Pioneer

Merthyr Notes I Clock Stoppedl I Rachel Price, licensee of the Green Meadow Inn, Troedyrhiw, was finecl ;CIO at Merthyr Court on Tuesday for serving drink to customers after prohibited hours, and ten men, who aided and abetted, 20/ Police-Sergeant Da vies, who proved the case, said lie found the men in the bar a fefr minutes before 3 o'clock, whereas the premises ought to have been closed at 2.30. Mr. » J. W. Lewis, who defended the accused licensee, said she had not been convicted for 19 yearns, and the mistake had probably occurred through the clock swpping. The Stipendiary, however, was of opinion that it was a flagrant breach of the licensing law. 1 Guardians By-Election. I Votting for the seat at Merthyr Guardians va- cated by the death of Mr. T. T. Jenkins, took place at Abercanaid on Monday, and resulted as follows:— Rev. Enoch Hughes (Labour) 1,369 Mr. Evan Jones (Ex-Service) 1,100 Majority 269 Merthyr v. Cardiff City. I Merthyr management, having failed to sit lengthen their back positions for the holiday games, play the following team against Cardiff City at Merthyr on Christmas Day: Gibbon; Chamberlain and Ireland; Brown, Chivers, and Probert; Davies, Nock, Poulton, Bell, and Nicholas. Bell is the South Shield lad, who formerly played for Plymouth Argyle when they won the Southern League championship; and Edwards gets a rest with a bad instep. Sent Down for Christmas. Marie Lake, a young charwoman of Merthyr, was given three months' imprisonnieait by Mer- thyr Stipendiary for .stealing articles of clothing, cutlery and crockery from two of her employers- Messrs. R. T. Jones, drapers, and T. James, Greyhound Inn, Merthyr. Ma-riehas caused trouble before in Bargoed.

Cardiff's Santa Claus. BENEFACTION FOR THE PROVISION OF TOYS FOR CHILDREN. One of those little touches of nature that "makes the whole world kin" ioccurred in the City Hall, Cardiff on Monday, when the Lord Mayor of the City pktyed the part of Daddy Christmas to about .500 of the poor little mites of the City, who otherwise might have been over- looked by the good saint of childhood. The benefactor was Mr. Smith-Peterson, who some time ago decided to perpetuate the memory of his wife by investing £1,000 the income from which is to be spent in the purchase of British toys for distribution to the poor childi-,enof -Car- diff each Christmas time. Preference under the benefaction is to be given ito .poor orphans, and to the children of soldiers and sailors who lost their daddies -in the great war. This year, owing to delay in the investing of the capital .sum, Mr. Smith-Peterson handed LIOO to the Lord Mayor of Cardiff for the purchase of toys for distribu- tion.

District Council Criticised. In the "South Wales Daily News" for Decem- ber 19th, Mr. Ben Griffiths, Welsh organiser, Local Government Officers' Guild, 49 Charles- street, Cardiff, has been criticising the Llantri- sant District Council. We quote Mr. Griffiths' letter in full:—"Sir,—The Llantrisant and LI am twit Fardre Rural District Council desire a clork- -vvlo) must be a short/hand typist, who can take charge of the wages book, stores invoices, and store-yard books, and all other books and .accounts relating'to the Surveyor's department, at a salary of £ 2 10s. per week. I feel certain that this progressive Council (is not doing its duty to the ratepayers in offering such a big salary for isuch a light position. Surely there has been a mistake. They should have admitted that they also desire this clark to carry out the duties -of a surveyor, a sanitary inspector and a town clerk together with such minor details as acting as lamplighter, etc., in lids spare time. I had thought that we had killed thia spirit of employ- ing clerks at ..sweating ,salaries, and I ta-ust that this progressive Council will reconsider the mat- ter anfl withdraw the adver-tismn-Emt. R2 10s. to- day has a pre-war value of under LI, and unless they desire a. clerk who conveniently has no stomach to feed, I do not know how they are going to obtain such an employee.—I am, etc., Ben Griffiths." The present District Council is making a. bid for greater notorietytbau the last ■oaie.

Llantwit Vardre and Chinch Village. I Just over there 'U Llantrisant, the principal theme of discussion of late has been the. baud- every workman talks about it, and the csweet voices of the workers' wives and daughters have had two additional dulcet notes added to their register by reason of their convej-satioiial par- tisanship. There they are emancipating music from the monstrous grip of a caucus; building it firm on working-class support and interest. It is good till at that is so, too, for music is a grand tonic for tired nerves and still more jaded bodies —it lifts up and ennobles; and when it can be made truly of the people, as it is being. done by sheer force of circumstances over there, then the result is generally worth listening to—as witness the St. Hilda colliery band in its world-wide re- putation—Irwell, Eoden, Black Dike and the otJrer"Working-me,n's combinations. We have said all this by way of introduction this week, but nothing strikes us more strongly than the difference between Llantrisant and Llantwit Fardre and Church Village on this -question of the bands. In the one place enthusiasm, in the other indifference, if not actual hostility. In Llantrisant the workmen have willingly agreed to levy themselves ztlo a month for the sake of a communal band; in Cwm the Workman's Band Committee put axequest,before tlic, men on July 6th for a levy of Id. per week—and were told they could not have it. If it were that the people of Church Village and Llantwit Fardre had any just ground for refusal we should not say a word about the matter, but enquiry seems to show that there is no ground for which the blame can be laid at the door of the band. From what we gather it is the band's silence; its failure to make sweet music that lias left the public cold to its appeals, but that failure is due to facts over which nobody and, certainly, the band least of all, can be held responsible. Months back the band committee secured a promise from Messrs. Boosey, the famous instrument manufac- turers, of delivery of the full set of stiver in-! struments by August last, but owing to scarcity of material and skilled labour Messrs. Boosey have not so far been iable to keep their contract. The Committee, however, has been pressing them tbrou its energetic secretary, Mr. Goo. Hamm, and next month will see the delivery of the goods, if the substantial deposit demanded is to hand at Messrs. Boosey's. The total sum is R382, and towards that the Great Western Colliery has contribute-il L50, and t'he committee is now energetically organising prize-drawings, concerts, and other ways of enticing money from the pockets of the people that they may emulate the village blacksmith and Look the whole world in the face, for they owe not for any band "—brass, wood-wind, tymp, or cymbal. We wish them luck, for once the band under Mr. John Martyn Thomas has played Colonel Bogey round the district we believe that Llan- trisant will be turning green with envy whilst the patriotic pride of ithis district in its band will so push things along that they will be in Crystal Palaoe long before. Llantrisant has start- ed to try test-pieces for the great national oom-I petition. Until the instruments do come along, I the promise of a band is all thart we 'have. But what a promise in that fine working committee; and best of all in the possession of Mr. J. Martyn Thomas, B.M., who has been known in | band circles for more than 30 years now, and under whose baton the Va-i-teg Silver Band, and the Pontypool Town Band did much totemovo the slur that has been icast at. Welsh instrumen- tal music with justice for so long. T.I.Is Non-Appearance. One of the penalties of living off th-e direct route, is that speakers look at the weather twice before visiting us once, and this was the case last Thursday when the shocking weather conditions disposed Mr. T. I. Mardy Jones to the belief that the Professor might have only made an error of a day in predicting the end of the world. Mr. T. 1. Mardy Jones is a most methodical man, and in view of the possibilities of the situation—not iorgetting the forbidding weatlher-he prepared his reports to date for submission to the Executive of the S.W.M.F. Ve axe not -sure that that iwould have proved of so much service to him had 'the professor proved right after all, as would the fact that he was lecturing at the time on The Influence of Christianity on -the Growth of Democracy." Now that the end is indefinitely postponed Mr. Jones has promised to make up by a visit in the imme- ■ diate future. He will be welcome. Meanwhile, Mr. Jones was at Beddau and Tenant on Tues- day nighit speaking on the KaMonalisation of Mines at (the Council Schools. Owing to the need to get tine Pioneer out earlier this week, since printers and journalists are unreasonable enough to want Christmas holi- days, we had no chance of getting news of the meeting through, but from all anticipations the meeting was to be a lively one, for Councillors Enoch Davies and Peter Jefferies were to be pre- sent to render an account of their (stewardship on behalf of Labour on the District Council land the Board of Guardians. There has been some acute oriticism in the past and things should have been interesting on Tuesday night. In one irespect Church Village has heenLike London this week, for whilst all the Cockneys have been going ito see a model Noah, his limily, and water-tight managerie, the inhabitants have been trooping to the Council School, Church Village, where Mr. Samuel Mead's wonderfully complete model of the Cwm Colliery has been on show this last two days. The model has been de- scribed by good judges as the best ever con- structed of a mine, and in it were to be seen mannikinis cutting ooal, propping timber, block- layers busy making the i-oatds, hatiliers and all the busy life of under-ground. There was the engine, too, with its main and tail ropes. It took Mr. Mead over seven years to make this interesting miniature, all of which works wonder- fully well, and now that 'he has determined to tour the country with it we wish him the best of good fortune. It is mot quite true that two good wives of the village have quarrelled as a result of the visit, over the question as to whether one of the hauliers was the husband of one or the other, but misltakes nearly as bad have been made in real life. I By Road. '1 The enterprise of the South Wales Motor Transport Co. in developing a 'bus serviec- he- tween Lin ret wit Fardre and Pontypridd has been appreciated more than ever this Christmastime, and perhaps now that the traffic lis flowing that way the Taff Vale Company will regret the oon- tempt with which they have treated the petitions for a better service of trains in t'he past. Turn Up. One of the few cries that the parrot voice of the South Wales capitalist press has harped upon has always had the .support of the officials and committee at Cwm. We mean the cry t;hat the rank and file -of the S.W.M.F. members here should turn up in full strength at the Lodge meetings and tackle the work—instead of leaving it, as the papers,always declare to a few ex- tremists." Of course, it is a -testimonial to the trust that the men have in ,the,so-called extre- mists, but it is one that they would like to see dispensed with, without desiring to do any the less work. The Committee iand officials feed, as Mr. A. DaJey puts it, that ttlie time has (arrived w hen all workmen, particularly those employed at Cwm, should begin to consider themselves as something more than season ticket holders in the S.W.M.F., and that they should give greater consideration to the fights that Uhe Federation has constantly to put up for the benefit and in the interests of the members. When the full membership does get active then the Capitalist Pa-ess is going to be very sorry that it offpred such advice for a great many things that have wanted altering for a long time have not been altered just because the maps of the members have not been interested enough to attend the mass meetings and the lodge meetings A good chance to alter the present state of affairs offers itself in the mafss meeting that has been con- vened for this (Saturday) morning, when some important matters are forward for isefctlement. For instance, the Examiners are to report, in- cluding many matters of importance to the safety of the workings, (and resolutions are for- ward for confirmation at this meeting, which, if passed, mean no work until certain agreements are arrived tut. Our Staff. Mr. A. Daly Ihas been appointed by the Cwm Lodge to act as correspondent in industrial af- fairs to tlx* Pioneer." Welcome!

I* Railwaymen and Government Scheme The South Wales N.U. R. men are more than doubtful of any scheme in which the present Government has a finger, and their doubt found expression when the delegates of 19,000 of them .v to d i scuss t l i(, topics met in Cardiff on Sunday to discuss the topics that are to occupy the attention of their union Conference at London early next month, when the scheme will be presented for discussion and decision. Nor is the Executive Council for the area any more kindly disposed, for at the special meeting of the Council over which Mr. T. C. Morris, of Ystrad, Rhondda, presided, they instructed the Council delegate to the London Conference that he was not to give support to any scheme of the Government' s that does not definitely lay down the principle of mation- alisattom. of the railways.

Building Notes. I BY J.W. I During the debate on the second reading of J Housing (Additional Powers Bill, Dr. Addison made a confession which throws much light as. to the delay in building now homes for the- workers. He stated that the Sta-t-e could di- rectly undertake the wholesale building of houses, but that would prevent business ex- pansion, and -other forms of legitimate and ne- cessary enterprise, and the restoration of the normal working trade." So we now know, from their own admission—which admission is very rare in Parliamentary debates—that legitimate- enterprise (viz., pmfitsand business expansio 1, are more important than the physical well-being of the nation. PROFITEERINC WORKER. t A numoer 01 those taking part an the debate | indicted the building worker of profiteering, and I Sir Tudor Walters specifically confined such tc. the scheme of local authorities. The ofganisa- E tionsof the workers concerned have been insist- I entlv demanding an inquiry upon this question and the high cost of building, but so far with- I out result. If such an enquiry comes to pass, it is to be hoped that the terms of reference art- sufficiently wide to include the scandalous jerry- L building of ppe-w ar days, upon which basis of J! output the building worker is weighed in the balance and charged with ca' canny and pro- to fi teering, | l LI. C. & THE BUILDINC WORKER. I On Tuesday, December 17th, the Prime Min- f ister addressed the members of the Building I Trades Industrial Council. The chief question& I at issue were the necessity of hav?mg new i-e- I cmÎlts into the building industry, dn oth er wor&- I dilution," and to enlist -the support of the Council in -the wild erv for more production. There is very little hope that the Premier's ap- peal will prevail 'upon the rank and file, indiffer- ent to either of these issues, but it is safe to ¡ assume that the introduction of dilution into the I various crafts will give impetus to the general discontent that already prevails in the industry,, COST OF BUILDINC. D There still prevails the idea, that the high charges demanded by Builders for the erection of workmen's dwellings is mainly due to the exor- bitant .wages demanded by the workers con- cerned. This is an obvious fallacy to inyonc- who stops to reason and weigh matters for a mo- ment. The increase in wages is about 95 per cent., which wages for a full w eek's work amount to £3 18s. Everyone is familiar with the fact that the cost of commodities have increased by 1 25 per cent., so value for value the worker is in a. worse position than in 1914. We shall take the builder for comparison. The basis of profit included in all estimates for building work is from 10 per cent, to 15 per cent. Taking the lower figure of 10 per ceut., that leivos t25 on a house that cost £ 250 pre-war. The same kind of house costs JE800 to £900 to-day, consequently the builder by the same basis of estimate re- ceives the increased fee of about £ 80 per housp. an inerca.se of over 200 per cent. I I DIRECT LABOUR AND HOUSING. I The abnormal cost of housing has compelled | many municipal committees to give serious can- sid"ration 'to the proposa l of building by direct labour. Given an undertaking from the Govern- ment that adequate supplies of material would be available, free from the boycott of trusts, there is every reason to believe that a consider- able saving can he effected, and a certainty that. a superior class of building will be produced. BUILDINC SUBSTITUTES. All manner and form of materials for construc- tional purposes .are being experimented upon at the present time. So far, concrete and brick j seems to prove most efficient in every respect. j The scope of this work may be guaged from the j fact that twenty different systems of concrete ] construction hare been approved by the Minister I of Health. The efforts of various American firms to introduce wooden dwellings into tbic country have proved more or less a failure. The oo&t of Btrch wooden structures was over 2500. When the increrused insurance risks and lesser durability of the. structures are oonsidered, the difference in cost proves insignificant.

M HELP THOSE WHO HELP low. VOUR PAPER! < Printed and Published by the National Labont Press. Ltd., at the bi abour Pioneer Prwi. Williams' Square, Merthyr Tydfil.

Llantnsant and District Notes. I A Meeting on Foreign Affairs. I Those who were privileged to :be present at a public meeting at the Church Hall on Saturday night last to hear Mr. J. H. Hudson, M.A. deal with the Rebuilding of the International heard a lecture on Foreign Affairs, which wais of immense educational value tand to wthidh only justice could be done by a verbatim report. Mr. John Evans presided, and in opening the meet- ing urged the importance of strengthening the International organisation of the workers and the importance of the Russian Revolution, which was not appreciated in this country. He referred to Clemenceau's visit to this country iand to the danger of French Imperialism involving us in the common ruin of Europe, and he impressed upon his audience the importance of acquiring infor- mation upon foreign affairs and of doing some real thinking for themselves. Mr. J. H. Hudson, M.A. I The lecturer, a master of (his subject, deplored the ignorance and apathy tof people in general and of the Labour Movement in particular upon ForeigH Affairs. He showed how the Liberal Party had been destroyed through its incapacity to understand and grapple (with foreign affairs, and he appealed for the building up of a Labour Movement informed upon International relation- ships and capable of solving International iprob- lems, if we wished to avoid treading the same path to destruction as the Liberal Party. Do- mesti c problems twere apt to absorb our whole attention, but domestic questions could not be solved satisfactorily unless we solved Interna- tional questions justly. Taking the housing question, lie showed how our foreign policy in- volved us in heavy expenditure abroad, and so diverted money from the solution of the (housing problem. In one year £100,000,000 had been spent on the war against Russia. This sum would have built 130,000 houses. The war against Russia had also cut off timber supplies, the area of production had been restricted, so that it was much easier for people dealing in timber to corner the market, with the result that prices for timber for Ibousebuilding thod gone up three, four, and five times higher than the pre- war price. Similarly, lie showed the close con- nection between foreign policy and other domes- tic problems dike unemployment. A Labour Party not well informed upon and capable of tackling International questions could not solve satisfac- torily domestic questions. Promises to Soldiers. I He showed on deeper grounds how wrong done abroad had its Nemesis in suffering at home. He showed how a League of Nations may become merely a Committee of Capitalists. Ex- amining the causes of the war he showed how we had not gone to war to save this country from invasion by Germany nor to avenge German atrocities. He quoted the promises made to sol- diers that this was a war to end war," a waT to abolish Militarism," "for Self-Determina- tion," for Justice between: nations," for De- mocracy," "to protect the weak." Not one of these objects had been attained, an(f-pwe were further away from them now than in 1914. The Government, the Pulpit and the Press had swindled the men in the trenches. He exposed British atrocities in India, Egypt and Ireland, where the British Government were refusing self- determination, and he showed the horrible effect of the British blockade of Eastern Europe with its thousands of starving women and children. The Peace Treaty. I He dealt with the Peace Treaty and showed how it involved us in (future wars through its suppression of nationality, and by our 4oommittal through the treaty to enforce its terms and sup- port French Imperialism. America had refused after three months' discussion to ratify the treaty for this reason, yet under a Lloyd George Government the House of Commons had ratified the treaty in Ia. single night. The Nemesis of the Peace Treaty was the conscripting igergeant. He described the second and third Internationals and urged the importance of realising our own personal responsibility of melrping to break down the power of the Governments, as the Blockade kept us and the Russians apart without full knowledge of what each other was doing. With the breaking down of Governmental power and the restoration of peace relat-ionshipr-, with Russia we should obtain (more knowledge, .and one In- ternational would become possible. He concluded a very fine lecture, which we feel we have not done justice to, with ran appeal for the raising of the blockade on behalf of the women and chil- dren of Russia and with a quotation from Anatole France urging us to realise our oneness with Humanity. (Continued at foot of preceding oolumn).