Pioneer

I Kenfig Hill Notes I J. Winstone's Visit to Kenfig Hill. Mr. \Y in stone, president of the S.W paid us a visit on Sunday, and spoke under the auspices of the I.L.P. In taking up (he said) the attitude he had with regard to the war, he had realised that at times he seemed to be absolute- ly alone, bur, he had fought a good fight and kept the faith and for that he had suffered from those who had been opposed to his view, he prayed God that it should never be laid to their charge. He spoke at length on afforestation, national- isation of the means of production (mines, rail- ways. and was choice in condemnation of a nation that willingly paid taxes for the upkeep of a Navy tha.t produced no revenue yet did not nationalist1 the revenue-prod uci ng Mercantile Sefv ice. The way the food question had been handled came in for some sharp criticism, how the Gov- ernment had been warned in the early stages of the waJ' to see that more land war; cultivated, but. all to no purpose, and true u> the tradition of a Government that was always just. too late, they now found themselves fact to face with famine. We may manage to scrape along some- how unt d July or august of this year, then goodness only knows how we will fare. Mr. Winsfono finished up with a strong appeal to' tiii-?lied jip w *tli a ?:ti-oTi,? appe?-il t-o peace by negotiation, the time bad come when we must take one side or the other, there must be no half measures, each to bear the respon- sibility of the results thereof. Peace by nego- tiation or the "knock-out blow, reason or loree. your choice or the other, a peace by the people of the countries involved, and not by the Government would alone assure of that lasting peace that we so much desire. Comiade W. T? Tnnnan..[.R., very ab!y presided 11. L. P. I- I- It there is any organisation in Kenfig Hill justifyifig its existence, it is the I.L.P. The branch meetings are a source of instruction to its members. We have had something like ten meetings, yet so far have not failed to liiive a, paper read in every meeting. Last Monday we had a. paper hy (loii-ira,cle Lewis Jones, on "The Church and Humanity," which reached a high standard of excellence. At any rate, it caused a debate lasting over two hours, in faet, that speaks for itself on the matter contained in the pa,]H-r. Port booming speakers are: J. H. Maxwell (February 13). J. Thomas, B.A. (February 27), Bob Williams (March Miss- Pallister (MarehIO). We have decided to affiliate with the Trades and La,bonr Council, and have appointed Com- iade- Mitchell and Ha.rris as our delegates. C. G. Forester is this year's President, while Secre- tary Woolley has 1..en" elec,ted in a. similar capa- t.N-, on "h(, Management Committee of the In- stitute. And the I.L.P. never set out, to capture any of these po?i?ons. but you will have some i l"Oalt/(. w convince people that t.hey were a.cc?- dents..Full advantage will be taken of these OppO!'r.l, and it is hoped that a little life will ?- infused into both partis. wI I I 't,( I -ni iise(I I )ito both pai-t i ci. C.G.F. i

Avan Valley Notes. I ¡. (By DEMOCRITUS). I Mr. Russell's Soap-Box Platform. 1 Many in the Avon Valley will remember the v about two yeare ago, of the Hon. Bertratid R assell, M.A., who, on Saturday last, was sen- tenced to six months' imprisonment. for an offence against, Dora. Mr. Russell comes from an Uleient arisweratic family. being a brother and heir-presumptive of Karl Russell. He is also one of the foremost scholars of the day. yet, when he visited the Avon Valley he came as an ordinary individual and addressed a crowd of word's in the. open air, from a very ordinary humdrum soap-box. Perhaps, had he come as a, protagonist of Mars he would have been feted and acclaimed as a scion of our distinguished nobility, but because he spoke in the interest of peace and good-will, the usual sycophants who delight to abase themselves before titled nobility kept, aloof. Probably they thought that, an a.ri;- toirat. who could display the characteristics of I true manhood would prove superior to the inde- cutieies of fawning servility. I Wonder-! [ One wonders sometimes what object miners have in furtively seeking the manager's house- after night-fall. Of course, there is no objection to a worker- being friendly with his employer, hat—to make a visit secretly in the evening is | "very .<u??estiv?. Many have sold their Urtb- 6ght. and their Miow-workprs be?rf now for less than a mess of pottage. Work for Trades Unionism. This evil practice reminds me of another equally vicious: it is the praotice of making pre- sents to officials in, order to curry favour. Some colliers are notorious in this respect. In order to get a good pla." they don't care how low they stoop or what injustice they do their fellow- worker-. Assuredly, if trade unionism cannot stop this evil then it needs overhauling.

PRINTING SENT TO PRIVATE COMPANIES means Profit for Individual Owners. When WE do your work, the Profit comes in the PROPAGATION OF SOCIALISM AND TRADES UNIONISM. ILOOK OUT | || i t FOP, I t I pAv|^c?j! DEVAN jjj ? ? ? ??? ?  1 k JfeSnk\ $< *<  David Devant, at the Theatre Royal, Merthyr Tydfil, next week. Twice nightly at 6.45 and 8.45.

I CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondents are requested to condense their letters as much as possible. A MISTAKE SOMEWHERE. TO THE EDITOR. Dear Sb-In a recent number of the Pleh's Magazine there appeared an article entitled, "Impania.lit.y at Birmingham.In whif'h the postponement of a series of lectures on the Riissiau Revolution by Dr. Segal was made the baisis of an attack on the W.E.A. The writer of the article is quite well aware thai. the W. K.A. is in no way connected with the ar- ranging of the lectures or their postponement, yet the wording of his article tends to convey the idea that the W.E.A. was concerned. We feel it necessary to lay the facts before our affiliated bodies and shall he glad, therefore, if yon can give us the hospitality of your columns for the publication of this letter. The Russian lectures were arranged by the Birmingham Anglo-Russian Society, which is in- timately connected with the University and, being announced in the University programme of special lectures, it is clear that they were arranged with the sanction of the Senate. The lectures were held at 5.30 in the afternoon and. although open to the general public, the hour alone precluded attendance of working men and women. Our Midland District. Secretary, w ho resides in Birmingham, wa.s first made aware of the lec- tures by seeing an aecount of the first, in the Pi •ess. Before the second lecture could he given the Bolshevik rising had taken place, and Keren- sky was driven out. Your readers will remem- ber that the ensuing period was one of deepen- ing mystery as far as the Russian situation was concerned. The most conflicting reports reached this country, and those who knew Russia nest confessed themselves tinable.to est-irzii,te the real situation. It. was therefore announced that the two remaining lectures were postponed until the situation in Russia was sufficiently settled to enable a clear view of things to be taken. We understand the postponement was decided upon after consultation with Dr. Segal. There was at once an outcry in certain quar- ters that. Dr. Segal was being gagged. But this was repudiated both by the Senate and by Dr. Segal, whose reply to the agitatoi's was a mas- terpiece of dignified and courteous straightfor- wardness. The following is an extract from his letter to the Press: "I do not consider myself wronged by anyone. I have decided neither to lecture nor to write anything on the Revolu- tion for some time." Whatever may be one's opinion as to the wisdom of the action of the Senate, it is evident that there was no deliber- ate attempt to f interfere with free speech. in any case the W.E.A. had nothing whatever to do with the matter until the nuestion was raised at our Central Council meeting on Janu- ary 20th, when, after the full fuct? of the case were reported by Mr. Price, the following reso- lution was passed — "That this Council declares the W.E.A. fret; from all for the discon- tinuance of Dr. Segal's lectures at Birming- ham, and urges the Midland District to ar- range for giving the remaining lectures under W.E.A. auspices at the earliest, possible moment. Yours very truly, •T. M. MACTAVISH, General Secretary. 14 Red Lion Square. Holuorn, London, W.C. 1, Feb., 1918. R. C. WALLHEAD DEFENCE ANR MAIN-I TENANCE .FUND. TO THE EDITOR. Dear Comrade,—Will you ftindly allow me a short space in your paper to thank the sub- seribers to-the above Fund for their generous subscriptions. Sufficient money has been contri- buted to meet our Comrade 'VaIJhad's defence and complete maintenance, and on behalf of the fomnntt?e. I dcRire it to be known that the fund is now closed.— Yours sincerely, Ivop H. THOMAS, Hon. Secretary. 65 Rockingham Terrace, Briton Ferry. 11th February. 1918. AN "IRREGULAR" ERROR. TO THE EDITOR. Sir.—Pemiit me to draw the attention of readers to the sentence of two years passed on Harry Paserinsky, alias .Faine, by a court- martial at Raglan Barracks, Plymouth, on December ot-h. Faine is at present shut up in Worinwood Scrubbs Prison serving this sentence. Paine is a Russian political refugee, and was en- titled to exemption from military interference if he had registered himself as such. Having failed to do so, he became liable for military service. As a Socialist and a refugee he 01;. jected. hence the sentence of two years. The trial was irregular, a» he ought first of all, to have been handed over to the court-martial from a civil court. This procedure was not adopted. Secondly, the limit sentence for a first offender is 112 days, not two years. It is amply evident that the authorities can err as well as other folks, and that, in the circumstances Mr. Faine ought- to be at once released.—Yours, etc., L. S. LAMM on, Secretary. 24 Adelplit Street, S.S., Glasgow. 6th February, 1918. AWAKE! DEMOS. TO THE EDITOR. I Dear Sir,—0n the battle fronts a groat fratri- cidal clash of millions of armed men is pending, whilst more millions of their lovod ones at home are longing for some devel opment that will make such slaughter, now and for ever', unnecessary. The Democracies on both sides have declared their desire for peace by negotiation, apd have also, in many ways, showed tiielr irripatienc* at the apparent disinclination of their respective Governments to seek that way of settlement. Now, why should the Democracies wlllt for these ''psychological moments" when Governments deem it. wise to speak:' They come too seldom, and always too late. Whilst any reasonable utterance on either side is noisily construed by the fire-eaters on the other as sure signs of giving in, it may, perhaps, I be difficult for any Government to go as far in that direction as even they might like..But, if they cannot speak direct to their antagonists because of this, or even to the wistfully listen- ing ear of the world, they can speak to their own peoples. I suggest, therefore, that the organised Demo- cracies, now they are at one in their peace aims, should compel them to speak to them. They should at once submit a list of questions to their respective Governments, the answers to which would, once for all, either clear the Gov- ernments or condemn them as being responsible for the continuance of the war. It is not for me to frame the questions. Tho spokesmen of the Democracies would do that. However, on the replies to the questions (or lack of replies) the policy of the workers would depend, and I ven- ture t.o believe that the workers of all countries have now arrived at a stage when they would know how to act with a.ny Government wilfully obstructing the way to a. real peace, a people's peace, that is, a peace by understanding and not by force. Workers of the World, the call is yours. Get busy.—Yours, etc.. HKKBEHT E. GRIFFITHS. Commercial Road, Newport, Mon. I | .February 9th. 1918.

Scotch Seed Potatoes IMMUNE VARIETIES. SECOND EARLY: Sutton's Abundance. 20th Century. Great Scot. LATE OR MAIN CROP: Golden Wonder. What's Wanted. Langworthy's King George. SECURE YOUR DOWLAIS SUPPLIES FROM L??? W A)? CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY DOWLAIS. No. i Brar.ch-ST A liON TERRACE, BEDLINOG. No. 2 Branch—HIGH STREET, PENYDARREN. No. 3 Brarich-PANTSCALLOO, DOWLAIS. No. 4 Branch-HIGH STREET, CAEHARRIS.

I |The]Capitalists' E.C. j The State: Its Origin and ['unction (pub- lished by the Socialist Labour Press, 50 Ren- I frew-street, Glasgow) is William Paul's first book on Social Science. The author, although only in the early thirties, has been a Marxian teacher in Bconomics and Industrial History for more than a, decade. From material gathered from his well-stocked liorary. and originally given in a series of lectures to the liirmingliam and Derby Social Science Classes, fie, lias built- up a. powerful case against, what is termed State Socialism. In eleven chapters, covering 200 pages, he traces the evolution of the State from the breakdown of Primitive Communism, due to the rise of private property within the tribal organisations, down to its modern development on the baisis of wage-labour and capital. In each stage of its evolution through slave-labour, serf-labour, and finally wage-labour, the author clearly shows that the State has been used by each successive master-class to conserve its economic interests and to hold the particular op- pressed class it exploited in su bjection. THE MEDI/EVAL STATE. A fine passage a.t tlie end of Chapter IV.— The Middle Ages—admirably ,<,111)]": up this point of view — The Ancient. State held in t he; k the slaves and propertyle*s citizens: the slaves were intimidated, the citizens were cajoled. The Feudal State, based essentially Oil agri- culture and iand tenure, exploited the serfs and kept them down. It also ruled the indus- trial artisans. Each social system creates it's own type of ruling class. Feudalism, wit.h its paternalism, cruelty and coarseness, being in a state (,,f Nk,,tj,. I)q-ofliiee(I bluff fighting lords, who unashamedly pro- fessed to hold their peasants down. by sheer force. But Capitalism, based on the robbery of labour. produces a ruling class unmatched in history for cunning and hypocrisy—a cla-s which de-)>eiids on maintaining it political supremacy and economic control through cor- ruption, fal.-e education, venal intellectuals, and a, prostitute press a class which, while swindling Labour economically, hopes to cheat it TWENTIETH CENTURY CAPITALISM. j In the chapter on Modem Capitalism, Paul summarises in masterly fashion the contradic- tions in 20th Century industrialism, which -de-i that the system has entered its peryod of decadence." I am tempted to give another quotation, because it so finely revea ls the motives which have brought two rival grotvps nf capitalist powers in deadly the one against the other: The competition for markets compel the capitalists to produce a# cheaply as possible. This can only be dono, apart- from lowering wages, by speeding up Labour, either by sub- dividing or diluting processes, or by intro- ducing labour-saving machinery. In cither case the struggle for markets means that more and more wealth is created with less and less labour. Thus Capitalism not only gluts the world's markets with commodities, but in doing so it throws the wage-workers into un- employment. The increasing unemployed, aide by side with overstocked markets, is a serious enough contradiction, but it breeds others; it forces capitalist economy to pre- serve itself by waste. So productive are the social forces tha.t it is becoming more difficult for the international capitalist class to find new outlets. for it. surplus capital. The mil- lions spent on armaments is a form of waste which temporarily eases the problem regard- ing surplus capital. These nuclei spent on armaments are exploited from intc'rna.tional Labour working under conditions of peace: but these Peace conditions become the very basis for War. Hence, modern Capitalism in its mad career, through it« maze of eontra- diction*. been Jurct-tl to embark upon the paÛI of Imperialists. Imperialism, however, only makes Capitalism universal, fivery new territory or colony ojiened up and capitalised brings Tile tya(--K'wii-d countri es within the vortex of Capitalism. Imperialism, like State I Control—they are inseparably connected— only makes "hJl" a. HI on- highly organised and centralised social system. In this way modern Capitalisin internationalises and socialises the economic foundations of society it. thus has- i (li N, of its dissolution, and prepares 1 the foundations for the. future Inter national Republic of Labour AN APPEAL FOR UNITY. In the final chapter the aims and methods of the Socialist- Labour Party are clearly and tersely defined, and the closing sentences of the appeals to State Socialists to courage- ously throw their past mistakes behind them and take then- place in the ranks of 4lie revolu- tionary moyemenr." As one who has been in the I.L.P.. S.D.P. art! B.S.PtJ I trust this elo- quent appeal for unity will not fall upon deaf ears, it is our bounden duty in the interests of the exploited international working-class 1,0 unite our forces against the despotism of Capi- talism in whatever political and economic form it presents itseli. From the first I have always r-tood for absolute independence in Labour poli- tics, and have denounced compromise and op- portunism. My studies in Marxism, my experi- ences in the Movement, have led me to the con- clusion that only by means of independent v\orLmg-class education in Social Science and revolutionary industrial unionism can the age- long tyranny- of the State be at last. overthrown and abolished. This is the message and hope which Paul's oook gives to the workers. The first edition has been exhausted, and a second edition is now in course of preparation. Xeatly bound and finely typed, this excellent scientific work is n, credit to the publication department of the S.L. P.. and a. boon to the Movement. Its price is 11>. 3d. paper, and 2s. 6d. cloth, and considering the high cost of paper and the La- bour bestowed upon k. it is dirt. cheap at the price. t F. B. SILVESTER, Hon. Sec., I F[oll. Birmingham Social Science Class.

LICENSING. At. the annual licensing sessions for the Divi- sion of Caerphilly Higher, held at Merthyr on Friday, Pol ice- Superintendent Williams stated that during 191 v Ihf" number of cases of drunk- enness was eight'a. decrease of fourteen on the previous year. ,ll licenses were renewed; that f?f the Hj"iJ1 Sun H?i?. T:-??dyrhi.wfuwch, Tirphi!. conditional upon structural :dt?ratjons 1 (-onti11 t l oiii l iipc?n and a change in l?nanf-y. ihe pTpseni Jandlor?. 11 din I)i-e,,ent. IanfUord. Will. of The i.? vii ?,Lrbpeii of of tlic, Oi,(Ie)- (?l' the Central (ion4.i-ol FOOTBALL AND LANGUAGE." « A Bedlmog youth, Alfred Howells, used bad language whilst, playing football. He was fined 10, at Merthvr on Friday. DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION'S SALARY. On the recommendation of the .Salaries Sub- Committee, Merthyr Education Authority on Wednesday advanced the salary of tli(, Director of E ducation (Mr. Rhys Llias) from £ 4.50 to £:)00 per an mnn.. ART. Mr. Dan Radeliffe. J.P.. Cardiff, has presented the -Merthyr Corporation a picture. Sunlight and Sea." oy Mr. Julius Olsson, A.R.A., one of our leading sea-scape painters. It. is to be hung -,it, the Cyfarthfa- Castle Museum, and Mr. Rad- cliffe invited to perform the unveiling ceremony.

pfcfcU/HCL j qMT ?' j. ?.?  ? ? \? PUT OUT ???? David Devant, at the Theatre Royal, Merthyr Tydfil, next week. Twtee nightly at G.45 and 8.45.