Pioneer

IW HELP TH06E WHO HELP YOUR PAPER!

I Does Peace Matter ? I GUY ALDRED SAYS NO," UNLESS AC- I COMPANIED BY SOCIAL REVOLUTION, The visit of Guy A. Aldred to the I.L.P. Institute, Merthyr, on Monday, was an event which many of us had looked forward to, and the realisation of which wasi nvigorating. The plucky Editor of the I I Spur and well-known Anarchist lecturer, propounded ideas that can- not help but provoke thought, hewevar much we /may disagree with many of his conclusions. "Does Peace Matter?" was the subject of the address, and very few of us had anticipated the conclusion that even Peace was of little conse- quence if it did not result in the Social Revo- lution. The Editor of the PIONEER was in the chair. At the outset Aldred emphasised the fact that the whole of the nations claimed that this was a war for Liberty, a claim which led the German to say that he preferred a home- made Conscription to a, foreign despotism, a remark which the Britisher was rapidly learn- ing to repeat. At all events it was agreed that it was a war for Liberty, and that being so we should expect that it would give us a sense of dignity such as we had never known before, and our Cabinets, politicians and pub- licists would exhibit a sense of truthfulness and of dignity such as they did not exhibit in times of peace. As a matter of fact, it was the very opposite to this that we had experienced and for this reason that it had produced lies and deceit instead of the dignity and truth that we should expect, he held that the war was not worth while. It was not worth while sac- rificing human life in France and Flanders in order that the Governments might go on with the game of deceiving the people all the time. Why, the very lying recruiting posters that we had all seen right throughout this war were a contradieLtlOn to the Liberty that we were sup- posed to be fighting. In this war we were asked to give, without qualification, our life blood, and surrender every vestige of civic and industrial freedom to the powers that be. But. what was meant by Liberty? Surely, if it was a war for Liberty, our generals would possess a different mental and moral make-up from what they did? He could understand a Defence of the Realm Act which was to help save us from Zeppelin bombs, and enemy at- tacks but he wanted that Act to be dignified, and to offer the least possible inconvenience to the people who lived in the Realm, but a sec- tion of the Act that we had concerned itself with the defence of the King's Majesty, and defending the capitalistic class from disaffected subjects, and not from foreign foes. Who were the disaffected subjects? They were the strik- ers, the workers, against who mthey had seen the soldiers bungled out. They had never seen 'the soldiers turned out against those with mo- ney. fCheers.) That Act vas not passed to pre- vent attacks on the Government or against the Liberal Government, as had been clearly proved by the Times," and the rest of the Northcliffe press, which in pursuance of those intrigues, had said things likely to pre- judice the British arms bv enheartening the enemies against whom those armies were ar- rayed; no, it was to suppress any suggestion of the Labouring classes having any independence of thought as had been demonstrated by the seizure of the Labour Leader "and "For- ward." Following that, we had had the in- famous Registration Act, and the Munitions Act. by means of which men had been set ag- ainst their feiLows to bring about the conscrip- tion of men for military and industrial pur- poses Every vital promise given to the work- ers had gone by the board, and every hum- bug promise given to the reactionaries 'had been kept so faithfully that its result had been far beyond what anyone ever understood that it would mean. When Governments acted like that, he wan- ted to know whether war mattered. It was not a war for Liberty as the people understood it since a capitalist war for markets and con- trol oould not effect the liberties of the worker one way or the other. When the day of settle- ment came, the people would see the masters of the belligerent countries making up their quar- reI. and the Royalty of Europe fraternising as of old. And when that day had come, woe betide the Socialist who dared to print' the li- bellous cartoons of the Kaiser that appeared -'■m bv day in the capitalist press of this land. It was time the workers realised that they had no war to fight except the war, not on one militarism, but on all militarism. But did Peace matter e,itlierp What had we done in the years of Peace that made it mat- ter? We had gone in for our wage disputes, and had been driven only to think of living as the soldier did. Some of us had been driven into the army to get the wherewithal to live, others had been forced to set up the type that spread the lies that helped the war, and others as working journalists had been com- pelled to write the lies that stirred up racial hatred in ordelr that our wives and children might live. If the coming Peace was to mean the same Peace that we had had before, then the coming Peace did not matter: it was not worth while, any more than the present war. If the Peace that was to be was to be a Peace such as we had lost, then we should agadn become slaves to the system of ca.pitalism that fed war. We should work not for a capitalist peace, but for a social revolution. We should fight for a Peace under which the workers would no longer come back to their political ignorance, their social darkness, and their in- dustrial slavery, but a Peace under which they would stand together with intelligence, claiming the right of citizenship, and not of subjectship, and the right to know what was being done in their name. Aldred will again address the branch on Sun- day night.

Merthyr Miners and Strike. A .special meeting of the lodges of the Mer- thyr District of Miners was held on Friday eve- ning, the district chairman, Mr. William Jones, presiding, when the agenda for Monday's con- ference at Cardiff was considered. The delegates were instructed to vote for a stoppage in the event of a non-settlement of the questions of the ostlers' Sunday night sliift, and on the enginemen and stokers' question.

ARE WE DOING YOUR PRINTING ? We have the most modern equipment, and good work is quickly turned out by Trade Unionists at reasonable rates. NOTE THE ADDRESS THE LABOUR PIONEER PRESS Williams' Square, Merthyr Tydfil. ) DOWLAIS CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY, Limifel | 16, 17, 18, and ig, Union Street, Dowlais. ? DRAPERY DEPT. j I We are now showing a Large Assortment of New Goods for the I coming Season:— _1- Household Linen. Blankets. Quilts. Shoett j Carpets and Rugs. MILLINERY DEPT. > I Costumes. Jackets. Blouses. Ladies an I Children's Millinery. | VALUE AND QUALITY GUARANTEED IF YOU BUY AT ? 16, 17, 18 & 19, Union Street, Dow!ai?  Pantsca!!og, Dow!a!s. Caehar?s, Dowlais. j I High Street, Penydarren. I Station Terrace, Bed!mog.

I Merthyr Crime. j CHIEF CONSTABLE'S REPORT. 1 I GRATIFYING DECREASE IN DRUNKEN- NESS. The annual report of the Chief Constable of Merthyr Tydfil (Mr. J. A. Wilson) for 1915, which will be presented at the next meeting of the Watch Committee, discloses a very satisfac- tory state of affairs in the borough. A decrease in all branches of crime is reported, and the fact that commitments to prison were 349 fewer than in 1914 is evidence that the citi- zens realise their increased responsibilities dur- ing war time. The number of indictable offences committed was 348, a decrease of two as compared with 191.4, while 667 persons (584 males and 83 fe- males) were arrested for non-indictable offences and 878 were summoned, making a total of 1,545—a decrease of 400 on the previous year. Only 12 persons were arrested for assaults on the poiioe-a decrease of 13—while 179 persons were proceeded against for common assault, a decrease of 74, of whom 122 were dismissed. Un- der the Elementary Education Acts 151 persons were summoned, as compared with 318 in 1914. Simple drunkenness decreased from 53 in 1914 to 37, and drunkenness with aggravations from 478 in 1914 to 180—one of the most remarkable features of the whole report. Ten of those persons were arrested at Dowlais on Sundays during 1915, and in every instance arrived in a drunken state in the borough area from Mon- mouthshire county, w here the Sunday Closing Act does not operate." Offences against the bye-laws decreased from 229 in 1914 to 175; Va- grancy Acts prosecutions decreased from 91 to 29, and there were 18 committals to industrial schools under the Elementary Education Acts. During the year 348 robberies and crimes were reported, of which 260 were. detected, and 88 undetected, a decrease of two r the property stolen was estimated at L342 Os 4d, of which £129 19s 6d was recovered. The report gives details as to licensing pro- secutions amd conditions (which have already been reported at length) and points out that there were 222 licensed houses in the borough, of which 11 were proceeded against, 7 convicted and 4 dismissed. The police paid 38,561 visits to licensed premises, and the fact that only 11 summonses wore taken out spoke well for the general conduct of the premises. 149 persons (87 males and 62 females) were con- veyed to the Swansea Prison -349 fewer than in 1914. Dealing with fire brigade matters, the Chief Constable reported that the average turn-out by the brigade with the motor-engine to 36 ifres and 60 practice and surprise calls was well maintained in under one minute from the time of the crall by alarm bells." Three lives were lost at a fire in Pentrebaoh, the result of keeping a motor-cycle in a dwelling house. For the first time for eight years the district was free from outbreaks of swine fever. The total number of tramps relieved at the Central Police Station was 1.821. compared with 13,876 in 1914-a decrease of 12,055. The scarcity of labour owing to the 1 war is one of the reasons prescribed for this largc, decrease, but the orders of the guardians m refusing to house vagrants at common lodging-houses had an excellent effect, and if the orders were ex- tended to include females the numbers would be still further reduced. 123 boys and 2 girls were licensed to engage in street trading. An interesting feature of the report is that which deals with the war, Eleven members of the force were called up for service, and 31 enlisted out of a total of 87, of which 3 have fallen in action The employment of 150 spe- cial constables, whose efforts were worthy of commendation, had enabled the work of the force to be carried on without having to fill the vacancies. All alien enemies of military age in the borough were interned and three Crt-rmans, one Austrian, and three Turkish sub- jects above military age had been allowed to continue residing in the borough under the spe- cial conditions contained in the Aliens Restric- tion Act. A comparative statement of expenditure and income for several vears past shows that where- as in 1909 £3.109 was paid in salaries and war ges, in 1915 it had increased to £ 8,866. Cloth- inar and accoutrements had decreased from je570 in 1909 to £ 4.41.; uildings from £1,430 to £$43; but the gross cost is more than double. In TOO" it had reached the sum of £ 5,509; in 1913 it was C9,807, and last year £ 10,364. The total income increased from R4,482 in 191'0 to E5,,204 last year, and whereas the balance af cost falling on the rates in 1909 was $ ■ last year it had risen to £ 5,155. In ft however, the strength of the force was 75 a cost per constable of £49, but last y >1 was 37. with a cost per consto

Gardening Notes. If any reader who is in a difficulty with refer- ence to his garden will write directly to the address given beneath, his questions will all on answered free of charge, in full detail, and jY return of post.—Editor. GLADIOLUS CULTURE. Gladiolus corms dislike heavy clay soil, but will do nicely in all others, and prefer a light, moist ground as a rule. If none but heavy ground be available, work it thoroughly, and plant the roots only 2in. under the surface. In light land the conns are set 4in. deep. Fresh manure is decidedly harmful, and the most suitable plan is to plant in ground that was manured for the preceding crop. Experience has shown that freq ne-nt nlantings in the same soil ic-sult in disease, so that one should not re- plant gladiolus on the same ground for three years As a matter of fact, this is one of the e principal reasons why many growers are un- sueeessfiil with this beautiful flower. We strongly recommend growing the corms in vacant places in the vegetable garden, as no other flower is more useful for cutting pur- poses. It is worth remembering that, if cut when the first blossom opens, the spike will de- velop its blossoms as well in water in the dwel- ling-house as it would have done if left on the plant.. The corms can be set as soon as the ground is in sufficiently good condition; and frequent plantings are desirable to ensure a suc- cession of blossom..For the later plantings it is well to rely on the largest conns, as the smaller ones are apt to dry up too much if kept out of the ground undulv long. Notes on Garden Peas. This very popular crop requires a good and well-tilled soil, and benefits by dressings of well-decayed or farmyard or stable manure. The round-seeded sorts can be sown as early as the ground can be worked in spring; but it is better- to defer sowing the wrinkled seeded kinds until the land is well warmed and fairly dry, as if sown too early and before the ground is warm enough for germination to take place, the seeds, being more delicate than the round-seeded vari- eties. may rot in the ground, so causing dis- appointment as a direct result of too early sowing. Dwarf peas are likely to be particu- larly grown this year, owing to the fact that they do not require sticks, but their yield is, of course, very much less than that of the better of the taller sorts. By planting at intervals of two or three weeks, and using early, maiiacrop and late sorts, a fairly constant succession of the vegetable can be ensured. Regular culti- vation between the rows is desirable to main- tain "a surface-mulch of about 2 to 3in. of soil, and thus conserve moisture. An occasional: heavy soaking of water is benefiial during the summer, but frequent sprinklings are harmful, as they simply induce a surface habit of rooting, so rendering the plants more liable to injury from drought. Notes on Sowing Seeds. loo much water may be as harmful as too little, and an effort should therefore be made to keep the soil of the seed-bed or pan simply damp, and not saturated with moisture. This can be ensured by providing proper drainage to pans pots, boxes, etc. A wet surface over a body of dry soil is particularly to be avoided. Seed-pans should be given a shady place, to prevent their drying out too quickly; and panes of glass may be placed over them to ensure quicker germination, provided that the glass is occasionally tilted to allow of proper ventila- tion. Some gardeners prefer to use a little fine moss. or a newspaper, as a covering, in place of the glass. Broadly speaking, soils that con- tain a good deal of sand. and so are naturally well drained, are preferable for sowings. Out- door sowings run more risk of drying out than do indoor ones, as the latter are kept under better observation, and are also more easily moistened Much can be done to pre- vent drying out by filming the soil over the seeds. The usual manner of doing this is to walk along the row, placing one foot in front of tlie- other. Another, and perhaps a better plan. is to place a board on the row and firm it down by walking on it. In default of hand-glasses for small sowings, it is a good plan to cover them with large, inverted flower pots. which must be tilted often enough to prevent the plants from becoming drawn. Sowings should be kept at fairly uniform temperatures as the delicate seedlings are eas- ily injured by extremes of any sort; and for this reason partial or complete shade is desirable for sowings, as they tend to prevent too great heat. and also too rapid evaporation of the soil moisture. Bottom-heat helps the germination of most seeds, and is desirable for even those of hardy annuals and perennial's. though it is not. of course, necessary for them. Generally speaking, seeds of hardy plants require a tem- perature of from 50 to 70 degrees, greenhouse kinds from 60 to 80 degrees, and stove or tropical species from 75 to 95 degrees. Deep sowing is not desirable, as the delicate plant-lets are in some cases unable to push their way through a deep covering of earth; and there is reason to think, too. that too deep sowing deprives the seedlings of the oxygen, and of much of the warmth they require. E. KEMP TOOGOOD, F.L.S.. F.R.Met.S.. pro Toogood and Sons, The King's Seedsmen, Southampton.

'Phone 597. 'Phone 597. WILLIAM TRESEDER, Ltd. THE NURSERIES, CARDIFF. WREATHS, CROSSES, CUT FLOWERS, &c. BEDDING PLANTS. Asters, Stocks, Dahlias, Marguerites, Lobelia, &c. Tela: TRESEDEIR, Florist, Cardiff."

The Knights of the Round Table. I THE OLD MEN AT THE APPEAL TRI- BUNAL. Cries of unprogressive dotage ere the dot- ard falls asleep?" (Sixty Years After.) The local Tribunals are about to pass into his- tory As far as conscience is concerned, they have had their day :and let us hope, ceased to be. The parish pump has poured forth its patriotism to the worl and the local public— d, ans and sinners have done their bit. They pass into the maze of semi-comic incidents which the Military Service Bill has brought in its train. Having muddled through their little excursion into military affairs, they go back into the realms of gas, water and electricity to adminis- ter to the educational wants of the coming ge- neration. Urban democracy has been vindica- ted. It is now the turn of the County Coun- cillors, the grey-bearded veterans of many a stern fight. The Appeal Tribunal has com' menced its work of national importance. The gentlemen of the Town Councils have judicially disposed of the potential conscripts, the gentle- men of the county are now having their say. To appear before the Appeal Tribunal for the County of Glamogran is not much of a sensa- tion to sit listening to t-lie proceedings for a whole day strengthens the opinion that a per- manent and lasting peace would be the best thing for everybody concerned. Private Sittings! I As befitted the decorum of the assembly, the Appeal Tribunes met in private, the presence of thu multitude must not be alowed to prejudice the decisions. Justice was bashful. She had forgotten the scales. It was a. dignified looking room, and the at- mosphere was decided stuffy. The proceedings were more so. Like King Arthur's Knights of Old. they sat at a Round Table, probably to appease some aggressive number of the Cymry- dorion. It was only fitting. Let us retain tliase old relics of Welsh Nationality to the en. And the Knights were old and vener- able. There were nine Aldermen, presided over by Oliver OromwBU-no, it was not; the chairman had some association with Oliver; Oliver had stayed at his castle, or there was some other such incident, said the Western Mail" man in awe-inspiring tones. The chairman was a personality, alternately advising applicants to speak up and soliloquising with his collar stud. A noble scion of a noble county family. Then there was an auctioneer, an estate agent, some minions of the colliery companies, and the usual derelict Labour man to guard the in- terests of the workers as long as they did not interfere with military necessity. Mr. Hubert Jenkins fills the role at the Appeal Tribunal. He is the authority on What would you do if a German knocked you on the nose?" touch. We could have guessed that. Testimonials from Local Tribunals. Perhaps the most enlightening feature was the report of the Mountain Ash Tribunal on the various cases. One applicant who claimed a conscientious objection on religious grounds was reported to be believing in the shadow of religion, and not its substance." Needless to say, this was a chance remark dropped by the brilliant theological research wxpert, Colonel Morgan. This was upheld by the Appeal Tribunal. This was one of the grounds on which the appeal was refused. Can human ima- gination conceive anything more ludicrous? Ap- art from militarism, we are seeing a revival of religious persecution, persecution not only by religious bigots, but by amateur exponents of- a new theology. These testimonials were of a practically iden- tical nature. Claims were described as un- real and unreasonable." Most of them were not "religious" nor "moral," but "political" objections, and so were not to be counted. They were not sincere. Evidently the fiat has gone forth that sincerity has nothing to do with politics. It is a new doctrine. Where is the line of demarcation between religion," "mor- als." and "politics"? It is the general belief that the Military Service Bill is th- work of politicans like Mr. Asquith. not the work of the Arcjbbishop of Canterbury and the Rev. R. J. Campbell. If it is the work of the poli- ticians. we might argue, then according to the decision of the Tribunals, it is insincere for ju- dicial purposes, and is illegal. This has reduced the Military Service Bill and the Tribunals to the limit of crass absurdity. But the Tribu- na ls have separated religion, morals and poli- tics to three separate intellectual compartments. Yet another proof of the ability of the Mountain Ash Tribunal; yet another example of the fools stepping in where the angels fear to tread. The Chivalry of the Round Table. I The most revolting feature of the proceedings occurred when an applicant with one eye was refused leave to appeal to the Central Tribu- nal. He took the glass eye out of its socket, and turned around to Hubert Jenkins, D. W. Jones, and the rest of them. It didn't matter. He must be conscripted. Go and fight for the country which has done so much for you! Per- haps this victim of the dividend-hunting mem- bers of Tribunal hadn't been able to see Mr Lloyd George's beautiful simile of the icy peaks of the North Wales mountains pointing the heavenly paths to duty. Conscript him," said the wealthy, over-fed plutocrats on the Tribunal. "Would you defend yourself?" ciries Hubert Jenkins. and doesn't wait for an answer. Then there was the case of a young man who had contracted nystagmus—the col- lier's eye disease. D. W. Jones thought that it shouldn't be a barrier to entering the army. These proceedings are getting a public scan- dal. The ri-iodern Knights of the Round Table! Stout old mayors, bitter reactionaries, how de- lighted they are to have their old fingers at the throat of the young Democracy! Deserters! The preliminaries are about over, the real fight is going to begin. The conscientious ob- jectors will soon be deserters. We don't want any toleration; we will know what to do. We are going to be fighters, not martyrs. We hope to be in the front line when the British militarists start their strategical campaign. The starred men can rest assured that the urn- starred cam be relied upon. It is time that the school teachers did their share in the fight aganist reaction. Two things have become clear: Firstly, the need of purging civic life from the capitalist tools and the Labour traitors who wield their little brief authority for their own interests and their potty little ambitions. Secondly, Peace is the only logical attitude for the anti- Conscription forces. The course is plain; we have got the measure of our foes. We can beat them I EMRYS HUGHES.