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I Political Notes I By F. W. Jowett. I BRITISH SOLDIER TO THE RESCUE. General Phinier's letter to Mr. Lloyd George tellin him that British soldiers in Germany f wereprotesting against the starvation of Ger- man women and children has partially lifted the blockade and .secured some provision of food from the Allie, Ilie heartless and scheming diplomats at the Paris Conference showed no si pi of fooling as the evidence of suffering and death accumulated, but when they were con- fronted with evidence that the Army of occupa- tion in Germany was getting restless, they could no longer refuse to take action- Certain conces- j sions relating to sea fishing have been' made, which restore to Germany part of the supply of I fish food of which she was deprived after the armistice was arranged, and in addition, 370,000 tons of food per month will be provided for Ger- many in exchange for exports agreed upon. NO CONSCRIPTION-FOR CERMANY. I Germany lias to abandon conscription, by compulsion from without. Her army is to be limited to one hundred thousand men even the term of service of the soldiers is determined for her. Soldiers will have to enlist in Germany, if they enlist at all. for twelve years. With re- gard to other means of warfare, in the air. on the waiter, or under the sea, Germany is to be ,almost completely disarmed. If only the Allies Would follow suit, this, of course, would be a j blessing to all mankind. There is, however, no -iilgn on the part of the Allies of a.ny sucli in- tention. This country is contemplating an army of nearly a million mn, and though there is now no potential enemy of Great Britain with which to make war-unless, indeed, it is anticipated that the present Allies niav come to fighting each oth £ r—a demand is being made for 440 lllllions expenditurp on the Army this yvar, and in addition 149 millions for the Navy, and 66 millions for the air force. It would appear that if the war has been a war to end militarism, it has succeeded for the present as regards Ger- many. but has firmly established militarism in this country. FIRST THINCS, FIRST. I Mr. Bottom ley asked the Prime Minister last weck whether, in order to find employment for discharged soldiers, lie would approach the French Govpt-tuncnt with a view to immediately commencing the construction o t, the Channel Turin. ]. The revelations made before the Coal Commission now sitting show that there is des- PWau* need for the expenditure of money and labour on the pi^v^sion of houses for the Workers. Apparently this need for houses to I've in can be delayed fulfillment in order to prevent the possibility of the comparatively sniali number of persons who cross the c hannel being afflicted with sea-siekue»s. There is, of course, this to l>e said also, that a channel tun- ,nel would facilitate transport of goods as well, but even this is a small consideration compared with the enormous work requiring to be done— including the provision of facilities for transport of goods by canal, road and rail at home—for the immediate -needs and requirements of the nation. SELF-DETERMINATION.. I Sen-determination was announced to the world as a war aim of the Allies. Now France is seeking to annex a piece of German territory because it contains a coal-field, another large piece of Germany she proposes to cut off- to mako a separate state for strategic reason. Poland wants to annex Dantzig in order to get a sea- port of its own in the Bathe. Italy, Roumania and the Czecho-Slovacks all have annexationist schemes which conflict with the self-determina- tion of peoples. In the meanwhile Ireland and India seek in vain for the ziglit of self-deter- mination, and the ministry of Rushdi Pasha has resigned because the British Government would not even go out of its wtW to receive a deputa- tion from Egypt on the subject of Egypt's fu- ture, and a number of Egyptian Nationalist leaders have actually been- deported to Malta because they advocated sell-deter mi nation for Egyptians. WILL THE II TIMES" APOLOGISE? I The New Europe has done the honest thing in retracting and expressing regret for having circulated false statements about the Bolsheviks and women. Some time ago i,t print- ed a document on the subject of the nationali- sation of women," which was the production of some Anarchists at Saratoff, and stated that the decree had been published in the Moscow official paper, and therefore was an authoritative docu- !Iiejit,. As previously sta.ted, N ew Europe" has now discovered that the alleged decree was merely a production of a few anarchists. The Times" has on many occasions given promin- ence to the same untrue statement regarding the. Russian Bolshevik Government and women, on one occasion so recently as last week. It now remains for the "Times also to act honestly in this mat-tor. C.O.'s AT WANDSWORTH. I The Home Secretary attaches no credence to the very, detailed statements regarding the be- haviour of the Governor of Wandsworth Prison to C.O 's. In response to repeated pressure mainly from Captain Wedgew'ood, who has acted in this matter with his usual courage, he at last conceded an enquiry, which is to be conducted by Mr. Albion Richardson, a Liberal lawyer M.P. Some of the particulars given in Parlia- mont respecting the present treatment of C.O.'s in Wandsworth stwiti to show on tfw face of them that there is something gravely wrong. The t-otal number of prisoner C.O.'s is 108. Twenty-two were on the date when the informa- tion was given (viz., March 10th) deprived of their privileges. Thirty-nine had undergone punishment between February 20th and March 10th. Three were hunger-strikingj eleven had been artificially fed since February 20th, eleven were in hospital and four under medical treat- ment. This heavy list of punishment to 108 pri- soners tells its own story. KEEPING PRICES UP. I Sir Albert Stanley, a typical representative of Capitalist interests, is in charge of the Board of Trade. He is doubtless at heart a. protectionist, and if he would only declare for protection openly, and state his proposals, the public would be able to consider the position. This, however, is not his present policy. As Sir Donald McLean stated last week in the House, although merchants and business men are in a hettor position now to meet losses than they will be later on (by reason of the fact that for the last four years they have been amassing profits on a large scale) yet he is giving them protec- tion by excluding foreign goods that would bring prices down if importation were allowed. He has apparently guaranteed the great soap in- dustry that prices will be maintained for the next three or four years at a. certain level. The Federated Associations of British Manufacturers appear to be always at the backdoor of the Board of Trade, and the efforts of the Federa- tion are supplemented by the questions of its friends in Parliament. Questions have been asked in Parliament with a view to obtaining the exclusion of bo(,st. stiffeners anniline dyes, wire nails, brushes, binder twine, and a number of other things. There is no prospect whatever of prices coming down so long as this collusion goes on between the Board of Trade, Parliament and the Profiteer. Mr. Bridgeman, the Parlia- mentary Secretary of the Board, acknowledged later on in the course of debate in the House of Commons that the prices of soap were fixed by a trade association. The profiteers are having it all their own way at present. A SELFISH POLICY.. I I roteetiomsts are utterly devoid of any appre- ciation of the utterly, illogical nature of their 2>roj>c.. Thcv'H' ,1> t ly, as. for instance, Mr. George Terrell, who has repeatedly pressed the Government to ex- clude competing goods in order to protect the home manufacturer, and yet, having some diffi- culty in getting a taxi-cab when he wants one, he is quite willing, apparently, to facilitate the importation of vehicles from France. It is the old story, every protectionist wants protection for the things lie produces and other people con- sume, and free trade for the things that other people produce and he consumes. Mr. G. Terrell joined with other members the other day in pressing the Government to license French motor vehicles. INTERRUPTED APPRENTICESHIP. I The government has issued its scheme for as- sisting demobilised soldiers whose apprentice- ship has been interrupted by military service. Among other provisions the scheme provides:— (1) For a reduction of the unexpired period oi. apprenticeship. (2) For a Statt. Grant to the apprentice of one-sixth the journeyman's rate as soon as the apprentice has reached the age when, but for the war, his apprenticeship would have been completed. (3) For such contribution on the part of the employers as will, with the State's allowance, make up the apprentice's wages to not less thall five-sixths for the second year. (4) For a scheme, embodying these and other provisions to be drawn up by national industrial councils or by other committees re- presentative of the industry. For a maintenance allowance, under cer- tain conditions, to allow of training in a tech- nical school or institution. Tlw announcement is added that negotiations with such councils and committees are now being carried on for the purpose of obtaining their approval. ANOTHER BIC TRUST. I The policy of consolidating capitalist interests is proceeding at a great rate. A notable num- ber of amalgamations has taken plaoe in the banking business. Trusts are extending over the whole field of industry. The latest an- nouncement of this kind relates to the combina-. tion of Vehicles, Ltd., and the Metropolitan Car- riage, Waggon and Finance Company. The Me- tropolitan Company's ordinary capital is three million pounds. For some years past its divi- dends have been 15 per cent. free of tax. In 1912 a share bonus of 50 per cent, was distri- buted, and in 1917 100 per cent. Assuming that Vicar's Ltd. maintains its previous dividend (12 per cent, free of tax) a sliarehoder of the (.1-2 per e-ent. fr, of t? Metropolitan Company who takes shares in ,it under the new arrangement will receive a divi- dend of 28l per cent., tax free. SECRET ARRANGEMENTS TO KEEP UP I PRICES. In addition to the combinations and trusts that are being formed and openly announced, there is a further development of capitalist pro- fiteering which is more sinister in its method of working. Firms engag. in certain trades have made arrangements to prevent. competition operating in favour of the public and against themselves. In one large provincial town, to give an example, all the firms engaged in the building trade have entered into an arrangement under w hich they send to the secretary of the Building Trades Federation of that town every tender they make, before it is put in. It is the duty of the secretary of the Federation to go through the tenders, and if any one firm has submitted an unnecessarily low price the firm in question is informed of the fact, and given the opportunity of revising it. Under this arrange- ment it is possible, and no doubt is the practice to arrange the prices so as to leave one firm in a position to get the contract, by agreement among the competitors. It is stated that a per- centage is handed over by the contractor to the Federation. The blessings of the competitive system are frequently extolled, and the public are warned against Socialism, which would de- prive them of these alleged blessings. But the competitive system is, in fact, being removal, and what with trusts and combines creating for all practical purposes monopolies, and with secret prices arrangements of the kind above al- luded to, the public are in reality deprived of the advantages, such as they may be, which com- petition is supposed to give in the form of cheap- ness. It is not now-a-days an alternative be- tween free competition and monopoly, that is offered to the public, but between monopoly and Socialism. A STUPENDOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. The writer in the Sunday Chronicle who signs himself Whitehall," ond affects know- ledge of the inner workings of. tho political world, ventured to correct a popular view last week regarding the events that led to the war. In leaded type, to emphasise the importance of his statement, he said that in the middle of the 1905 election Sir Edward Grey started the con- versations with France that were the beginning of our partieipation in the war that broke out eight years later. This he regards as an import- ant addition to the information available regard- ing the events- that led to the war. But, of course, everybody whose acquaintance with the facts extends further than the White Paper is- sued by the Government on the subject, shortly after the war began, is well aware that the grouping of powers which led to the war began with the Anglo-French understanding of 1904. It is something, however, to have the admission of supporters of the war that the war was not due either to the murder. of the Austrian Crown Prince or the invasion of Belgium by Germany. FACTORY REFORM FOR INDIA I INOPPORTUNE." A question was asked last week in Parlia- ment, whether according to the law in India women are stall permitted to work 66 hours per week, and children 36 hours per week. in tex- tile factories, and whether the Secretary of State for India would take feps to ensure that in future the hours of women and children in textile factories in India should not exceed 56 hours per week. The reply given on behalf of the Secretary of State was to the effect that the number of hours now worked in the Indian fac- tories by women and ehildrer was a considerable improvement on the previous conditions, and that he was not aware that the length of these hours was a. subject of complaint or agitation among the workers and that he did not oonsider the present moment opportune for inviting the Indian Government to introduce fresh factory legislation. Apparently the Government is un- aware, or it ignores the fact, that Indian mill- workers have been striking extensively against their factory conditions and their low wages, and as to whether it is oppo/-tune or not to take action in the matter, there should be no doubt in view of the fact that in 1917 42 of the largest mills in India declared profit,1- to the total amount free of all taxes on income, as compared with CS23,000 in 1914. This is the time at which'in the opinior. of the Secretary of State for India, it is "inopportune" for the consideration of an improvement in the condi- tions of labour. RELEASING THE TRUTH BY INSTALMENTS I Now that the Governmei t policy is to allow some food to penetrate into Germany, the news- papers are apparently bein x encouraged to re- lease the truth regarding th 4 famished condition of German women and ehih roll, A Press Asso- ciation message published on the 14th inst makes full admission of tin distressing state of affairs in Germany, but v hat is remarkable about the message is that a neutral journalist, the correspondent of a London daily, is quoted as having been asked why he had not describe the situation before, and his reply was "The Eng- lish press would not staiid it. and I would have lost my appointment." 0--c:i.sionaliy, also, one of the official committees dialing with prisoners of war, etc., shows up the falsity of statements that have beou circulated in this country. It was reported, for instance, that a prisoner whose hand had been amputated by British doctors in the first instance, was afterwards a prisoner in a German hospital, where a German rifbdieal professor" slit the stump, and tried to'-jaiake the two ends of the bone of the fore-arm into two fingers of weird and terrible appearance." The Government Committee on Treatment by the Enemy of British Prisoners have made pub- lie two unsolicited letters from two officers who were present at the operation, one H of whom states that the German surgeon who was in- volved was one of the most courteous gentle- men it had ever been his (ibe writer's) good for- tune to meet," that the operation on the pri- soner was carried out with the man's consent, and that the reason for its non-success was tha.t deep abeesses were fbund in the region of the elbow. which had been previously infected. Thus another atrocity story is shown to be a pure fabrication. The truth, concerning the cruelties of this war is bad enough without additional horrors founded on lies.

FOOD CONFERENCE. I At flie tenth Lrftour Conference called by the Ministry of Food, to be held at the New County Hall, at 3.15 on Saturday, March 29th, Sir William Beveridge will be in the chair. It is expected that the faed conditions of Central Europe xa-ill lie discussed among other important subjects.

Dowlais Lock-Out. COAL CONTROLLER TO DECIDE ON ISSUES I TACTICAL BLUNDERS BY THE COLLIERY OWNERS. I NOAH ABLETT CRITICISES S.W.M.F. MACHINERY. On the eve of the third week of its duration the strike of theh Dowlais miners saw a con- summation of desires which even the most rashly sanguine hid not the temerity to cherish for not only did' the rapidly-rung changes of the week-end stamp the unconstitutional stop- page" with the hall-mark of constitutionalism in the regard of the constitutionally hide-bound federation of the South Wales OoalfieM, but provide what, argue as one may, amounts to a warranty by inference, tantamount to admis- sion, by a Government department that the coal- washery workers at the Dowlais Steelworks are of the mining industry. This latter conclusion has for its premise the intervention of the Coal Controller in the dis- pute and his adoption for consideration after a conference between one of his assistants (Mr. W. L. Cook) and representatives of the miners at Cardiff on Friday and Saturday of that chief of the points of issue between the strikers and their quondam employers (Messrs. Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, Ltd.), the claim of the work- men at the coal-washery, notwithstanding the site of their working place, to recognition as members of the Miners' Federation and to par- ticipation, as such, in the wages and working- hours benefits accruing from agreements en- tered into by federation and owners' officials on the South Wales Coal Conciliation Board in place of the conditions imposed upon Steel- workers by the, to them, lass advantageous Sliding Scale Agreement of South Wales and Monmouthshire. THE DILEMMA OF THE OWNERS. Referred, it will be recollected, by the Con- ciliation Board to tho Disputes Committee for settlement, the trade union status grievance of the washery men appeared only on the agenda .v on the agenda of the committee to meet with a quick dispatch for arbitration by two or so members of the board without prejudice" to that august body and in this strategical move the Capitalists' agents showed themselves to have accurately sized up the situation and realised the pitfall awaiting them, for were the issue to be deliber- ated upon by the committee—as an adjunct of the board—it would inevitably carry with it ac- ceptance of the workers at the washery as coming within their jurisdiction. But the evil (to them) was wrought already. The miners, then on strike, had agreed to resume work on the recommendation of their official advisers on the distinct understanding that the washery grievance would receive the attention of the board's committee of arbitration without pre- judice they had no cognisance, and with the consequence* of inference to the detriment of the owners they were not concerned. Too late in the day did the employers' representatives realise their error of judgment and the miners, holding them to the original pact, declined the arbitration amendment. And so followed this, the present strike, with the washery men's de- mand s as the apex of a triangle of grievances. COAL CONTROLLERS HAND. The second week of the strike was -attendant by no negotiations between the colliery pro- prietors and the employed. Disquieting seemed the situation—soup kitchens for the children were being established—but below the surface were set in motion currents which rippled into evidence with the intervention of the Coal Con- troller. No objection to the entering of the Coal Con- trol Department ofiieial-s into the dispute was raised by the workers; rather was it welcomed as a possible means of obviating a. deadlock. After conferring with the government i-tpreseit- tative tho miners officials consented to recom- mend to the men that inasmuch as the Coal Controller has put into operation the machinery of his department they should return to work immediately on the distinct understanding that the Controller, not with standing the contentions of the local owners and the owners' section of the Conciliation Board that the w ashery dispute does not arise out of the mining industry, should be allowed to attempt a settlement of that issue." The resumption of work recommendation was also conditioned by an undertaking that in the event of satisfactory agreement being ar- rived at before Wednesday (of this week) with reference to the two other matters of difference —the house-coal supply and the payment of the minimum wage at the Nantwen (Colliery—these grievances, in addition to the washery question should be relegated to the Coal Controller for final decision." EMPLOYERS REFUSE WORK. Sunday's mass meeting, at which the new pliase was communicated, found the miners ready to end the strike at once, and a deputa- tion. waited upon Mr. Tudor Davies, the Dowlais Company's colliery-agent, to acquaint the em- ployers of their intention, and to expedite ar- rangements for the re-starting of the idle pits. It was obvious, however (Mr. S. O. Davies, the miners' agent, states), that' the arrangements effected by the Controllers' representative and the workmen were objected to by the owners and the miners' deputation were informed that the employers would not permit the men to resume their occupation un less they agreed to do so without the stipulation of any conditions. "rn- reservedly was the expression of t}¡(, colliery agent. The miners' agent assured Mr. Tudor Davies that no conditions whatsoever were .put forward by the men, and that the outstand- ing issues in dispute were no longer matters for negotiation between employers and employed, but between the miners and the Coal Control- ler's Department. The Company's,official was challenged for a straight statement. as to the I attitude of the employers. Mr. S. O. Davies asked him if he desired to repudiate the ar- rangements brought about at the conference be- tween the Controller's representatives and the officials of the workmen." The question brought no direct reply, the colliery-agent repeating the unconditional return demand of the owners. And so ended the interview. Thus it was that what previously was an "unconstitutional stop- page" was converted into a lock-out," and with this metamorphosis was carried the right of official recognition by the South Wales Miners' Federation and the necessary qualification for strike-pay grants. WHAT THE OWNERS WANT. According to an official report of Wednesday's proceedings of the Disputes Committee the con- tention of the owners is that the colliery com- pany are not parties to the terms arranged by the workmen and Mr. Cook, upon which there should be a resumption of work, and they point the path of industrial rectitude for the men as being in the direction of "unconditional return" with the relegation to the Disputes Committee of the house-coal and the minimum wage exiev- ances and the abiding by the axr.-tngementr? s by the Conciliation Board in regard to the washery dispute. Meanwhile the time-limit for the settlement of the house-coal and the minimum wage differ- ences has elapsed and with the washery matter they are* this (Thursday) afternoon forming the subject of consideration by the Coal Controller at Whitehall. CONCILIATION BOARD TO CO. Meanwhile the "Conciliation Board Must Go" campaign is heing waged unremittingly. Through- the coalfield are circulated the leaflets on the betra-val of the Dowlais Miners by that effete organisation, and speakers from the Dowlais dis- trict are traversing South Wales soliciting sup- port for their advocation of the convention of a conference of the South Wales Miners' Federa- tion, with a view to bring to an immediate and ignominious end the inglorious career of the Conciliation Board. I MERTHYR MINERS GIVE £100. The Merthyr miners met on Friday of last week to consider the strike position. With re- ference to the complaint that coal was being railed from the Cyfarthfa collieries at Merthyr to the Dowlais Steelworks, Mr. Noah Ablett re- ported that an agreement had heen effected wJherebv no further supplies should be sent, ex- cept from the Castle Level which was worked always exclusively for the if coal for the steelworks, and this exception was made be- cause the banning of coal from that level would mean unemployment for the eighty workmen en- gaged there. One hundred pounds were voted from the district funds in aid of the Dowlais strikers. ABLETT AND FEDERATION METHODS. Mr. Ablett, in the course of an address, ex- pressed himself strongly in favour of the de- mand of the Dowlais men for the abolition of the Conciliation Board, and in regard to the ma- chinery of the South Wales Miners' Federation advocated their scrapping and the substitution of a system whereby the ittininistrationA-ould be vested in the federation lodges. The time was nearing. he said, when, if peace, order and co- hesion were to be obtained, districts would have to be abolished. The intelligence of the miners was increasing and the number of men at the lodges capable of expressing rank and file opinions was advancing to such an extent that the power of the federation ought to be vested much less in the Executive and much more in the lodges. He would take the officials and agents off the Executive except insofar as they acted in an advisory capacity, raise the lodges to the position of governors of the coalfield, meeting in monthly conferences, the agents to carry out instructions and the Executive' to function as it should—to execute under com- mand. The Dowlais strike was starting the. business." The miners were coming to a point when they must re-shape their organisation. They had so advanced industrially t.ha.t their federation machine. lagged behind. Long and cumbrous delays in disputes were impossible to obviate under the present system. He did not blame the members of the Executive or the ma- chinery because the federation on the whole was a fairly efficient organisation, but it could be more efficient were his suggested changes ,wrought.. In the place of Capitalism he wished o institute a system of things in which every man would have the utmost control of his own life and to do this he must have control of his industry and for that the control of his organisa- tion. A letter of commendation upon the tact shown by them during the stoppage has been sent to the Mert-h y I- Borough police by the Dowlais miners.

The I.L.P. in the Rhondda. SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL AT PENYCRAid- The problem of the Tonypandy district is not to get members for the I.L.P., but to house them. At present the members have to join the Penygraig branch, and we cannot get a. meeting phree in Tqnvpandy (unless we borrow Moriah Vestry, which is always very generously granted to the comrades). However, it is hoped that at a committee to be held in Pandy on March 19th, some way out of the difficulty will be found. Thek secretary, together with the organiser, inter- viewed the possessors of several empty buildings and the results will be discussed there. We congratulate the women members of the Rhondda T.L.P. on the excellent social they gave at Tabor vestry on Friday last. With such generous and energetic women attached to the movement, we can see what excellent results could be achieved if there was a permanent home foiled for the I.L.P. Mr. Tom Hughes, 12 Crawshay Road, Penygraig. is anxious to hear from anyone who could assist Itim in findine a suitable hall or shop. M.P.