Pioneer

Two Young Sparks. MR. TOM RICHARDS AND OUR NEWEST MILLIONAIRE COALOWNERS. Mr. T. Richards, M.P. (Secretary of the S.W.M.F.), was the speaker on Nationalisation of the Coal Mines at a great meeting held in Trmypandy on Monday, over which Mr. Noah Rees presided. Dealing with the much can- vassed contention that the miners were actuated by ,selfish motives and were seeking to obtain nationalisation for purely selfish ends, Mr. Richards germanely asked whether the alleged selfishness of the miners could be compared with that of the landlords who owned the coal or the coalowners who worked it. TI13 latter worked the pits simply for their 'own benefit, giving no thought for the workmen's interests. As an instance lie mentioned the Gwauncae- gurwen Collieries, which had been acquired by two young "sparks" from Aberdare, and Mer- thyr respectively, who tendered notices to 700 workmen on the ground that the collieries did not pay. < Mr. Richards pointed out, however, tlWllt these pits had provided an average dividend of 14 per cent, for the last fifteen years, and asked why these young millionaires acquired the collieries if the- did not pay. "This takes place," said Mr. Richards,. at a time when we are told that the whole lifcrof the nation depends upon the in- creased production of coal." In South Wales the coal output in 1913 was 56 million tõns. He believed that under State ownership of the mines it would be possible to sell 40 million tons of coal in foreign countries at a price that would give the other 16 million tons almost free for use in home industries and for domestic pur- poses. Under nationalisation the people who would not be wanted would be those who, before the war, drew 13 million pounds a year in divi- dends and who, in three-quarters of 1918, drew 39 million pound. A resolution was adopted calling for nationali- sation, protesting against Allied intervention in Russia, and demanding a more equitable system of income tax assessment, with a minimum abatement of £ 250.

I The Watford Surprise. I MERTHYR'S MIDDLE LINE FAILS. I The defeat of Merthyr Town at Watford by five clear goals was the most remarkable of the Saturday's many Southern League surprises. Merthyr managed to keep the score-card clear up to the interval, and having regard to the indif- ferent display hitherto shown by the Watford forwards, looked like, at least, sharing points. A different story, however, was soon told. In five and twenty minutes Watford were five goals up on. play said to be the most remarkable seen from them this season. Merthyr's backs and custodian seem to have made a creditable show, but the middle line was characterised as poor. The game between Merthyr and Swansea at Merthyr on Monday resulted in a (Ii-ttw before a 10,000 gate." The scoring was opened by Ball, who, after fifteen minutes' play, in which Swan- sea were the more aggressive, was giieii a chance by a misunderstanding between George and Chamberlain in the goal area, and, nipping in smartly, he touched the leather into the net with Gibbon a, few yards out. Merthyr's equaliser c'ame after the half hour. A brisk movement by the home forwards saw the ball centred by Wil- liams, with the inside men well np, Poulton drove in hard, and the baH was sent out to Olivers' toe, and, Denoon on the ground, Qhdvers rapped the leather into the Swansea goal. In the melee the visitors' custodian sustained an injury which necessitated his retirement for the rest of the game, and Collins was removed from right half and placed between the sticks. For the first ten minutes also Swansea played ten men, Evans being an absentee, and the latter not putting in an appearance Hewitt was sent, to the vacancy on the left wing. Swansea's mis- fortune in the loss of Denoon, however, was counter-balanced by the fact that Probert, Mer- thyr's clever right-half, though he pluckily car- ried on until the final whistle, was early on ren- dered almost useless by an injury to his ankle. As in the Watford engagement, Merthyr s weakness again was in the half-back line, the. experiment of removing George to centre-hailf in place of Holder, and bringing in Chamberlain to right back to release Proliert to take George's position at the right end of the middle line pnwing uusatisfaotory. The management, how- ever, are seeking to remedy tlhe fa uIt by obtain- ing a new pivotal man. Generally the Swansea game was scrappy and for three- parts of play Merthyr were t)he ag- gressive side. Collins in the second half was more than fortunate in stopping with his knees :t "sure goal" from Poulton, whilst just on final whistle Shephard, a Birmingham League lad, given a trial as deputy to Barnfather, who was-injured at Watford, narrowly missed secur- ing the lead from a mix-up on goal. The Welsh League eleven beat Barry at Peny- darren Park on Saturday by two goals to one, Shephard and Smibli scoring for Merthyr, and Powell for Barry.

The United States Government has decided to call another conference to continue fhe effort to establish industrial peace. Unlike the abortive conference, this new assembly, which will be composed of 15 prominent Americans, will not

Our London Letter. By Our Special London Correspondent- A FENNER BROCKWAY. A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. So far this session the Labour Party officials have done well. They have made opportunities for the Party, but* unfortunately, the best has not always been made of those opportunities. Since I last wrote, for instance, the Labour Party has initiated three debates, and to secure opportunities to do so must have meant a good deal of activity on the part of the officials. On the question of the Coal Control Office last night the Party did well. I write hefoYe the conclusion of the Russian debate, but the fact that the Party has selected Colonel Wedgwood, Mr. W. Graham—two I.L.P.ers—and Mr. Henderson as its speakers, suggests that it means to deal with this issue in the large way it deserves. But in the Finance Debate last week the Labour Party failed lamentably. FATAL MODERATION. Both the Inedependent Liberals and the La- bour Party had amendments down to the Gov- ernment's motion of conifdence on the subject of finance. To the general surprise the Speaker se- lected the Labour Party amendment for discus- sion. It came before the House on Thursday— the second daiv of the debate. On the first day Mr. Austen Chamberlain seemed to have con- vinced the Hotise--tlioi-igli not the Press nor the country-that the financial situation, despite his tallk about national bankruptcy last August, is quite rosy. The Labour Party ought to have gone for the Government tooth and nait. It would have rallied the Press and the public to its side. It should have stated in detail our positive policy of the confiscation of war profits and the levying of a, Capital Levy. But instead of fighting speeches we had a degree of modera- tion unusual even for Mr. Clynes and Mr. Hodges. MR. CLYNES SPEECH. Mr. Clynes' speech would have been an excel- lent performance if he had been addressing the House of Commons alone. It was persuasive, sweetly-reasonable, and quite moving in its per- oration. If anything eould have touched the 'heart of the Coalitionists, Mr. Clynes' appeal to them not to be miserly over their wealth, when they had, as a class, proved so ready to give their lives for the nation during the war, would have done so. Bui-even if they were moved in neart tlvey took refuge behind Lord Robert Cecil's assurance that the Capital Levy was bad as an economic proposal, and Mr. Clynes' words had no effect. But outside Parliament his words might have .had a very big effect. Our M.P.'s must remember always that they are ad\ dressing the public as well as Parliament. And what the public need is a fighting lead. They will jump m response to it. A HIDDEN TAX. Before I leave this subject of finance, let me mention a point which Colonel I'tedgwood spoke to me about in the lobby the other day. He argued that the ex-ttnsive printing of paper money by the Government amounts to a new tax which falls with special seriousness on the workers. He likened the State to a private in- dividual. If a private individual spen<i§ more than his income, a momettt comes when the bailiffs are put in; but if a private individual could print money and make people take it, he would neve-r 800 the bailiff." The State does not see the bailiff because it does print paper money, but the more money printed the less valuable it becomes and the higher prices rise. In reality, therefore, the liyzh prices amount to an additional tax, none the loss real because it does not appear in the budget. f I COLONEL WEDCWOOD'S PLUCK. Colonel Wedgw ood has continued to put up a magnificent fight on the Alien's Bill. He has moved the( rejection of clause by clause and his speeches have been inspired by the broadest in- ternational outlook. We on these benches," he declared on Monday, "believe in the inter- national solidarity of Labour. There is only one divisitmi--tlie (Iii-ision between Labour and Capi- talism." Litei- in the debate he had valuable support from Mr. J. H. Thomas^ who pleaded against the deportation of English widows of Germans, a.nd of their children. He declared that acts of this kind would prevent the heal,ing; of the wounds caused by the war and would pre- vent the coming of a permanent peace. HAVELOCK WILSON, TOOl A surprising feature of the debate was the at- titude of Havelock Wilson. He declared against the exclusion of aliens from British shipsaind said British seamen would Welcome them Vll so long as they were paid the British .stairida-i-d t)f wages. Haveloek Wilson justified this unex- pected advocacy of internationalism on the ground that the exclusion of alien seamen from British ships would mean the exclusion of Bri- tish seamen from alien ships, an argument which might be applied an other directions also. But he did not get his way so far as -the rates of pay are concerned. The shipowners mpy hate aliens on the political platform, but they love them as a source of cheap labour for their ships. Con- sequently, Mr. Alexander Shaw, tlieir spokes- men, urged the Government to allow aliens to serve on British ships at a special rate of pay, and of course, the Government agreed. In the division on this issue the Labour Party and the National Democratic Party acted together, and Mr. Thomas and Mr. Seddon were the tellers. Such are the strange groupings which sometimes occur here. THE SIX SHILLINGS RISE. On Tuesday night W. Brace and V erllon Hart- shorn put up an unanswerable case against the rise in the price of coal by 6s. a ton last July. They showed that Sir Auckland Geddes had justified the increase on the ground that there would he a loss on exports of eleven millions. Figures for the September quarter indicate that instead of a ltoss there will be a profit amounting to something like nineteen millions! Both Brace and Hartshorn had some caustic things to say about the appointment of the secretary of the shipbuilding employer, Fedoi-ation-, a Scot tish lawyer, to the office of Food Controller. LONDON LABOUR MOVEMTNT. I A few weeks ago I wrote, that the London Lft- bour movement was getting a move on." The results of the Borough Council elections showed that it has moved to some purpose! It has in- creased the: number of its members on the Coun- cils from 48 to 582, and it now has a majority on thirteen of the Councils. Even the greatest optimists among us have been surprised by this result. It is of immense hope for the future. The results bear out what the recent bye-elec- tiions have siiggest-od-iht- failure of the Liberal Party to keep a hold on public opinion. On only one Borough Council have the Liberals— who fight municipal eleclionga.s Progressives —obtained a majority.

,t" N.L.P. —— -I BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS The Meaning of Socialism By J. BRUCE CLABIER. With an introduction by J. A. HOBSON, M.A. In a series of Chapters, Mr. Bruce Glasier pi-esolits Socialism in all its main as- p i-tical, economic, and ethical—unfolding not only its ideals and practical aims, but its roots in past history and its pi-oplievyof anew civilisation. Paper Boards 2/6 (post free 2/9) Red Rubber By E. D. MOREL. The story of the Rubber Slave Trade on the Congo. The Uncle Tom's Cabin:" of the Congo Slavery. This is not merely a reprint, for Mr. Morel has added new chapters which greatly enhance its value and brings the narrative up to date. Paper 3/8 (post free 3/9) READY. ORDER IT. THE SOCIALIST LIBRARY-XII. PARLIAMENT AND REVOLUTION By J.RAMSAY MACDONALD. OOTS III. The Rus-sian Revolution.—IV. The Dictator- ship of the Proletariat.—V. Soviet Franchise.— VI.—Soviet Democracy.—\ II. Territorial v. Trade Constituencies.—VIII. Parliament.—IX. "Direct Aoti.on.X. Revolution.—XI. The In- dependent Labour Party.—Appendix House of Commons Business. ',I PAPER 1/6 (Post Free 1/9). A Book to Buy-Read-And Ponder Over. The Recruit By A. FENNER BROCKWAY. A one-act play, showing life in a military guard-room, which was written by the author in Walton Prison, Liverpool, whilst serving two years' hard labour for daring to possess a conscience. Cloth 2/- (2/2); Paper 1/- (1/1) 'I Life of Karl Marx By JOHN SPARCO. Written in the hope that it will make Marx more real to Socialist Comrades and to students of Socialism generally as well as to thn* jai-gor public which finds an intelligent understanding of Socialism to be a necessary part of its mental equipment in these days when there is so much Socialism in the air.' 8j6 (post free 9/-) 1 Further Facts From The; Coal Commiss-ion Compiled by R. PACE ARNOT. A history of the second stage of the Coal Indnstry Commission, with excerpts from the evidence: Contains The Nationalisation of Mines and Minerals Bill 1919." ed. (post free 71d.) ALL GOOD SELLERS. .1 HELL OR HEAVEN, WHICH? By E.L. An indictment of our un- social a.nd wasteful system of pro- ducing the nation.'s wealth 6d. (7d.) FIFTY POINTS ABOUT CAPITALISM By Sir Leo Chiozza Money 6d. (7 1 d.) PETERLOO. By J. H. Hudson 6d. (7d.) FAMILY LIFE IN CERMANY UNDER THE BLOCKADE. By Lina Reiehter 6d. (7d.) THE SCHEME FOR A STATE BONUS E. Mabel and D. Milner 3d. (4d.) THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE RUSSIAN SOVIETS. By M. Phillips Price 3d. (4d.) KEIR HARDIE: The Man and His Message. By J. Bruce Glasier 2d. (3d.) THE CANC BEHIND THE COVERN- MENT. Bv J. T. Walton Nowbold, M.A. 2d. (2 1 d.) THE PUBLIC v. CAPITALISM. By Sir ¡"oo Chiozza Money 2d (3d.) THE DEATH OF A PEOPLE. The Story of the Austrian Famine. 2d. (2 £ d.) IF CHRIST APPLIED FOR PARISH RELIEF. By C. A. Glyde 2d. (2 £ d-) A SHORT CUIDE TO THE RENT RESTRICTION ACTS, 1915-19. By S. Higenhottam ld. (lid.) NATIONALISATION OF MINES. By R. Page Arnott Id. (Hd.) HOUSE FAMINE AND THE LAND BLOCKADE. Compiled by A. W. Madsen, B.Sc. Id. (2<1.) THREE BLOODY MEN. By Joseph King Id. (ltd.) THE POLITICAL GAMBLER. By Joseph King Id. (ltd.) Post free prices in brackets. Secretaries are urged to Cut Out this List fot Future Reference. ORDER TO-DAY FROM The National Labour Press, Ltd. ——— 30 Blackfriars Street, Manchester, and ——— 8-9 Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4.

The Theatre Royal To my view the visit of The Purple Mask'' to the Theatre Royal this week is the event of the theatre year in Merthyr. Light as a feather, breezy as 'the wind that blows from the sea over the headlands of Uncle Tom's Cab-in, and roman- tic with the unspotted romance of historic fiction —it is a comedy that- will be revived over and over again after we who have seen its introduc- tion into Britain have been forgotten in our graves. The book itself has a dharming likeness to thedebonnair Scarlet Pimpernal that Baroness Orzy has created for the readsr of roma.ntic fic- tion and all the purely imaginery oontrasts of those days that lend charm to her work whilst destroying all semblance of historical reality is here. Rom ance ever laughs at history, with that light laugh amd merry song that Armand laughs at his world he captors in The Purple Mask. And what an Armand Mr. Hayden Coffin makes; a dare-devil young man of 1-804 shands before us lilting his way through snares and traps and misery beyond belief. It is a great characterisation, done as only a supreme maater of the histrionic art oould have done it. The caste is far too long to allow of any sort of re- view of the dt,ioffo e?:nn ?artia-es' work-and partaal selection would be unfair where such a high level of ability is so uniformly maintained. The staging and dressing is as elaborate as that which charmed the senses when tihe same pro- moters brought Romance." For the next fortnight those ever welcome re- pertory players of Mossrs. Armitage and Leigh are returning in a series of first-class plays, in- I eluding some old favourites, and at least one im- portant new importation. To sing the praises of this company to Merthyr audiences is to gild re- fined gold, and I can, content myself with noticing the work they are presenting next week. On Monday and Saturday they have decided to replay Lucky Durham," whilst on Tuesday Hypocrites" will be down for presentation. Those two a.re sure of great receptions. From Wednesday to Friday the clever company aiv preenting n new American play t'hat has never before iiiade its bow to British audiences—" The Master of the House," and from what I hear it will be no less popular than its two great com- panions ot the week. PLAYGOER.

I Those ii,ooo A Year Colliers. Mr.- Frederick Mills, D.L., chairman of the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal pompany, in his speech at the meeting of the Officials' Asso- ciation a.t Ebbw Vale, said the fairest of all taxes was income tax. He was surprised that a small section of their workmen had refused to pay in- come-tax. They had under their management colliers who were able to earn over 21.,000 a year, and why should they not pay income tax as well as other people who made £ 1,000 a year in any other business? The Government might raise the limit, but let it be fair and just and applicable all round. When the Labour Party came into power there would be some who would be sorry that they had resisted the fair- est tax that could possibly be imagined.

for them. They propose to organise a party of their own at Hamburg, and to adopt Bolshevik methods. SOCIALIST SUCCESSES IN SWITZERLAND. Althiough the final results of the Swiss elec- tion are not yet to hand it is clear that the Socialists have won considerable successes. They have gained 19 seats, and in the new Chamber will have a total of 39 representatives, possibly more. The Radical Party, on the other hand, has lost 45 seats; the new Peasants' Party has gained 27. CRISIS IN SPAIN. <> I According to Reuter messages from Madrid, the Spanish Employers' Federation, at a con- gress just held at Barcelona, have decided to de- clare a lock-out on November 3rd. The Congress appointed a. Contfliittee to wait upon the Minister of the Interior to communicate its decision. The la.tter describes it as a challenge to the working classes. The employers justify their decision on the ground that a certain group of miners is creating unrest with the sole object of destroying the social structure in Spain. The Congress ap- proved the principle of profit-sharing.