter to such as control .The Labour Voice" that in nine cases out of ten TIME proves the minority to be right in their opinions. Sufficient to such as you Is to know that you receive the open applause—but secret contempt—of your masters, while you have the consolation of knowing that you can always change your views should the unpopular opinions of .to-day's mino- rity become the popular opinions of to- morrow. It is not in natures suoh as your* to understand great movements nor to ap- preciate the convictions of the "No Con- scription Fellowship."—Yours, etc.. JOHN L. JONES, Gorton, Manchester. rMr. J. L. Jones's reference to the Labour conferense. in London last week as "the Trade Union Congress" is evi- dence of his unfitness to discuss ques- tions of public importance. The "Man- chester Guardian" rHd not make the statement he alleges. There is not a solid argument in Mr. Jones's whole letter. We would remind our critic that the 'Labour Voice' was championing the Labour cause before the I.L.P. branch had eome into existence. Suoh popu- larity as the I.L.P. enjoyed a. few years ago was due largely to the "Labour Voice" its present unpopulari- ty is due to the fatuity of Mr. J. L. Jones, and other would-be leaders. Mr. John Hodge is certain of victory at the next election if Mr. J. L. Jones will be good enough to stay at Gorton to oppose him.-Ed. "L.V."l A CHECKWEIGHER AND COMPUL- SION. To the Editor. Sir,—Please to give space in your valuable paper for my congratulations on your courage with regard to compelling the young men who till now have been deaf to their nation's call. As a Labour man who was working for the. Federation and Socialism before Mr. Tom Evans, Ynismeudwy, was in his cradle, I agree in toto with you and Mr. Wm. Brace, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. John Hodge, Mr. Arthur Henderson, and other respected leadoi-s of Labour whose records are known to the world. Mr. Tom Evans' ignorance is enough to turn somebody's stomach. He says, "Lord Kitchener asked for 35,000 re- cruits per week, and in nine weeks enlisted to the number of 24 millions. Lord Kitchener asked for 30,000 a week for a few weeks, but he wants 30,000 a week up to end of 1916. Now only about a million of Mr. Tom Evans' 2i millions can be soldiers. Say 200,000 of the 650,000 single men who did not enlist are fit for the army. Well, now then, before the 800,000 fit married men can serve, the 200,000 must be called up, ac- cording to the pledge from Mr. Asquith on which the married men joined. We have to raise the single "dram" which is blocking the road against the married "journey," before the works can be going- full swing. There are living close to me 12 attested married men who haw altogether 39 children. The number of unstirred single j men, to all looks, strong enough for sol- diers, is seven. Now, Mr. Editor, I ask in the name of justice, reason, and com- mon sense, should these fathers go before the young bachelors with no little child- ren depending on them ? Mr. Evans is talking very big if "con- science." Conscience indeed! Where is the conscience ef men who will let other people fight for their homea for them ? To my mind the men who won't fight j is as much a blackguard (and worse) as the man who will leave his children to the pi.h to bring up. The Won't Fight Gang, :J u call them. Mr. Editor, may satisfy L ■ "conscience" and act as they like if it only concerns themselves, but when they stand in the light of little children, and against the best interests of the country what I say, and many with me, is "To hell with them." "Cas gwr na chairo'r wlad a'i macco," a, chasach byth y gwr a adawa i eraill y dyledswydd o amddiffyn ei gartref. I am sorry to differ with Mr. Ramsay Macdonald and Mr. Philip Snowdon, be- cause I have always reverenced them in days gone by, but it is not logical in them to cry out now about the voluntary system, when they did not do a stitch to save it. The I.L.P. at their confer- ence even gave a slap in the face to Labour M.P. 's like Mr. John Williams and others who have been helping re- cruiting. "Disillusioned" gives a kick about "desertion" of trade union principles. We as Federationists have always compelled non- U niortists to join. and if a man should not enjoy the benefits of a Federa- I tion without keeping his card clear should a man enjoy the benefits of British liber- ty without doing his share to defend it against Kaiser Bill and the butchers of Bel- um ? What is the difference be- tween tho non-Unionist and the slacker? I say appty the same principle to both. Perhaps they don't know much about trade unionism in Cardiff, and if "Dis- illusioned" wants to learn something about it let him come to the Swansea Valley. "Disillusioned" is grumbling very much because you slashed the Won't Fight Gang. In my humble opinion, Mr. Edi- tor, you did not give it to them half enough. They do not like a blow straight from the shoulder against themselves, but they will not fight fair, and they even stab any opponent in the back when they get the chance. Look at this week's "Labour Leader." Here is Casey, the I.L.P. clown, saying on page 10—" How can Arthur Henderson's £ 5,000 a year prevent Burston women being evicted ? How can a Roberts whose principal duty is signing cheques, assist the cause of freedom ?" There are some dirty low-down hints for you. What I beg to say, Mr. Editor, is, all honour to Mr. Wm. Brace, Mr. Arthur Henderson, "The Labour Voice," and others who are working. for the good of the country, and good luck to all the Valley and other Welsh boys, including my own son, who are fighting the Ger- mans. Yours in the cause of Labour, CHECKWEIGHER. I MRS. BRUCE GLASIER AND THE GERMANS. To the Editor. Sir,—A letter that has appeared in your paper under the above heading has just been forwarded ta me. It is difficult to carry on a debate in a newspaper on vast and far-reaching principles of faith and action-at any rate, for a woman as busy as I am—but there are just one or two things I would urge in defence of the principles I have endeavoured to up- hold. First, my opponent says, "We know that miutual aid is the law of progress towards God." But of what is know- ledge we do not live by ? As was written long ago, "If I have all knowledge and all wisdom revealed unto me and I have not love, it p-ofiteth me nothing." The terrible divorce be- tween the teaching of the New Testament and all that is necessary, once war is declared has made many of us give our lives to the war agamst war. To us mili- tarism is the enemy—not Prussian mili- tarism only. And in a war where we have as ally Russian militarism, it will be hard for even Lodge Secretary" to make fine distinctions. My opponent's own illustration of the contrast between Robert Owen's beauti- ful writing on education and the brutali- ties of the concentration camps in the Boer Waj* is apt here. It ia perfectly true to say that the British naiitm in peace times is incapable of acquiescing in cruelty to even one mother and child. Once we declared war -v, hich is hell"—as General Butler told us, we acted in the eyes of the poor Boer mothers as only devils in human shape could act. Why did we go to war ? Be- cause of militarists in high places, sup- ported by the militarist thinking of so many of our people who told us, as "Lodge Secretary" tells me now, that the time for moralising was gone, "and noth- ing but strong and vigorous action was any use." No one can hate more than I the awful spirit of militarism revealed in the quota- tion from the German school bcok quoted by Herve. (I wish I could get the name of that book. No German friend I ever had had ever had any such teaching. I don't believe any reputable school used the book. The Bernhadi book we have sold everywhere, was unknown practical- ly in Germany. It was published in a 6,000 edition at 10 marks, and 4,000 of it were suppressed by order of the Ger- man Emperor Yet we have been made to believe it was read broadcast by the German people.) But if in the belief that it is possible to cast out evil by evil, the British people suffer themselves to become a conscript nation, we shall soon see every evil thing in Russia copied here. Nay, I am certain of it, there is no essential wickedness in the vast mass of the German workers any more than in our own. And if the workers in each of the coun- tries would only learn to love each other better (instead of hating the peoples of other countries) and stand loyally by each by each other in the trade union, Co- operative and political movements, they could soon oust the militarists in their own governments. If we had had a ma- jority of men in Parliament with the will to work for a United Stated of Europe, to prepare for a righteous peace instead of for a victorious war, and to spend one million a day on the building up of the life of the people instead of five millions a day on dealing out death and destruction, I am certain there would have been no war in Europe new. "Lodge Secretary" speak s of the Boers being friendly with us now. But it was the anti-militarist Campbell Banner man peaoe that won them over, not the brute force, Chinese slavery, jingo Imperialist section who made the war and who are all at the helm just now, and Prussian- ising our nation as fast as ever they can. But perhaps even "Lodge Secretary" is beginning to realise that militarism has to be fought at home as well as in Prussia to want to "ne!ltia.te Germany out of Belgium and France" instead of fighting her out and to begin again to work together with all the kindly people of Europe to make life possible instead of death, is no crime, but the only savinc human wisdom. Let my last suggestion be my main one that the only power that can over- come the militarism of Germany is the anti-militarism of Germany. Our British militarism can only strengthen it and destroy our own freedom into the bar- gain.—Yours faithfully,. KATHERINE BRUCE GLASIER,

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