Pioneer

Murderers and Martyrs. By the Rev. W. RillES, Llechryd. Pulpiteers and their politicians, the Coalition Cabinet and Cabal of Anti-Christ, they are the arch-murderers of our cruel and gory age; and the Conscientious Objectors in bartrac-ks and in prisons are our chief modern martyrs. The echoes of the heroes and martyrs of ages resound in the greetings of Emrys Hughes and his friends from Cardiff Barracks. "From the guard room we greet our comrades outside; we have given you a lead, and are going on." And the spirit of your brave greetings will go on, and on, vibrating and extending through the boundless ethers and auras of future ages. The blood of the martyrs will be required of those who occupy high places in Church and in the State. As the Church is, so is the State. The pulpiteers and politicians of Europe have made a pandemonium of the world. The very idea of he Churches and the Governments fill the loving mind with horror, as denoting tyr- rany. cruelty and brutality. What we call pivil governments, they have all begun in malignant rapine and tragedy, and must end in catastro- phe. Justice, the foundation of God's throne, is not in this dreary age the foundation of a single state nor of a single sect amongst all the Churches. And even from the time when the curtain first rises on the stage of his- tory till now, to satisfy the lusts and (•ravings of human governments, and to gratify the hy- pocritical piety of priests and preachers, about five times the population of the present earth have been destroyed by the cruelties of war, the persecution of men of Conscience, and the In- quisitions of Infamous Tribunals. Whilst the fire of the faggot has been extinguished, war more than ever slaughters its millions to meet the demoniac demands of proud politicians and pompous p-ulpits. Governments sustained by compulsion and violence, and not by right and freedom and mutual love, are inherently tyrannical and cruel. and the pulpits that support such a gov- ernment are thoroughly infernal. The love of money is the root of aU evil; all this evil occurs when the population of the earth is about one billion and a half, while the globe could well feed with plenty a population of one hundred billions; and yet, owing to the selfish Church and the selfish State, millions are in poverty. Let us pause and ask the rulers: Is there a God0 Is He just and loving? Are men rational beings or ferocious brutes P Have even brutes the right to control other brutes by force and injustice to satiate their lusts and passions? Let the pulpit answer these questions. The bailie of Armagedcron rages in its final and fiercest fury. The religious aspect of it has taken a civil, social, tribunal and mili- tary form. Conscientious men judged by men ir-h o,s-o eonscence is seared as with a hot 1ton. How terribly S. Teresa suffered at the hands of her spiritual advisers, who did not under- stand her. The sunny soul of S. Francis of •A^si.ssi became fearfully clouded when hound to preach corpse-like under blind military author- ity. Submission to military authority and order puts the extinguisher on a man's soul, and makes him unconscious of the pulsations of hu- man life. The Conscientious Objector breaks the law to save his life. Jesus Christ was crucified for being a law-breaker, and so were J8 first followers martyred; they stood and died for their principles, and hot deemed by us to be m the wrong. But, in the words of Guy AIdred at Abertillery: "Churches to-day seem- 00 1;0 .Ignore this fact, But if the Church and Christian could not see this, at least an Athe- ist could (loud applause.)" Our duty as Christian Socialists was to teach Socialists of all • lands that they should agree that henceforth the Socialist parties of all <0 na- t'os should refuse support to every war enter- ed into by any government, even a warfof a defensive character, and supported by the pul- pits and churches and their press. And instead of tolerating the conscription, of flesh and blood and soul, that it is our duty, in the Name of the Infinite Landlord of Heaven above and earth beneath, to take hold and possess the land and conscript the broad acres of Lord Derby and of other bloated plutocrats. There is no other way to protect our brave martyis; and no other way to put an end to the raids and ravages of our grand murderers.

On May 8th. I ?.. I. liQUOR CONTROL IN WALES. THE TERMS OF THE NEW ORDER. The text of the new Order of the Central Board (Liquor Traffic) was received last Friday, and is in full accord with what .we had been led to expect- by our Labour delegates to the meeting with the Commissioners at Swansea. The area to which it applies is "the Welsh area, being the area. comprising the Principal- ity of Wales, the county of Monmouth, and the county borough of Newport." The Order apparently limits the sale of intoxicants to week days only, and affect;? bona-fide travellers and raDwny station restaurants, as well as afl li- oense-d houses and clubs.. '> The hours for consumption on the premises are between 12 noon and 2.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. -For consumption off the pre- mises the hours are between 12 and 2.30 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Treating is prohibited credit prohibited; "long pull" pro- hibited. Dilution of spirit will be permitted up to 50 degress under proof. The last clause of the Order says: This Order shall come into force ori the 8th of May, 1916."

I Retail Food Prices. I UNITED'KINGDOM AT APRIL 1, 1916. 49 AVERAGE INCREASE SINCE BEGIN- rilNG OF WAR. Retail prices of food advanced during March by less than 1 says the Board of Trade Labour Gazette. British beef prices advanced by about 2 imported beef and British mutton by about 3 and imported mutton by about 6 The increase in the prices of flour and bread which commenced in November last has now been arrested, and a decrease of between 1 and 2 is shown-this month. Granulated sugar showed an advance of 4 on the average, ma- king a total increase of 18 or |d. per lb., during the present year. Potatoes showed a rise of about 4 and cheese 3 Butter, margarine, baoon, milk and tea showed very slight average advances. Eggs and fish were cheaper than a month earlier, to the extent of 9 and 3 respectively, on the average. I Comparison with a Year Ago. As compared with April 1, 1915, there was an ,average increase of 19 per cent. The increases may be summed up as follows: --Sugar and frozen mutton were dearer by about 35 and fish by 30 British and imported beef, Bri- tish mutton, bacon and tea had risen in price by about 25 Milk, butter, cheese and eggs showed advances of 15 to 20 margarine, flour, bread and potatoes, about 6 to 11 Comparison with July, 1914. In the fOillmving Table is given a percentage comparison of the level of prices at April 1, 1916. ;n relation to the normal prices of July, 1914: Percentage Increase from July, 1914. to 1st April, 1916. Large Towns Small (popu- Towns United lations and King- over Villages dom. Article. 50,000) Beef, British— Ribs I 42 38 40 Think Flank 60 45 52 Beef, Imported— Ribs 59 51 55 ThIll Flank 80 67 74 Mutton, British— Legs 38 36 37 Breast 65 44 54 Mutton, Frozen— Leas, 64 53 58 Breast. 98 79 89 Bacon, streaky 38 30 34 Fisl. 108 74 91 Flour, households 56 64 60 Bread 56 4S 52 Tea. 49 48 49 Sugar (granu.) 135 120 128 Milk 33 30 31 Butter— Fresh 34 37 35 8a!t 32 35 33 Cheese 44 45 45 Margarine 19 13 16 Eggs (fresh). 39 32 36 Potatoes. 10 -4* 3 All above Articles^ 52 46 49 t Weighted net percentage increase. Decrease. With a further advance in March, the price of granulated sugar at 1st April was consider- ably more than double that for July, 1914. and there has been a further increase since April 1. Flour averaged 60 and breaj over 50 dearer than immediately before the war. British meat had risen 45 and im- ported meat considerably more. For milk, butter and bacon the increases recorded aver- aged between 30 and 35 and cheese was 45 c; dearer. The increase in tea pi-icies now approaches 50 an increase of 9d. per lb.. Tel. of which is owing to increased duty. Mar- garine prices averaged about 16 higher. The price of fish varied widely according to locality, but on the average nearly doubled that for July, 1914. Potatos and eggs are subject to seasonal lfuctuations. Taking the country as a whole, and making allowance for the relative importance of the va- rious artioles in working class household ex- penditure, the average increase in the retail prices of food since the beginning of the war may be put at 49 This figure relates to food only, and in es imating the increased cost of living this percentage must not be ap- plied to the totel family expenditure, but only to that proportion which is expended on food. uerlin in February. During February, a slight fall, amounting 1JO j 0.8 was recorded in the general level of retail prices of certain of the more important articles of food in Berlin, as compared with January, while food prices as a whole were 85.6 above those of July, 1914. In arriving at these results allowance is made for the rela- tiv.e mportance of the various articles in wor- king class consumption. The following table is! based upon returns published in the Prussian official journal, Statistische Korrespondenz" Increase (plus) or Decrease (—) in .February, 1916, as compared with Jan., 1916 July, 1914 Percent. Per cent. Rye bread No change plus 42.9 Wheat bread No change plus 27.7 Rye flour -8.3 plus 46.7 Wheat flour —11.1 plus 14.3 Butter I I. No change plus 106.2 IiM:d No change plus 224.7 Sugar plus 6.7 plus 28.0 Coffee. plus 9.5 plus 48.4 Eggs ^-23.1 plus 185.7 Milk No change plus 36.4 Beef plus 5.4 plus 117.1 Mutton plus 1.7 plus 106.4 Veal. -0.5 plus 99i0 Pork. No change plus 72.8 Bacon -0.6 plus 153.0 Potatoes No' change No change Rice plus 9.1 plus 380.0 Split pM No change plus 187.5 Haricot beans plus 0.9 plus 132.0 All Articles to- gether (weight- ed net percent- age increase) -0.8 plus 85.6 For 8 out of the 19 articles shown in the I table, the prices recorded for February show no change as compared with the previous month.. As regards the remaining items the decreases in prices slightly outweigh the rises, the result being (as stated above) that on the whole the general level showed a slight fall. It can no longer be considered that these per- centages show the full extent to which the nor- mal food supplies of Berlin are being reduced owing to the war. The prices recorded are in several cases maxima, above which retail deal- ers are not allowed to charge j Moreover, many of the articles may be sold in strictly lim,ited quantities—e.g. bread, flour, butter, laird, milk; while others, such as peas and beans, would appear to be practically unobtainable at the ordinary shops. For the last two-named articles Berlin quotations have ceased for some months, and the percentages are based on the average prices for the remaining towns of Prus- sia. Lentils would appear to have practically disappeared from the Prussian markets, since no prices are recorded for February either for Berlin or for Prussian towns generally. The dis- appearance of this article from the returns has the effect of still further reducing the computed percentage rise in the general level of food prices since July, 1914. Italy in February. I During February there was a decrease of 0.1 in the retail prices of food in Italy, and the general level stood at 32.6 above that of July 1.914. The percentages in the following table are based on index numbers published in the issue for April 1 of the journal of the Italian Labour Department (" Bollettino dell' Ufficio del Lavoro"), and relate to 42 towns in Italy- Increase (pirns) or De- crease (-) in February, 1916. as compared with Jan., 1916 July, 1914. Articles. Per cent. Per cent. Wheat bread. plus 0.4 plus 30.5 Wheat flour -1.2 plus 40.4 Marearoni, etc. —0.9 plus 39.3 Beef plus 0.8 plus 58.8 Bacon —1.1 plus 26.9 Olive Oil plus 2.2 plus 25.0 Milk -0.5 plus 10.7 AU 'Articles together -0.1 plus 32.6 Australia, in D'jcemher.* I During December, the latest month for which Agureb are available, the index numbers of retails food prices for the 30 principal towns in the Australian Commonwealth, show a fall of 1.1 as compared with xhe preceding month, but a.n increase of 29.1 as compared with July, 1914. In obtaining these figures account is taken of the extent to which each of the various articles of food entering into the compu- tation of the index numbers s consumed through out the Commonwealth, and also of the respective populations of the 30 towns. Monthly Summary of Australian. Statis- tics," December, 1915. Commonwealth Bureau of Cc-usns ahd Statistics, Melbourne.

r"" .tt, i DOWLAlS GO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY, Limited. ) 16, 17, 18, and 19, Union Street, Dowlais. DRAPERY DEPT. I We are now showing a Large Assortment of New Goods for the I I coming Season:- I • Household Linen. Blankets. Quilts. Sheets- | I Carpets and Rugs. I 5 VBBBsas&ngsaiaffBnaaaBiBMBi V MILLI-RY DEPT. I Costumes. Jackets. Blouses. Ladies and I S m I Children's Millinery. j i VALUE AND QUALITY GUARANTEED IF YOU BUY AT g I 16, 17? 18 & !9, Union Street, Dowlais. I Is Pantscallog, Dowlais. CaeHarris, Dowlais. g j Ht?h Street, Penydarren. I t Station Terrace, Bedlinog. t L. It II .i

Bookmaker Fined. I WARM MOUNTAIN ASH CHASE. I At Mountain Ash last Thursday F. Cales, a bookmaker, of Birmingham, was charged with stealing three rSl Treasury notes from the pocket of John Rowlands, collier, of Ivor St., Trehafod. on Easter Monday. Mr. Harold Lloyd, Cardiff, defended and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor stated that he was standing in a crowded car on th Taff Vale Railway, proceed- ing from Pontypridd to Mountain Ash. In leav- ing the car he felt his pocket being pricked. He called to his friend, "Wait a bit, Bob, this has got my pocket book." He accused defendant, who was standing by. Defendant denied it, and lifted up his hands and offered to be searched. "Witness requested him to go to the police sbation with him, and on the wa,y defendant ran away. Witness gave chase, and caught him. Defendant then gave him three £ 1 Trea- sury Noteis and offered him another to get a new pocket book on condition that he would not give him in charge. Samuel Archibald Biddle, a traveller, said he was on a visit to a house in Aberdare Road, when the dpiendantb rushed m and asked for water and a cap. He was given the water, but refused the cap, and he ran out the back way. Defendant was given in charge to P.C. Jones, who found £31 on him. Defendant, who denied the charge, said that he had travelled from Birmingham that morn- ing, and was on his way to Aberdare Sports. In consideration of the fact that he had not been convicted for 12 years, defendant was fin- ed £10, or one month.

This terrible war is killing a lot of businesses. ¡ Make it a personal resolve that the "Pioneer" shall not be killed.

Merthyr Sessions. RECORDER AND JUVENILE CRIME. U I congratulate the Oounty Boroug1 of Merthyr Tydfil upon the freedom from crime Ul this district," remarked the Recorder (Mr- Albert Parsons, K.C.) at the Easteir Quarter Sessions on Thursday last. He added that it was gratifying to find that crime in the district seemed to be steadily decreasing a fact which was true, also, of even the so-called criminal classes. Unfortunately, some trouble was being given by juvenile offenders. That was a class of crime which was not likely to be di- minished by anything connected with the war— young people of criminal tendencies were still with us. Girls Lead Others Astray. Mary Ann Griffin (17) and Florence Weale (16), servant girls, of Dowlais, were ordered ot be detained at a Borstal institution for 3 years for stealing a. purse, 13/- in money, and a pair of gloves from the person of Anne Dunn. Chief Constable Wilson said that for some years both the girls had boen persistent pick- pockets, and the Recorder, in passing sentence, remarked that "one of the worst and saddest features of the case was that the girls had led their younger sisters astray, and as a result both wore now in a reformatory. They had, in fact, trained their younger sisters all pick- pockets also. Other Theft Charges. Edward Dennis, 60. described as an expert horse-breaker, pleaded guiilty to stealing a piece of ham, the property of Liptons, Ltd., and was sentenced to 6 months' hard labour. the Recorder pointing out that he had been previously convicted of robbery with violence and for wounding. Girl Shopbreakers. fallen Bird (37), married, and Sarah Gwen Donoyan (15), errand girl. pleaded guilty to breaking and entering the shop of Messrs. Berni Brothers. High Street, Merthyr, and stealing cigarettes, chocolates and chewing gum. Bird, who had previously been I convicted of stealing from the person, was sent to prison for 3 months with hard labour, and the younger defendant was bound over to be of good behav- ious for six months. An Affiiiation Appear. Benjamin Hill (22), a fireman on the Rhym- liey Railway, who resided at Dowlais. appealed against an order made by the Stipendiary (Mr R. A. Griffith) and other magistrates on Febru- ary 11, under which he was adjudged to be the father of the illegitimate child of Cornelia Hen- rietta Sheppard (16), also of Dowlais, and was ordered to contribute 3/6 a week towards its maintenance. Mr St. John Francis-Williams (instructed by Mr. Harold Lloyd Cardiff) ap- peared for the appellant, and Mr. Trevor Hun- ter (instructed by Mr J. W. Lewis. Merthyr) was for the respondent. i\Ir. Trevor Hunter explained that Hill was first charged for a criminal offence, and was trieot at the July Asisizes in 1915, when the jury disagreed, and subsequently he was ac- quitted at the November -A,ssizes. Two applica- tions for affiliation orders were made, the second of which was successful. The girl was only 1? years old wh?n the child was born. The Recorder dismissed the appeal with costs.

Killed by Bomb. The death of Stanley Reed, cricketer and footballer, at the early age of 22 years, will be regretted by a wide circle of admirers in the West of England and South Wales. Reed, who was a Corporal in the Devons, was -tecidentallv killed whilst engaged in mili- tary work. Formerly a member of the Torquay Town Football Club, the deceased later joined the ranks of the professionals and after gain- ing experience with the Plymouth Argyle Club migrated to Wales, and became associated with the Merthyr Town Football Club, for whom he rendered yeoman service. Reed's death is stated to have been caused by the bursting of a bomb which he was hold- ing in his left hand to throw (firing practice.

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