Pioneer

| KnfiHill-Nes I i c? I I.L.P. I Successful meetings have* been held during the week by Mr. Bob Williams and \Y. C. Ander- son. former gave a lecture under- the aus- pices of the Local Co-operative Women's Guild on Greater Co-operation." which was much appreciated. Mr. Anderson excelled himself and gave us one of the greatest treats we have yet had at Kenfig Hill. Sarcastic humour levelled at the various Governmenta l Depart- ments oecomes wixxi mm a line an, anu one is constrained to think that hides of the op- position must be pretty thick if it does not feel the string of his satire. Miss Sylvia Pankhurst on Bolshevism." I Miss Pankhursthpoke to what was probably the most crowded meeting yet held in Kenfig Hill on Sunday, and was as vigorous as ever, unsparing in her condemnation of this country in its interference in Russia, and of our imperial- istic ventures in general. The remarks of the speaker met with many interruptions from the family of tin soldiers who were much in evi- dence. Miss Pankhurst tried to keep them quiet, and once remarked just as an indulgent mother would, Never mind, Mr. Chairman, you leave them to me. they are only children and do not know any better." The interruptions went on until the end of the meeting, but they failed to break it up. Many questions were answered, har(nyoneof them being relative to the speech, such as have you anyone dear to you in the trenches^ while nine out of every ten of the family have absolutely no one in the Army, and are composed of B2 and A1 t)4(.Il exempted by the Pit Committees. just-too-old's for the last comb-out, and protected men generally in the mines, or by influence. And of such is the kingdom of knock-out blowists." The funds of the Party had a good blow-out." the collection being £ 4 12s. Id, No doubt con- science money." Lorries or Carts! I I he theme at a local colliery is lorries or carts" iorhautinir their house-coal. The Com- mittee had drawn up a scheme on a co-operative basis, to avoid middlemen's profits and divert them among the men themselves, and intended to use motor-lorries to haul the workmen's house coal. One veteran, no doubt imbued with good intentions and mindful of the foundations put dow n by jerry builders," felt alarmed nt the prospect of the" stinking: monster rushing through the peaceful village with a couple of tons of (-oil at ten miles an hour and went to the trouble of conducting a balTot to see if the men would not rather the coa l should ht. pro- pelled sedately at the rate of a mile per hour behind a "steady knacker." Of course they | did. and after the ballot was successfully car- ried through everyone breathed more freely and the alarming situation was saved, Jmt "shades of Eohippus." there were no horses and carts! Our only regret is that this split will mean that the workmen will be delayed a few weeks longer in getting a good supply of house coal, and the weather is steadily getting couler. Now t hen, lads, put prejudice and personal spleen on one side and let us get on with the things that matter and" not follow "idealists" that are on the retrogressive plane. You want house-coal F Get it. Better at ten miles an hour than not at all. Just think it out. Congratulations. Congratulations to Mr. Frank Hodges, )nincrs' .)?('nt of the Garw District, on bein? Die succcssfnJ nom inee for the position of secre- inry to the --Nf. B. from Wn?s. Side by side with the pleasure we shall anticipate at his Ix-ing eventually the successful candidate, we do not lose sight of tJie fact what his departure| will mean to us. What will be the loss to tlio Garw District wilj be relatively the gain to all districts. We wish him the best of luck.

I Briton Ferry Notes Trades Council. I The Trades and Labour Council lipid their fortnightly meeting on Tuesday. October 8th. The usual Havelock "ilson" appeal was dealt with. It was agreed that samE" Jay on the table." the hope being expressed that he should find some other and more nseful work (ii).% A resolution of protest was passed against the Public Hall Committee for refusing tlll- 11,111 to a meeting called 111 the interests of the soldiel's and sailors. Also a resolution of thanks to Jerusiden) Baptist Church (pastor Rev. R. Powell) for kindly stepping in the breach by lending ttfeir chapet. A resolution calling attention to the scanty allowances made to sailors and soldiers was also passed with unanimity. I I.L.P. Debates. I The I.L.P. opened a Dphatinp; Class on Thurs- I day last. The subject fM discussion was "The t4?t-inoii(isey Rcsohttxn)." ?fHrmative. Mr. Fred Best negative. Air. Dan Williams. Sympathetic Wont-Strike. I I I tie town clock has been on stop for some time. Out in sympathy—a local wag says— I with the brewery strikers.

j Pontypridd Notes. I j Best Wishes. I L..t Thursday evening Comrade Owen I Htt?hc? and Mrs. Hughes received suitable pre- sents on the occasion of their recent marriage. CriH..Maddocks presided at this interesting I funct ion. i Secular Society. I A Rhondda and Pontypridd branch of the National Secular Society was formed at the Welsh Harp Hotel here on the 29th ult. There was a good muster of the saints and Sam Hol- man was appointed secretarv. Propaganda. I Recent speakers at the I.L.P. Hall have been Mis Pallister, Mr. Peters, Ynyshir. and Mr. J. I E. Edmunds. Cardiff (the latter on the Market Square). The Keir Hardie Memorial' Service on the 6th inst. drew a crowded house, the oU war-horse. Oliver Jenkins, being in the chair. The speakers were Councillors Francis and D L. Davies. of Merthyr and Pontypridd respec- j tively, ami also Owen Hughes

Mid-Rhondda Notes Mid-Rhondda C)tes The Classy. Th? second meeting of the Mid-H?o:)dda class k, -;t ? ?,,)! i ? i i ? ?, ? (? ?, 1, -:?4 ? r! (1 -I*. o ci ci (it (.- i a s s was well attended and it was encouraging to see to 6ec, a?ood number oi new students, amongst w hom were several women. We hope that th*k inter- est wiil continue til! the end the season.. The teacher, tl:! tli,? eii(i I;ie Tli? and iutp)?stu?))<?tn!-i('al sketch of the different economic schools, their teachings and theories, and showed how their ideas regarding certain economic conditions presupposed the productive system under which they were developed. He read extracts from authors of (liffol-eilt periods to demonstrate his arguments and illus-J trate his points, and finally showed the condi- tions of the working-class under the different 'I systems.

A Classical Concert. I From start to finish there was the higlwst in I art in all that was plyyed hy .Jules Edvard Serums, the distinguished Russian violinist, I who gave a recital at the Church Parish Room last -Sattirdi.x- tti(- auspices of the J.L P Mr. Tom K\ans ?-hcckwci?hpr) pre- sided. and th? huHdin? was packed to the-doors. Indeed, it is on)y on rare occasions !ike this that Cwmavonites can enjoy the best of music. Bach, Chopin, and Bruner were represented by Su'iTiius. and lit1 was finely accompanied by Miss Catherine Jones, A.Mus.. L.C.M. Among the pieces rendered by him were Bach's Cha- conne (violin alone). Bruner's "Romance. Chopin's Nocturne," Sarasate's "Gypsy Airs." as well as Ar hyd y Xos." "Annie Laurie." Song of Despair," and the revolu- tionary and funeral marches. Stermuspiayed throughout with complete conviction, great purity of technique and semse of style. Humour, pathos, tragedy, comedy—all came alike to this great artist, holding his large audience spell- hound. I can safely say that a return visit is eagerly looked forward to. For this concert also were enlisted the ser- vices of that excellent tenor. Mr. David Harry. R.A.M.. of Llanelly. Be it sufficient to say that Mr. Harry is a national prize winner. Mr. D. H. Webhe accompanied for Mr, Harry, who rendered, many of them being encore solos: — Lorene." Mountain Lovers." Deatli of Xelson." r hear you calling me." "0 no byddai'u haf of Hyd," and Dat little fellow with his mammy's eyes." Mr. Harry was given a fine reception, and sang in a masterly fashion. with accompl ished ease, and withal with a beau- tifully clear diction. The other artistes who participated in this classical concert were Miss Maggie Davies ac- companied by Miss Olive Griffiths, both of Port Talbot, and Messrs. R. D. Thomas and Martin Phillips, all of whom are vocalists of promising note. The first rendered Gwlad -y Delyn," An old-fashioned Cottage," and The Pipes of Pan." the second t\\o: Watchman, what of the Night?" and "The Moon has raised her lamps above.

Longer Christmas Holidays for Schools I In response to an appeal by the Coal Control ler the utmost economy is being observed in is bt? tiic4 o b ,?(,r,? -(:? d in fuel and lighting in all schools throughout the country. Teachers are telling their scholars, not only in all the big City schools, but in every village school in the country, that by saving coal and light tlIP." can release coal to help to bring more American soldiers, to France and help to keep them and our army warm there during the winter. On coal depends an early an d complete peace. The following recommendations which have been made to school managers for their consider- ation by the Education Department of the Dor- set County Council are well worthy of copying everywhere, particularly in village schools:— (a) Fires must not be commenced until abso- lutely necessary. (b) It iniglit be possible to give a longer holiday at Christmas and shorter holidays at Easter and Whitsuntide. (c) Except in very cold weather it should not be necessary to make ifres up later than the commencement of the afternoon session. The mid-day intervals must not exceed 1 j hours, and -the afternoon session must eom- mence not later than 1.30. As in the last two or three winters, the afternoon session must be limited to two hours secular instruc- tion from the closing of the registers. 0) In all cases some coal will be supplied, usually in tJw proportion of one ton of coke to two tons of coal. The C'oke tnllSt. he mixed vi-itii the coal. (f) In replacing stoves the question of the fuel consumption should he considered in relation to heating capacity.

= The Electric lheatre That incomparable, emotional actress, Theda Bura. whose art is too familiar to British pic- ture-goers to need dwell upon, plays the lead in *tho Rose of Blood," a six-reel film drama, gripping in story and live in presentation, which tops the bill at the Merthyr Electric Theatre on Monday next. Supporting it is a further instal- ment of the already famous serial Judex." by which the Pat-he firm, with their French com- pany of film players whose mimicry is so char- acteristically natural and restrained consolidate their now impregnable position in the field of mystery film-novels. Never is Chaplin so deli- ciously funny than when portraying the drun- ken swell and in Charlie's Night Out." the Karno touch is easily discernable, a fact that can be taken as unquestionable assurance of hit If- an-hour's good laughing for even the most con- firmed pessimist, a splendid war-time tonic. "Betrayed" is a big-reel feature which will be thrown on the screen from Thursday onwards and at the head of a carefully chosen cast j" the famous American actress, Mirian Cooper. Eddie, Polo, whose ingenuity in devising and car- rying out the most dangerous and spectacular camera stunts seems unlimited, will be found in "Dynamite." the current episode of the "Bull's Eye" ferial, in which lie is given ample play for his terrific "scrapping" inclinations. "Sun- shine" comedies are a feature, the popularity or which with all manner of audiences suggests that they have "come to stay" and included in the programme for the latter end of the week is one of the latest of these releases, "A Self- Made Lady," a production rich in mirth- provoking situations, delightfully interpreted. Shortly, next week's shows should bring big houses.

THE DIRECTORS OF '| ||j LLOYDS BANK LIMITED desire to call the attention of their ] customers and others to the advisability of investing all available moneys in NATIONAL WAR BONDS and of applying further savings in the same way. In the Savings Bank Department small sums can be accumulated at interest until they reach the minimum required for purchasing WAR BONDS.

The Principles of Marxian Economics. N BY A. E. COOK. SECTION V.-LABOUR & LABOUR POWER. Labour-power i* the energy stored up in the human body, it is this that enables the la- bourer to work. It is potential energy, and may be compaivd with examples that occur fit tIf., physical world such a s the force hidden in gun- powder, the tension of a clock spring when wound up. or heat-energy that is bidden in a ton of coal. Labour is labour-power iu operation and may! be compared with kinetic energy ill physical science, as, for example, when gunpowder ex- plodes. or when the wound-up spring operates the mechanism of the clock, or when coal burns and gives out energy. Labour, then, is the ex-; penditure of labour power. In the proceeding section we found that value is identical with the socially-necessary labour expended on the pr?)du<'n?nut commodities. In fact, value i? labour embodied in the substance of commodi- ties. In economic language things that do not embody labour have no value. thus, for iti- stance, the oxygen iu the air has no economic value because no labour is required to produce it. but oxygen produced in the laboratory and sold out in cylinders has value. It required ex- penditure of labour-power to produce and store it. Labour expended is by time, the! unit being one labour hour, but when we speak of labour-time being tilt, of value-we cannot consider it as the expenditure of the labour-time of any individual but only as the expenditure of abstract human labour. This ab- straction human labour )s derived by a? stracting or putting out of consideration tho I ('o,wr(.tp.J\¡¡tu'Y,of different kinds of labour such as weaving, ioinering, printing. brick-faym?:. etc.. and just- regarding them all as being sim- ple, common labour at bottom. All these differ- ent qualities of useful concrete labour such as weaving, joinering, printing, bricklaying, etc., r?sutt in the production of use-values, namely elotli, woodwork, books, houses, etc., but as dif- ferent quantities of abstract human labour they simply produce VALl'KS of different magnitude. To get the correct measure of value therefore we reduce individual concrete labour to common abstract labour, and of course, the measure of duration is rhcch'ck-hour. Skilled .vr complex labour is but intensified simple labour, so we reduce skilled labour to simple labour, thus: the labour of one skilled joiner equals that of two labourers, which means that the productivity of one skilled workman equals that of two unskilled. Thus to sum up: labour has two aspects—as a concrete expenditure of individual useful labour it is the producer of useful things, as an a b- stract uniform expenditure of socially-needed human labour it is the creator of value and mea- sure of value by time of duration. there are things that are not produced by labour but yet fetch a price is not proof against the truth of this dictuui. Marx savs wittily that such things as a harlot's favours or the corrupt actions of a venal politician may have a price but the;, have certainly no value.

SECTION V I. I WHAT THE ADJECTIVE II SOCIALLY. I NECESSARY" MEANS? Wo have still to clearly define what- we mean by social labour. Here is a commodity, say. linen. Each seperate firm or individual engaged in the production of linen may take a different time to produce it. The different-time produced linen meets on the market and fetches one price per yard. Thus the act of exchange as a reflec- tion of value averages or reduces the varied times expended Oil production to one time, namely average social labour time. Of course, exchange does not work so simple in practice for outside factors such as a shortage or surplus of a commodity may prevent the price or ratio of exchange being an exact reflection of value. But as in the long run exchange value does corres- pond with value, the act of exchange does serve to express the social average of different indivi- dual labours. The very expression "social" gives ait ink- ling of what is meant by applying it to labour as the measure of value. Production may be indi- vidual in the sense that the individual controls its processes or operations, but it is social in view of the fact that he produces with a social end in view. The capitalist does not produce the commodity linen because he wishes to use it. but produces it for exchange, that is to say, for the market. The capitalist produces to sell, that is he seeks to exchange his commodity for gold, but in so (loilig he is actually meeting a social need. Further, as we have seen it is society, not the individual, that fixes the amount of labour time to be expended on the production of a commodity. If a new process is introduced whereby two yard s of linen are produced where formerly only one was produced, then hey and presto every manufacturer of linen must adopt that process or else go out of business. The value of linen falling the old style of production would become unprofitable. Here, then, are the conclusions reached put in a nutshell. Value is social labour. Its measure is social lahnllr tilllP or the time society allows for the reproduction of any com- modity.

SECTION VII. I THE FORMS OF VALUE. I Here a.nd henceforth when we speak of palue I we mean value as the embodiment of a social l I substance-abstract human labour. In Chapter I. of Kii-I Marx deals with value in its different aspects. Marx uses that method of reasoning known as the dialectic, a ne'thod that consists of testing each state- meut made, from every objective point of view Tlie ferule of reason is so applied as not to let any Hall, defect or fallacy pass. In an elementary work like this one cannot pretend to attempt the same thing fully. To do so lIP would have to repeat Marx word for word \V e only appear as a short introductory to Marx and as such we give in condensed fashion Marx's, conclusions. In the first place Marx deals with what is termed the simple or elementary form of value • I What this is is demonstrated by the following example: :10 yards of linen—1 coat; or 20 yards of linen are its value through the medium of the coat, that is its value is relative to the coat, hence we say the linen places itself in the relative form of value. The coat on the otliet- hand serves to. express the value of the linen or is said to be t,(iii;il to the linen, hence it is said to assume thet equivalent form of value. It will be seen that these two forms of value are bound up together, and that we have only to reverse the positions, when we get the coat expressing the relative- value of the linen and the linen expressing the equivalent value of the coat. These two forms are two opposite viewpoints from which we car look at a commodity. When the linen appears in the relative form of value the coat appears not as a coat but as an emlwxliment of value. 1 lie coat acts as a mirror relfecting in its own value the value of the linen. If we put on one pan of a pair of scales a pound of butter and on the other pan a iron pound-weight we do not think of the |>ound-w'eight as being iron but as being the embodiment of weight and a measure of weight of the butter. So with the coat or w hatever takes the equivalent form of rahw-it represents not a concrete article, a coat. hut an. abstract thing, namely, value. lllP simple form of value, namely, so much Y commodity is worth so much Z commodity, is too limited to have anything but accidental occur- rence. It belongs to a very primitive stage of production when ocea^ioual surplus articles bartered once in a way. If we consider coat* as being the only measure of linen or vice-versa the resulting valuation may be very defective indeed. It needs more than one equivalent to give true expression of value. Tlris leads us from the simple form of value to the expended; form whore there are any niindKM- of commodi- ties in the equivalent form. Thus *20 yards of linen—lcoat—10 lbs. of tea—40 lbs. of 'coffee I quarter of corn—2 ozs. of gold—\ ton of iron, etc.. etc. Here now are a whole series of com- modities each one of which stands as the equiva- lent of the linen. T))isexpan(ted form of value is an endless series "r value-equations, but it demonstrates the truth of the general form of value. All these articles that appear in the equivalent form appear not as use-values but a.- congealed human labour, i.e., value. Marx says: It is thus that for the first time, this value shows itself in its true light ;1" a congelation of undifferentiated human labour For the labour that creates it now stands ex- pressly revealed as hi hour that ranks equally with every other sort of lahour, no matter its. lorm, whether tailoring, ploughing, mining, etc.. and no matter therefore whether realised in coats, iron, or gold." (''Capital." p. .'Y3, Vol. II.) In the expanded form of value the linen now aimears as a value of a certain magnitude in anv com mod i ty. But the expanded form of value has its irn- perfections also. In the first place the list of equiva lents knows no end—it can be added to whenever a new commodity appears. Again, to get an expression of the. value of each commodity we have continually to I)e placing each one in the relative form, hence it will be seen how clumsy and awkward it i. if we are only able to express the value of any commodity by de- claring that it is worth so much of X commodity, so much of Z commodity, and so on. What is required is a general form of value. A form in which some commodity will s^and as the accepted measure of value—some particulai commodity that the concensus of public opinion or social usage has agreed to recognise as a. general equivalent. If all commodities ex- pressed their value in litiell tillis 1 coat 10 lbs. of tea 40 lbs. of coffee 1 quarter of corn v 20 yds. of linen. '2 ounces of gold 1. ton of iron ) or X commodity then the 20 yards of linen takes the genera) form of value, it becomes an exclusive commo- dity in which all other commodities express their value. This foriii i-f value is money in embryo. Its consideration leads us to the question of money and to study its nature and function This forms the subject of the next two sections (To be Continued).

A SOLDIER'S RECEPTION. A smoker was held at the Court Arms on Mon- day night for the honouring of Private W. Wil- liams. of Penydarren, oth Welsh, who has seen four years active service at Suvla Bay, Pales- tine and on other fighting fronts. The private was the recipient of several presents from his. ex-comrades in the Dowlais works. Mr. T. O'Xeill occupied the chair, and an excellent musical programme was submitted by Messrs R, Roderick, J. Points, J. Price. C. Lewis. D. Jones, D. Jenkins, and Fred Richards. The music \\as provided by Mr. Skym. Printed and Published by the National Labour Press, Ltd., at the Labour Pioneer Preoa, Williams' Square, Merthyr Tydfil, SATURDAY. OCTOBER 19th. 1918.