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Political Notes By F. W. Jowett. I THE WAR ON BABES. The Government refuses to publish the draft Peace treaty with Germany in this country, al- though in Germanv the full draft is published br oadcast. Air. Bonar Law lias had to answer Questions almost daily concerning the refusal to publish. 111 reply to one of these Questions lie bad the. audacity to refer the questioner to the summary of the treaty published in this coun- try, which he said was accurate and met all re- quirements. On the same day, however, he was asked whether the terms of the treaty demand- ed that Germany should give up a considerable number of cattle, and he refused to answer. Evidently t!)e Government is ashamed of the demand for 140,000 milch cows from Germany, where infants are dying off like Hies on account of the shortage of milk, and if the demand should have to be withdrawn, the people of this country are not expected to know that it was The surrender is a ] so demanded from Germany of 40.000 head of young cattle, 120,000 sheep, 15,000 cows and 10,000 goats. THE Rir.SSACRE OF JEWS. No special means are being taken to ma ke it known in this country that pogroms are still being carried Oil against Jews in Poland. On being challenged to say whether any information bad reached the foreign office concerning a re- cent- pogrom at Pinsk, the Uuder-Secrotary ad- mitted that thirty-four Jews had been shot, but explained that the Polish authorities said that the persons who had been massacred were in- tending to seize, disarm and kill a Polish out- post. Colonel Wedgewood thereupon asked the Minister if he was aware that the Jews were attending a meeting called to consider the ques- tion of Red Cross administration when they were .shot-, but no reply was given to his second query. It is the practice of tite Foreign Office to give currency to any lie which seems to justify intervention on the side of property and privilcg" in Russia or elsewhere, and at the same time ignore or excuse cruelty and oppres- sion on the other :• If it would assist the policy of the Government to issue a report on (K f<> £ Denekin and the Polish fSovernment are respon- sible, there would be no need to make unsup- ported statements such as have recently been published against the Bolsheviks. The truth wo:: Id be sufficient. SOWING THE WIND. Mr. A< land, who moved the resolution in fa- v >i:r of a capital levy in the House of Commons last week approves the action of the Govern- ment iii Excess Profits Tax and thereby making a present of more than £ o0,(HKl.()00 in one year to the profiteers. Mr. Chamberlain did not fail to draw attention to this fact. With regard to the policy of balancing the budget with the help of borrowed money, and the sale of property purchased by borrowed money which hasnot been repaid, Mr. Cham- ;t.,I!'iiItt(?<1 t'ti;it the 1)200.000,000 which is commonly understood to be the amount received from this source, and applied to meet current expenditure, this year, is not the total amount. In addition to the sum mentioned, another to meet- different items of expenditure. Leavinsi out of account the whole of the money raised by realisaticll IIf asspts (which should have been applied to reduction of debt) there is a de- ficiency of £ 700,000,000 between the estimated income and expenditure this year. Mr. Cham- berlain expects the property and materials still unsold will realise in ad- dition t to the £ 4o0,000,000 before-mentioned. With this latter amount it is douhtiess his in- tentioll to cook another budget, if lie remains 111 office until next year. Then the crash will be bound to come, but someone eUe. will have to with the situation then. CREASING THE FAT SOW. I The 'Herald (May 20tii) contained an ex- tract from a circular issued from Cardiff of the kind which Mr. had forecasted some' (lays before in Parliament. Speaking of the reduction in the Excess Profits I)uty Mr. Lunn sHid that it was a gift to the profiteers, and that companies appealing to the public for new capital might be expected to promise il1- creased dividends as a result of the redaction of Excess Profits Duty. The circular quoted in "The Herald states Willi the reduction in the Excess Profits I)utv, we look for a very good return in the shape of dividends, and a rise 111 thejnark"J value of the shares before very long. The Herald als0 (May 26th) relates that a new company Juts been floated it h a capital of £ 100,000, to take over a ship of ->,200 tons dead weight, which was bought a short time ago for £70,000. I he age of the vessel is not mentioned in the circular issued in support of the flotation of the Company, but as an inducement to in- vestor^ attention is called in the circular to the success of another s imilar company, formed soon after the war began, which has paid regular dividends of 20 per cent, per annum, free of iu- come tax, and has now been wound up, the capital being returned to the shareholders two and a half times over. These are the sort of people amongst whom Mr. Chamberlain ha" agreed to divide a sum which will be consider- ably in excess of DIVISION OF LASOUR! H Questioned in the II ouse oil May 19th, -1,1 Hope, replying for the Ministry of Munitions, admitted the Government had advanced the Sum of National Smelting Com- pany although the shareholders of the Company had o i iv I)er oii tli(-,ii- Cl shares. There are oOO.OOO share uncalled. The Government provides the working capital. The shareholders take the profits.. I SIMPLE SIMM AND THE POOR WIDOW. I The Capitalists' Labour Party is opposed to the proposed levy 011 accumulated wealt h. Na- turally so. The funds so liberally subscribed to maintain this camouflaged wing of the Tory party were not intended for the purpose of lay- ing the cost of the war on the profiteers. One of the members of the party, "ColOIw)" M. T. iiiiii, took part in the debate, but it is quite evident that he did not understand the proposal. He was needlessly disturbed, for example, as to the effect of the proposal on a widow with a for- tune of £ -3,000, who, he said, would have £ 1,000 ta ken from her ;f the levy were carried into effect. But this is not the case. No levy would be made on the widow's first £ 1,000. On the re- maining £ 4,000 the levy would be small, say 5 per cent., which wouid amount to £ 200, and not £ 1,000. It would be the people with large for- tunes who would pay heavily, because the levy would be steeply graduated. I A MARE'S NEST. I Mr. Simm was also needlessly alarmed as to the effect cf the levy on municipal finance. He argued to the effect that a town with a munici- pal debt of 3.J millions and a rateable value of two millions, would have the security for its debt taken because the property of the rate- payers would be seized and the ratable value of the town reduced. Evidently Mr. Simm had it in mind that some of the ratepayers would meet the few by handing over a portion of their pro- perty. This is possible, hut the property would be there all the same, and the municipal author- ity would draw rates on it as before. The ratable value of the property would not be dimniished. The new owner, i.e., the State, would pay the rates on the property as the previous owner did. This is the position at present with regard to all other property owned and rented hy the State within the area of a municipal authority. Colonel Simm may or may not have served his patrons well in the capacity of a feather- bed soldier, but as their shield and protector lie certainly does not shine. ITHE STARVATION CUfr fOR SOCIALISM. I the Allied and Associated Uoveriinients—• otherwise described as the Big Four, and for whom Mr. Lloyd George is one of the leading spokesmen—have decreed that the deliberate starvation of Hungary frill be suspended a,c soon as a government is installed there which gives some assurance of settled conditions." Tn other words, Hungary must establish a Capital- ist form of government or starve. The fact is that the Paris Thieves' Kitchen has decided that in Hungary as well as in Russia the common people must be taught a severe lesson. After a course of starvation rigorously enforced by the Allied and Associated Governments (followed by the massacre which is being prepared for them by Koltchaek, Denekin and Mannerheim, under the supervision of the villainous instigator of war, Sazanoff) the people of Russia are expected to submit more completely than ever to Capital- ist exploitation. The terms of peace which it is intended to force upon Germany and Austria by a course of starvation and the threat of con- tinued starvation, are expected to bring the people of Germany and Austria into a simihu 'state of submissive obedience. If the plan suc- ceeds, and Capitalism notwithstanding the war. can be assured of an abundant supply of cheap iahouriuHussia and elsewhere on the Conti- nent, the \vorkers in Great Britain will have reason to regret that they remained-inactive whilst their rulers assisted in the assassination of the Russian Revolution. LLOYD GEORGE ON INTERVENTION. Speaking in the.House of Commons 011 April lfith last, Mr. Lloyd G eorge said with regard to intervention in Russia :— Does anyone propose military interven- tion? .1 want to examine that carefully and candidly, 1 will not s;\y before the House, but before any individual commits his conscience to such an enterprise', 1 want him to realist1 what it means. First of nil there is the funda- mental principle of all foreign policy in this country—a very sound principle—that yon >hould never interfere in the internal affail's of another country, however badly governed and, whether Russia is Menshev-ik or Bolshe- vik, whether it is reactionary or revolutionary, whether it follows one set of men or another, that is a matter for the Russian people them- selves. We cannot interfere, according to any canon of good go'rnment, to impose a form of "government 011 another people, however bad we may consider their present form of to Who would believe it fe,ra Prime Minis- !('r\vho expressed hi)nse!f so e!earty a?ain'? military intc.ve)u:on in Russia, to send battle- ships, munitions (including poison gas) and men. to make war on Russia, bombard her towns how the iea and invade her country:" And. the answer to this question is that nobody who did not know Mr. Lloyd George would think it pos- sible. Mr. L'oyd George, however, never speaks i with so much emphasis as w hen he is about to break his word. •

I.L.P. Anona: Conference —Porthcawl. Will secretaries if branches note that the name of Councillor David Williams should be added to those nominated as forthcoming Labour l £ arty Conference, having been omitted by mistake. 'I he following have withdrawn from nomina- tion: Einrys HHghps (for .secretaryship)..1. Barr, and S. 0, Davies. Regarding the Demonstration the exact place will be advertised in the Pioneer" next week.

Labour and the Peace Terms MANIFESTO. We, the undersigned, desire to emphatically protest against the conditions of the Peace Treaty submitted to the German Republic. Though we sign this statement in our personal capacity we ii-e C'011fîfl!'1Jt that we represent the capacity we are confi d ent that we M oveinent capacity we are contim tit that we M ovement overwhelming opinion of the Labour of Great Britiiii. III our opinion the proposed Treaty of Peace is open to the gravest objections from the point of view of Labour. As Labour, notwithstanding the definite promises given by Mr. Lloyd George, was not consulted in the framing of its provisions. Labour cannot be ex- pected to accept responsibility for them. ELABORATED IN SECRET. J he treaty was elaborated in secret by an inner ring composed of a few great Powers. It follows the lines of the old secret diplomacy, whose methods have been universally condemned by the democracies. It violates the pledges given to Labour by the statesmen of this country, particularly thost" given by Mr. Lloyd George in his speech to the Trade Unions on January 5th, 1918. We call at- tention in this regard to the handing over of large populations in the Saar District, in the new Poland, and in other areas to alien Govern- ments, without consulting their wishes; to the economic ruin planned by commercial rivals against the German people; to their exclusion from the League of Nations: to the seizure of all German colonies and stations by the Allied and Associated Governments; and to the disarma- ment of Germany without the corresponding dis- armament on the side of thj Allies. In all these respects the Treaty is a breach of faith with La- bour. A SCRAP OF PAPER. I Further, the Treaty violates the definite agreement on the basis of which Germany laid down her arms. The Allies agreed to make peace on the basis of the Fourteen Points of President Wilson and the principles contained in his speeches of July 4th and September 27th, 1918. This agreement has been treated as a scrap of paper. The Treaty constitutes, therefore, a breach of faith with Germany, and a serious blow to international morality. It violates the principles of a peace settlement laid down in the Memorandum on War Aims adopted by the Labour Party in December, 1917, and confirmed by the resolutions of the Inter- national Conference at Berne in February, 1919. It is thus a direct defiance of Labour opinion throughout the world. It s hows no recognition of the charge brought about by the German Revolution and the ad- vent of Social Democracy to power in that coun- try. The German people are compelled by it for a long and inclpfini tp period to do slave Labour for foreign capitalist governments. CERMS OF NEW CONFLICTS. So far from making all wars impossible the Treaty contains within it the germs of new con- flicts arising out of the grievances of people ruled by alien Governments and penalised econo- mically. ft thus male's future wars almost in- evitable. It creates a condition of unrest and injustice which must make the League of Na- tions, if it survives at all, merely the instrument of imperialist domination. The germ of good which the League undoubtedly contains wouJrl thus be rendered sterile. The Treaty, in short, restores the old condi- tions of the Balance of Power, and thereby ne- cessitates the maintenance of conscription and of great armaments generally, and in particular, it requires an army of occupation for an indefi- nite period. We consider it t-o be the duty of Labour to work for the revision of the Treaty at the earliest possible moment in order that it may be brought into harmony with the ideals for which the working classes of this country have made such colossal sacrifices. W. BARBER (Bradford Trades Council). MARGARET G. BOXDFlELD (National Feder- ation of Women Workers). FRED BRAMLEY (Assistant Secretary, Trades Union Congress Parliamentary Committee). •I. BROMLEY (Associated Society of Locomo- tive Engineers and Firemen). D. CARMICHAEL (London Trades Council). C. T. CRAlI) (National Union of Railwayuien). MARGARET LLEWELLYN DAVIES (Secre- tary, Women's Co-operative Guild). T. GAVAN DUFFY (Cumberland Tron Ore Miners' Assochvf ion). .JOSEPH F. DUNCAN (Secretary, Scottish Faim Servants' Union). ALLEN (mE (Gen. Union of Textile Workers}. ALEX. GOSSIP (National Amalgamated Fur- nishing Trades Association). • .JOHN H ILL (United Society of Boilermakers. Iron and Steel Shipbuilders). GEORGE LANSBURY ,I,'ditoi. v AVI LI JAM LUNN, MI'. < Roth well). XF-IL MACLEAN. M.P. (Oovan). !». MORLEY (Workers' Union). T. C. MORR)S (?auonal Union of Raiiwavmen). J. W. OGDEIC {Past P)<)\?"t. Trades Union Congress). W. SHAW (Glasgow Trades Couneil). ROBERT SMJLL1E (President. ?!i).?. Fdl';> tionuf Gr?at Bribill), A!.F. S'\HTH iSecretary, 1 ornlou and Provincial Licensed Vehicle Workers). PHUdP SXO?FX (Chairman. I. L.P.). BEN SPOOR. M.P IRdlÜP Auckland) TURNER (General l'jlion of Textile W or kers) HOBFHT WILLIAMS (Secretary. National Transport Workers' ..Federalion). TAMES WINSTON!! (S.W.M.F.). VCXCAN GRAHAM, M.P. (Hamilton)

The Way to Celebrate Peace I TO THE EDITOR. I Dear Sir,—Permit me through the columns of your valuable paper to draw the attention qf your readers to some of the innumerable griev- ances of discharged soldiers and 4heir depen- dents. To my mind, it is utter folly to talk of celebrating peace locally until w e put our "house in order" on this matter. The discharged soldiers' resolution submitted to the peace celebrations committee on Friday night last would go a long way towards allaying some of the outstanding discontent, if it acted wisely upon. What we ask is: "That as a fitting memorial to our comrades who have fallen, and as a token of appreciation to those w ho have come back, we (-all on the promoters of peace celebrations locally to establish a fund, so that no soldier, sailor or dependent may be left to the mercies of the Guardians or be stig- matised by a pauper's grave." TYPICAL CASES. I One of the cases I spoke of at that meeting is of the mother of the three brother Donovans, of Dowlais) two of whom made the supreme sacrifice" and the third was taken a prisoner of war. The oldest, Sergeant William Donovan, of the South Wales Borderers, had the Mons Star and Ribbon when he gave his life; the other was Sapper Rfehard Donovan, of the Royal Engineers, who was blown up in the early days of 1916. It is sad to think that this poor old lady, with her 14-year-old little boy had to exist on 5 per week pension and, when -110 longer able to work, broken down by worry and want, had to be taken to the Workhouse, where she on Saturday morning last passed away. And were it not for the poor neighbours in the dis- trict where she lived. Who are (while I write) going around collecting sixpences and shillings, this poor mother of three soldiers would have been buried in a pauper's grave. Take again the case of Mr. Davies, of the Graig Cwm, Dowlais, this man joined up early in 1916, was sent on to a training camp, where he was subjected to the usual discipline and physical jerks." He broke down physically under the heavy strain, and subsequently breaking down mentally, he was removed to a lunatic asylum where he eventually died, and from the day of his death (over three years ago) his wife and seven little children did not get a penny-piece from the pensions authority's either locally or nationally. These are but samples of t'.e glaring hardship throughout the borough. Should there be any reader in doubt I would advise him to ask his local relieving officer how many soldiers, sailors, or dependents he assisted since the outbreak of war. The answer will be staggering. NOTH INC SHORT OF TREASON. J To talk, therefore, of spending money locally on buntings; fireworks, tar barrels, etc., in face of those hardships is nothing short of treason and should be made punishable under D.O.R.A. Look again at the pathetic spectacle of crip- pled, maimed and mangled men lined up outside our Labour Exchanges, many of these unfor- tunates are obv'ousty unfit for labour of any sort. i but owing to their ridiculously inadequate pensions they are forced to hunt for jobs. These men have come back broken in the country's war, and, incidentally, so that Merthyr may celebrate peace. But what is Merthyr doing for bhem:" Some Employers who were among the first to wave the flag and induce these men to enlist, are among the last now to play the patriot and take those mt'lIhad to work. Something is needed more than merely re- ferring to those poor crocks as brave heroes. They want something more substantial. In fact. they are "fed up" with all the sentimental twaddle about the brave boys, and now, before the peace celebrations come on, it is up to Mer- thyr to do something for them. IBUREAUCRACY. The ambiguous, obscure, and very often con- tradictory wording of the numerous Royal War- rants confers practically unlimited powers upon the Minister or Pensions, and an award may be granted, suspended or forfeited at his pleasure, or upon the recommendations of his officials. A widow may have her sole means of liveli- hood in the shape of a beggarly pension, stopped upon an adverse report and recommendation made by the Local War Pensions Committee. and she has absolutely 110 court of appeal beyond the people who themselves couie t(o) this decision. As the committee is now being reconstituted .t appears they are appointing the biggest part of their own members to that body. So the dis- charged soldier will be confronted with a com- mittee savouring of bureaucracy instead of a body appointed on broad democratic lines of pro- cedure. Moreover, the committee seem to be much more concerned with regulations and cir- culars than they are for the welfare of soldiers and dependents. Where there are cases that do not come within the scope of the regulations the committee appears to have no energy in re- moving those numerous evils, even though they have 110 power to deal with, those cases them- I)oNl.(,I, to ('1(1,1 ,It l Their lack of method, too, seems to be an out- standing characteristic. Take the ease ot a voting soldier w ho had been discharged from a convalescent camp suffering from a wound in the shoulder. He was getting electrical treatment ami massage at this camp, and 011 leaving he was told to acquaint his local pensions com- mittee who wouid see he was medically attended to. This manias kept five or six weeks about the road from pillar to post, and nothing was done for him. His arm is wiihel'iug, and it is now feared he will lose it altogether. The pre- sent system of dealing vitii disabled soldiers means delav in getting Class Z men before the medical referee, delay in getting claims through when they are awarded, and delay in getting men medically attended to, and is becoming a scan- dal in the locality. There is no man more fitted to deal with these matters than a discharged soldier, and they certainly should have a much bigger representation on the committee. The question from a national aspect I will deal with on some future occasion.—\ ours truly, I GL\X[.:tt O'DRISCOLL. I no?L.is.?ht.v?nL?'i?.

[Merthyr's Sweated Clerks. TWO DAYS' STRIKE FOR LIVINC WACE. UNION RECOCNITION VICTORY. Exasperated by the delays of the Merthyr I own Council in dealing with their applications for the institution of an increased and graded scale of salaries the Corporation clerks were on strike 011 Tuesday. To down pens was decided upon at aineeting at tite Town Hall, Merthyr, on Monday, and the word was given expression in immediate action, all gathering their hats and trooping out of the building, leaving their working-day half-an-hour short of completion. They number fifty-one and are members of the National Union of Clerks. Since October of 1917 requests for salary ad- vances for clerks have been before the C-orpora- tion time and again but, whilst departmental heads have secured with comparative ease gener- ous augmentations to already comfortable sti- pends, the clerical staff have been accorded what they regard as niggardly doles by way of war- bonuses pranging from t30 to jE60 a year) which barely lifts them economically above the poverty line. W hat the clerks struck work for was the fol- lowing graded scale: Junior clerks, £ 6-5 to £ 130 per annum; genera l clerks, £ 143 to £ 208; son of- clerks, t221 to £ 299; and chief clerks, J.:320 to t420. Existing wages at the Town Hall they de- scribe as scandalous, and an indication as to the justification of this charge is provided in a state- ment that the highest pre-war salary paid there was £160 a year, and that only to a man with A THREAT. With the first day of the stoppage there was evidence of contemplation of punitive measures by the reactionaries on Corporation and freely talked about was the dismissal of some of the clerks on their ultimate return to duty. This may be attempted under the plea of clerical over-staffing, and the Labour members must needs keep a close guard. Needless to say, the strikers, having the support of the organised workers of the borough, shall not be wilfully victimised for their temerity in withdrawing their labour to obf»i*> liv'jig wage. Protection can be taken as assured from the large indus- trial unions of the locality. Tuesday saw the clerks peacefully picketting around the Town Hall, but their precautions were unnecessary, for none but the depart- mental heads turned up to the office. The position was discussed the same evening by the Town Council. Mr. David Perkins (La- bour) asked the Mayor (Aid. R. P. Rees) whether it was true that he had refused to ar- range a meeting of the General Purposes Com- mittee on Wednesday in order that. the organiser of the union (Mr. Ben Griffiths, Cardiff) might I lay the case of the clerks before them. A re- fusal was the message taken to the meeting of j the clerks on Monday afternoon, and they imme- diately struck. ORGANISER TURNED DOWN. The Mayor, in reply, said that the organiser communicated with him over the telephone that he was anxious to meet the committee. He (the Mayor) told litrit a General Purposes Committee was called for Wed nesday, but this the organiser would not be allowed' to attend. The committee had adjourned from the Friday previous in order to receive a report from the Borough Controller (Mr. W. R. Harris) as to the principles of grading adopted by other authorities in respect to their clerical staffs. He could not call sucli a meeting for the organiser until this informa- tion \\as ub tamed. lie ask you Mr. John WtHiams (Labour) Did he ask you to he admitted to our meeting? Mayor: He asked if he could attend Wednes- day's meeting, and I said No "—he could not come. Mr. Enoch Morrell (Labour) then took up cudgels 011 behalf of the clerks. What was there to prevent a. representative of the clerks meet- ing the committee as requested ? He could tell the Corporation exactly "where the shoe pinches tii(I ilie men could be got hack to their desks whilst whatever might be conceded them could become retrospective. He moved that Mr. Griffiths should be given audience by the com- mittee at the next day's meeting, and this was seconded by Mr. Perkins. RIGHT TO HEARING. Mr. Williams: As far as gradIng IS concerned the Borough Controller has prepared a report at our request, and surely we are not going t-o deny tiie men's representative the right to say whether they are satisfied or not with his grading. It is common-sense that they should have a word to say. The Mayor interposed that the Committee had only agreed to the policy of grading, but pend- ill" information as to similar authorities' cus- tom they had deferred consideration of the re- port. Mr. Morrell re-affirmed the clerks right to a hearing. They were entitled to concessions like other bra in he- of labour, and whilst the Corpor- ation were waiting the requested information the men w ere out. He would go further to ask the clerks to return in the morning pending the lit the iii(?i-iiliig I)eiid ng the I (,()Ikllll! lll(,??t i lig () f that 5»Iayor They i! !ett in an i)!egal way. And ll()N\- Vol] t?; Is?- tll('Ill to ??o WHAT S A LEGAL STRIKE? Mr. Win. Lewis 1 Penydarren) I would leave them there. I don't think it is right for the Council to go"upbn their knees to their workmen, it seems to me we should take the bull hy the horn-. I wish'to do everything for on r work- men but I don't believe in these illegal strikes. Take the illegal strike of the miners in Dow lais (Derisive laughter from the Labour benches.) There are hundreds o-f people out of work there (Continued on Pace 1. Column 4).