Pioneer

Political Notes By F. W. Jowett, M.P. RUSSIA'S NEW HOPE (?). I Tin.' Hx-Britisli Ambassador at Petrograd, Sir 0-eorge Buchanan, has made a .speech whitewash- ing his friend the Ex-Tzar of Russia, the report of which llassta rted a newspaper campaign in France in favour of the restoration of Tzarism. By means of what appears very like a pre- arranged plan tlwre has been published in .France, at the same time, a private letter from the ex-Tzar to the President of the French He- public dated May 13th, 1916, in which the 1 zar assured his "dear and great friend of his en- tire loyalty to the cause of the Allies. Following almost immediately after the publication of Sir George Buchanan's speech and the Czar's letter to the French President, the public in this coun- try and in France are now informed that Prince Lvoff is forming a new Government for Russia. Prince Lvoff is in China and he is awaiting the landing of .Japanese troops at Vladivostok in order to (antRr along with them Siberian terri- tory This, the Capitalist press says, is Rus- sia's new hope." RUSSIA'S NEW PERIL. So far from the invasion of Russia by Japan being, as the Capitalist press pretends it is. Russia's new hope, the invasion in question is. in fact, Russia's new ]>eril. Not only is the prospect of the re-establishment of Tzarism in Russia in any fonn whatever or under any pos- sible ruler, perilous for the people of Russia, out there is now for Russia and for the world the threat of ft further peril in the Japanese associa- tion with the threatened counter-revolution. Talk of autocracy and of There is no more autocratic government on the face of the earth than that of Japan, nor is there one that is more Imperialistic. Japan's record in this re- spect, is as bad as it could possibly be. In view of her. record it would be folly to expect Japan to ?v<* up possession of any territory occupied to up P() sse,sior of any Port by 1wt forces. She i" stiH in possssion of Pod Arth')? r'o'?vit.hst'tndm?' her ?'H'"r'?se Tn ,¡, i up, and during the who?e period of the war Japanese oomtrol over China has been steadily but firmly and surely strengthened. THE MENACE OF THE EAST. It is not only the probable effect of a Japanese invasion of Russia on the Russians themsel ves the world should consider, hut- the effect of such an event on the world at huge. It is far from my intention to say anything that would seem ton to I v I to imply that there is any justification for racial animosity between the different races of man- kind. Indeed, what is happening in Europe at the.,present day most effectually disposes or any claim on the parr of European nations to be more highly civilized than the inhabitants of Asia or China. But this fact does not make it any less true tiiit iiiilltii-isiii and imperialism will be a far greater, mennce to the worlll at large if Japan should come into active rivalry as a naval and military power with America and the nations which were, before the war. the great European powers. AN ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM. After the experiene«3M>f this war. European | nations may be not only willing, but anxious, IO make an end of war. They will almost certainly strive honestly to make war impossible in the future if peace is made by agreement and if then. j". at the time, neither victor nor van- quished. This much cannot (w said fur Japan even now and the more powerful Japan becomes as n resul t of successful naval and military opera- tions the more difficult it will be for European nations and for America to disarm.. MONGOLIAN GERMANY. t There is no useful purpose to bt" served by ignoring the fact that there is a great outstand- ing issue, racial in character, which may at any time become fat- more acute than the issue be- tween Teuton and Slav which has played so large a part in fomenting the present war. America knows it. Australia knows it. If this issue should be pressed for settlement by force of arms it will be Japan. carefuMy trained by European nations in the diabolical practice of modern lliPthod", of warfare and now encouraged to take part in European quarrels, that will be the menace to the peace of the world. Let those who are disposed to think lightly of this menace and who, instead of devoting all their energies to spreading the gospel of peace, are wantonly calling into the area of conflict the Germany of the far east," reflect, that people of the Mon- golian race have little feM- of death and have not the dread of pain that Europeans feel. And the Japanese, like the Chinese whom it is their ambition to drill and control, arc of the Mon- golian race. THE RACIAL FEATURE. I This racial feature to which T have alluded doubtless has its advantages, hut like all other such advantages enjoyed by nations or indivi- duals it may work for good or for ill. and in. war it is a feature not lightly to be regarded. It: I would be well for Europe to profit by the terrible lesson which the last three and a-half years has afforded to mankind and not only strive after peace between the nations now at war, but strive also to pa-event, by the lwaceful settlement of race problems and by earnest endeavour to se- cure universal disarmament, the rise of new mili- tarist .state*. If Europe, regardless of this oon- sideration, embroils in its own quarrels people of a race who do not fear death and think little of pain and mutilation of the body—having first taught them the use of modern weapons of de- struction—then. sooner or later, Europe will pay dearly for its criminal folly, and the weapons on which it now relies will be turned with deadly effect, against itself. "THEY HAVE BEGUN." This is what Mr. Bonar Law said abou air- raids in the House of Commons on March 7th, 11,18 — Ti iL- Committee knows that this Govern- ment, as well as the people of this country, were very reluctant to indulge in any air-raids on German towns. We put it off as long as we could, but as was stated in this H nuse a good many months ag;o--a nel I remember also stat- ing it myself at the Albert Hall—just as in the case of poisonous gas, so in the case of air- raids. we would never have IJPgul1 them, but, having begun them, we would tn ke care that, if they must be part, of the War, Ave should not come worst out of them. They have begun." WINSTONE CHURCHILL'S WORDS. This is what Mr. Winston Churchill said .n the House of Commons on March 7th, 1916, ex- actly two years before Mr. Bonar Law made the aliovementioned declaration that British air- raids on German towns had begun. Remember the date—March 7th. 1916: I cannot understand myself why all these months with resources far greater than those which Lord Fisher and I ever possessed, it ha> not been found possiole to carry on the policy of raiding which, in the early days of the war even, earned a handful of naval pilots to Cologne, Dusseldorf. and Friedrichshaven, and even to Cuxhaven itself." REPRISALS. The bombing expeditions to which Mi-. Churchill referred on March 7th, 1916, took place in November or early days of the war." The towns mentioned hv Mr. Churchill are German towns. The first air-raid on an English town took place in January, 191 o. On March 7th, 1918, Mr. Bonar Law says that British air-raids on German towns, have begun." As a matter of fact Allied air- raids on. German towns have taken place from time to time ever since November, 1914. Allies and Central Powers alike profess to be carrying out reprisals and to be no limit. PRESS POISON. There was a suggestion mentioned in the Press recently that the Germans had let it be' known through some indirect means of communication that they were willing to agree not to bomb open towns or use poison gas if the Allies would also agree to refrain from this form of warfare. ft is not clear whether the suggestion referred to was "actually made or whether the report that appeared in the press on the subject was un- founded. The reception of the report in this country was. however, most hostile to the sug- gestion. Every newspaper comment that I saw protested indignantly that if the enemy was in the frame of mind to agree not to use poison gas or bomb towns it wa" a sign that the Allies were doing this kind of work more effectively than the enemy and should, therefore, go on with it. riiis is always the result of the policy of repri- sals. It is a slippery slope, the end of which no man can forsee. T shall think of those indignant protests in the press, protesting against any suggestion of an agreement on the matter, as these attacks go from bad to worse and the deadly work of death and destruction is in pro- gress here. 340 PER CENT. I When the present Prime Minister thrust his ticket-of-leave system oil munition workers and put labour in chains he disarmed the oppo- 1. I I.  sition oi many oi the trades union officials oy promising that he wOIIJd limit, the profits of their employers at the same lime. He embodied his previous scheme for limiting pro-fits in the Muni- tions Ant. It was obvious from the first, how- ever, that the scheme was a sham, and it was very soon made clear that munition firms gained rather than lost on the Lloyd George scheme. The latest report from the Select Committee on National Expenditure deals with the Ministry of Munitions, and it is an eye-opener. One firm in 1917 made a profit on its capital of 340 per cent. The story is also told of a firm that re- ceived <1 first order at a price which the Ministry, on a rough estimate, calculated would yield a piofit to the contracting firm of £ 1,300,000. The firm themselves offered a considerable reduction if they received a second order. On the same costing estimate this new order of August, 1917, which was half as large again as the first order, still gave a profit This firm was allowed to write off half their capital expendi- ture out of excess profits and refused to accept any arrangement depending on the investiga- tion of their books." A CONTRAST. N I Another example of profiteering in munitions, given by the Select Committee above referred to, is that of a firm whoso paid-up capital amounted to £ 11,1?5U. The profit made by this firm, after payment of all excess taxation was £ 51,000. In the ease of air-craft contracts the report states that the accountant's investiga- tions have reduced, provisionally, tenders amounting to about £ 7,(XX),000 by a.t least £1.000,000: the contracts of one firm alone, ori- ginally estimated at £ 1.000,000 being cut down to £ 225,000. In another case it was actually proposed that a. company on a capital expendi- ture of £ 160,000 should have a contract which would leave tlteiii C200,000 clear profit, which would leave them zC2()0,000 clear profit for seven months' working. All this has been going on whilst hundreds of thousands of men have had to give up their situations which -they have reached as the result of years of hard work, and hundreds of thousands more have had to leave their businesses to go to ruin or have sold out on the best terms they could get on forced sales. (Continued at foot of next column).

THE FRENCH LABOUR MOVEMENT PAGE 3.

I Why the Ballot was Rushed S.W.M.F. RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS FROM HEADQUARTERS. EASTER HOLIDAYS AS USUAL. The Executive Council of the South Wales Miners' Federation zit ( ai-diff on Tuesday re- ceived a report from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain informing them that they were bound to take the ballot- on the comb-out ques- tion this week, as the matter had become urgent. It was therefore resolved that- the ballot be taken on Thursday. Friday, and Saturday this week, the results to be posted to the general secretarv, the Right Hon. Thomas Richards, M.P., not later than Saturday, in view of the fact that, they hove to be in the hands of the M.F.G.B. on Monday, in readiness for the general conference to be held in London on Wed- nesday next. It was decided to urge upon the lodge officials to make every endeavour to get the ballot ear- ried through satisfactorily. HOLIDAYS AT EASTER. A letter was received from the Coal Controller inthna.tm? that th?r? was no objectioh to the usual holidays bcin? nhserved at Ea.ster, and the general secretary was authorised to make ar- rangements with the coalowners" secretary. The ?lioli,day., to be taken are Monday. Tuesday, and Wednesday (April 1, 2 and 3). COLD RECEPTION FOR DEPUTATION. I A deputation attended from the Oakdale Col- tie] v making an application for strike pay for ten days' stoppage that had taken place respect- ing the unloading of rubbish. It was held that inasmuch as this was not in accordance with rule the Council could not grant payment. The question of an eight hours' working-day for surface men was raised by the same deputa- tion, and they were informed that the matter was a subject that was gbing to be dealt with by the M.F.G.B. Messrs. Hubert Jenkins. John James, and George Barker, were appointed to attend the conference in London next week. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS. I A report was received from a deputation who had met the reru-ewntarof the National Ser- vice in London upon the question of the trans- ference of colliery workmen to shipyards and other industries. They stated that the arrange- ments, although practically completed, had not yet been received, and the final details had to be deferred until the next meeting. Mr. W. P. Nicholas attended the Council with respect to the dispute as to the payment for through-and-through coal at .Ffaldau, which had been the subject of a decision by the Court, of Appeal. It was resolved that the whole matter be raised at the Conicilation Board meeting. Mr. Noah Rees was appointed to investigate the dispute respecting the charge made for house coal to colliery workmen at the Great Mountain Colliery. A large number of the lodges of the Federa- tion having passed resolutions upon the neces- sity of the workmen securing their pays on Fri- day instead of Saturday, it was resolved that the officials, with Mr. Vernon Hartshorn and Mr. J. I). Morgan, should interview the Coal Controller. It was resolved that the out-of-work pay to the men of the Cirumlin Navigation Colliery and the Llyn Colliery be extended for another month. Mr. Enoch Morrell reported upon his investi- gation of the depute between tlif,-T,Ianbradach and Caerphilly lodges, and he was empowered to endeavour to arrive at a settlement.

Allied Ultimatum to Russia BOLSHEVIK PLENIPOTENTIARY'S PROTEST. The Plenipotentiary for Great Britain of the Russian Peoples' Commissioner for Foreign Af- fairs issues the following announcement:— The Consuls in Vladivostok of the Allied Powers, having presented an ultimatum to the Russian Republic demanding the establishment !of new local bodies in lipti of the existing Soviet allthorities and of the Red Guard. M. Maxim Litvinofr. Plenipotentiary for Great Britain of the Russian Republic, has lodged with the Bri- tisli Government an emphatic protest in the name of his Government against such flagrant and unjustified interference with the internal administration of the Russian Republic, pointing out the grave international consequences that .may be entailed by this extraordinary action.

COMMON v. CLASS WEAL. I CAMOUFLAGING "CLASS" TO PASS FOR STATE." I VICTOR FISHER'S ARCHIOEACONAL i PHILOSOPHER. The British Workers' National Leaguge has said: "A new political philosophy give I unto you." and at the request of Mr. Victor Fisher, W. Cunningham. 0.0., F.B.A.. Fellow of Trinity College. Archdeacon of Ely. and a former Lec- turer of Economic History in Harvard Uni- versity. has stepped forward to outline it. His six lectures In the" British Citizen" have now appeared in a book of comnwndahle format en- titled" The Common Weal," and priced at half- a-crown. The contents table with its headings and sub-headings is a model in arrangement. But the matter here given to us by this Univer- sity don is not. so praiseworthy and Plebeians will not fie able to accept without considerable alteration tlw tindin" or this latest philosopher of Imperialism. I THE FOUNDATION FABRIC. The XIV. Century War, with its pathetic trust misplaced in the King, is our author's first example of a striving after the Common Weal. He al-o briefly traces the growth of nationalism out of earlier blood ties and civic patriotism. His (ommon Weal can be read as National W<a!, and he justifies this narrowing by the fact that: "Abstract justice to all nie? ?ives us no help in solving the complex problems of society." (Here in a footnote to prove the impracticability he makes quotations to show that even William Pcnn died a slave-owner, that his temporary practice of non-resistance was possible because the Indian tribes had been pre- viously disarmed by the Five Nations, and that Penn had, before his death, to organise a sys- tem of defence.) The birth of the nation is fully achieved by the time of Elizabeth, and the j monarchy is supreme. What this advocate of national sovereignty means by this term can be I guessed at when he makes a topical reference to Russian happenings (p. 14): The men (i.e., the Extremists who not only resented government of the C7.ar, out the existence of sovereignty of any kind '). whether in German pay or not, who turned the revolution in government into an attack on national [Capitalist (?)] sovereignty, have much to answer for. Tremble, yon Bolsheyiks Why did you not allow the Cadets to develop the Common Weal ? THE STATE IS ALL. The next Lecture follows the destruction of the naive Myself and God" conception of James 1. by parliamentary control of the money- bags for the king failed to interpret the Com- mon Weal. The ideas of Hobbes and Locke con- cerning the State and the liberty of the indi- vidual are reviewed in later sections, and ideas of laissez faire found wanting. Individual liberty —yes. but not when it endangers the Common Weal. Unless rich and poor unite to further this, their sectional interests will inevitably pro- duce antagonism. Hence arises the importance of cultivating patriotism." For "The State (Cunningham's, like Hegel's, in everyday lan- guage, God) cannot prosper unless there is public spirit and a willingness to undergo sacrifice for the Common Weal." To put it in other words: The committee of the Capitalist class, improving on the old highwayman, says. Your money and your life, Mr. W orker. Grow crooked making surplus product, and then send your children to die to enable its disposal! While again using topical illustrations, the Archdeacon gives us another illuminating glimpse into his mind when he says (p. 47): The question of moral char- acter is involved in all discussions as to the con- tinuance of the war. and there is much to be said that questions of character had to do with the outbreak of war." These moral factors Mr. Norman Angeli ignored. Perhaps readers, re-, membering the moral (?) nature of the ore de- posits in Morocco and Alsace Lorraine, the ethics of the railways of Dalmatia and of Berlin to Bagdad, not to mention, among other tilings, the character of the undeveloped lands of Meso- potamia and Africa, will igt-ce UTILITARIANISM FOUND WANTING. As a criterion of Government, Utilitarianism is not good enough. For hufnanity is too vague and unconscious a body beside (p. 51) the criteria which we apply to the conduct of indi- viduals are inapplicable to the oonduct of the States. Taxation is a It-gal justifiable robbery. The duties of the State soldier consist of right and proper murder." Thus, the Archdeacon says Christian maxims are for the individual and not for the State. EXIT PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. Another appeal is made to recent happenings when our author is discussing The State as a Moral Personality and means of discovering "the general will." He coolly tells us (p. 58) that parliamentary government was made out of date by the crisis of the war and instead power of expression of popular opinion was afforded by the press. So, Mr. Asquith had to go, and Vis- count Northeliffe and lesser satellites carried on" from Printing House Square and else-I where and Cunningham accepts and welcomes I this "revolution from parliamentary to popular government almost insensibly carried through." The Imperialists use the Army and! Xavy abroad and the Press at home. LABOUR, BEWARE. Vestesd interests, jobbery and partisanship are to be deprecated as being against the Common Weal. (To avoid the last- mentioned evil, the Archdeacon should join the W.E.A.) In case Labour thinks of doing anything hasty, let it rpmember that: "The working classes are a, large majority of the country, and it is natural for them to suppose that the increased comfort of the working classes must always be for the good of the community as a whole (how wicked of them!); but at all events, even if it is for the good of the community in the present, it is not necessarily for the good of the community in the long run the future of the cozziitz-v should not 1)(' sacrificed to the welfare of the present generation. Restrictions of liberty, less wages, privations of every sort, all must be cheerfully borne by the worker for the future of the country. OF COURSE! Of course, demands of conscience and coinfo;-t, duty and dividends, profits and patriotism may coincide for, as the Archdeacon so nicely and delicately puts it The public spirited man has no reason to refrain from supporting a course which he believes is right on public grounds, even though it is also a course which is favour- able to the interests of his class." (Loud "Amen from the army of profiteers.) Our Birmingham philosopher criticises the Manchester outlook and elevates the conscious pursuit of the Common Weal, moral as well as material, in each nation above the cosmo- politan view of those who think that the country would attain its greatest good by sink- ing much of its national consciousness in a larger whole and hy aiming directly at promoting the welfare of humanity at large. THE SUBJUGATION OF EDUCATION. Hegel's ''Absolute Idea." the State, subject- ing the citizen to its will is the ideal worthy of adoption. But the personality and character of the citizen have their place and must be of the right sort. To this end: "The State can also exercise a greater influence on the personal character of the citizens through its power of controlling elementary education laying down clearly the aims and objects of education, so that they may be apprehended by managers, inspectors, teachers and children alike The modern phase of Capitalism is more farsighted than its predecessor. No longer the education ladder for individual betterment or even the broad highway of "education for education's sake" but "the State ought to insist that the service of the community is lieW up as the supreme object for which the individual is to be trained that the child must learn to submit himself to discipline in order that he may be better able to take his pla-ec in the life of the community, and that his faculties are developed, not for his selfish interests, but in order that he may be able to give national service in the manner in which he can do it oest." How is this to be done? By "holding up of patriotic examples," by romantic and heroic stories of men who have devoted their lives to the Com- mon Weal and making esipecial use of local historical associations. In short, the State should take care that no chance should be lost of developing that sense of patriotism (i.e., "the outworks of Capitalism ") which is such an im- portant aid to doing the duties of a citizen." It behoves Labour members of Education Commit- tees and all Socialists interested in juvenile edu- cation to be prepared to combat these tenden- cies. IBACK TO MYSTICISM, The archdeacon taster prevails over the his- torian and philosopher and heralds the return to mysticism from rationalism, when our author is putting forward the advantages of Christian- ity in making ideal citizens. Not that other world Christianity of an introspective, individual sort, anxiously concerned as to the future wel- fare of mean petty little souls, but that Christ- ianity which is in close touch with the Common Weal. For the following comes, not from Billy Sunday. hut from our one-time Professor of Harvard University: "The effort to realise the Common Weal may cease to be occasional and become habitual to the man who is inspired, not. merely by patriotism, but by the consciousness that he is in his little sphere a fellow-worker with God. He cannot hope to see with God's eyes, but he may try, as it were, to see more nearly from God's point of view." One wonders whether Northeliffe and God mean the same! Anyhow, the Archdeacon and the B.W.N.L. equipped with such an Ally—despite the doings of official Labour bodies—should ra- pidly forge ahead, unless they, unluckily, come into conflict with other Archdeacons, other Na- tional Leagues, other chosen peoples," with other rival Common Weals and furnished with similar ideas and Allies. I APPEND I X-ITIS. From such high-flown language in the perora- tion of his book, our author descends to advo- cate the economic war after the war in Ap- pendix I and recovers Christianity from the vile uses and hasty wrong applications of vision- ary pacifists who would interpret in a literal practical, collective way a doctrine which is es- sentially individual and spiritual" working from within "-this is done in Appendix II. One feels like imitating London's dying Sea Wolf and scribbling BOSH in many parts of the boo k. However, if this Capitalist camouflage be de- tected and rejected, if Common Weal be changed to Class Weal, patriotism to class-consciousness, State to Organised Labour, and nation and com- munity to class, then many other parts of the book will be found suggestive and worthy of ap- proval. We can learn from the tactics of the I enemy. M.S.

D.O.R.A. Prosecutions. I SUMMONSES ISSUED AGAINST MINERS' LEADERS AT YSTRAD. Summonses against Mr. George Dolling, Yny- shir, and Mr. Arthur J. Cook, Nythbran, Porth, well-known miners' leaders, for alleged offences against the Defence of the Realm Regulations, were applied for on behalf of the Deputy-Chieif Constable (Mr. John Williams) at Ystrad police- court on Monday. The allegation was that statements had been made which were likely to cause disaffeotion among his Majesty's subjects. Numbering four against Mr. Dolling and six against Mr. Cook, the summonses, which are to be heard at Pontypridd on the 27th inst., were granted.

ROBBERS AT HOME. I The Daily News recently quoted from Emil Davies in the New Statesman" figures show- ing the rise of prices for salt. To these figti-res tlit, Dqil v News" added others showing the rise in the market quotations of the ordinary I shares of the Salt Union, Ltd. Here are the two set,, of ifgures — Price r Share per ton. quotation. Jiilv, 1914 16 6 5 0 Mav, 1915 17 6 5 0 October, 191.5 20 f) 5 0 March, 1916 46 2 20 0 September, 1916.. 49 2 58 0 April, 1917 51 R 58 0 September. 1.917 52 8 77 0 •January. 1918 61 2 100 0 This war, which is doing so well for the muni- tion profiteers and the salt profiteers and numer- I ous other profiteers, Sir liJdward Carson says will never cease until the Germans have con- fessed themselves to be robbers and bur- glairs." Evidently he expecte it to go on a long time yet, and the profiteers must console them- selves as best they can.