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POLITICAL NOTES. By F. W. JOWETT. PAGE 2.
SWANSEA DEBACLE.
SWANSEA DEBACLE. 44 Mob" Rush The Russian Revolution Conference. Nasty Wounds Amongst The Delegates. I The Death Traps of the Exits.  Wanton Actions of !nvaders. I I have been through five front-trench en- gagements now, two Liverpool religious riots, a strike meeting riot, Cardiff, and, lastly, Swan- 3ea, on Sunday, and I have no hesitation in say- ing that of all five, though Cardiff affected me fttost, Swansea was the ugliest of <111 the passion- Inflamed mob riots that I have seen from the in- ide. I am still at a loss to understand how it !s that. many of the delegates were not murdered In the Elysium trap, for trap it was with its small barred entrance and sealed exits. I had heard during last week that the Swansea papers ^ere arduously labouring at the creation of a tnot) opposition, and that a stop-at-nothing- parson was inciting his sea- faring, and dockside flock to violence, and that tvor Gwyn had lent the weight of his trade ùnion leadership and the inference of his union's Support to a protest "meeting to be held at victoria Park on Saturday, only to withdraw at the last moment on the plea that he had been llnder a. misapprehension as to the motive of the jWeeting, a motive he could not support because Ja.l.'> love of liberty refused to allow him to deny he liberty of free-speech and private meeting to a body with, which he might not be in agree- ment. Splendid sentiments for which we shall all honour Mr. Gwyn, but expressed unfortu- nately much too late. The damage of his ad- vertised support had been wrought, his inter- ?ew expressed eleventh-hour retrenchment was Incapable of overlooking his mistaken support. -fae? things, coupled with the hysterical shrieksl of the Saturday evening and Sunday press over Iondon debacle, and Newcastle fights, pre- pared me for trouble, and awakened the optimis- ic delegates to the possibility of trouble as was unirrr* J.„ it the qvuyjy. Will anything happen here?,"1 to which the Swansea "boys" returned a reassuring answer. ersonally I was not unexpectant of the danger eVen after I had learned that the Victoria Park Monster demonstration had proved a very wet liquib indeed, and my apprehension was increased by the sight of the front pfige of the "Weekly Dispatch with its cross-page heading, Real War at a London Peace Meeting," pasted in the Window of a large shop immediately opposite the ^lysiuwi, and the prowling groups who crept 3.1011.!? the pavement in forty yard sentry-goes, in the forenoon. Upon leaching the Elysium after lunch the hope that things would pass off quietly was shat- tered, for a crowd of fully five hundred was hud- dled tightly on the pavement facing the (mi- trance, which itself was shrouded off by a huge Union Jfick nailed to a double pole, flanked "y silver badge" men, and serving as a back- ^Y |oth to raucous voiced patriots," whose 'loyal speeches were leaving them dry- th, roated; IVl twenty minutes past tw. How long they had been holding forth I do not know; nor hn I speak, of the matter of their orations, for he voices were choked as they came to me rough the flag, and I did not pause to learn hat particular misapprehensions they were la-I Ol1l'in (r under. I went on. The entrance to the Elysium is a long and rather narrow pas- broadening into a vestibule, from which direct entrance to the Elysium is made from a I ?ries of curtain backed mahogany and glass ^°ors, only two of which were opened and pro- ?cted a.t its narrower opening, by an iron trellis ?rrier and gate, as bad for defence as offence In the case of a rush. The gate was well stew- ?ed? and the credential cards carefully scru- iIlJ.ii'led before admission was allowed. When I '?ded into the big building not sixty of the ?o-hundred' and odd delegates were present, nd at the time of the riot, this number had not bached more than 100; the absentees including I the prominent workers and speakers. In face of my apprehension I though it dis- .?t to reconnoitre the possible means of egress, li0}"< as I hope I have made clear, the entrance '?1 and vestibule became impossible as exits they were choked by a few opponents, backed by sightseers. The exits were at the lqt gtl end of the building, and I started to ex- Plore them. They consisted of glassed-in passage ,a.:t ending in a short flight of steps, and giving into a narrow passage-way, and termin- .ed ill huge barred gates let into a wall, and hke impugnable to those inside and out, a long jt. k1,(nv f-ntry, or exit, giving into the facade of t4  t heatre was barred with another of the t,1, iron gates, which was well locked and thf?' ?? ?? of a public house gave ir to thi?s ?-.sage-way, but here again a huge door cut ,,ff the chance of escape except by the indulgence 'of +i ^censeeJ a doubtful boon. A careful look Toi convinced me that we were in a veritable Sibl? ?'o? \vhich eseape was "eemingly impos- tra F f oin which escape was seeming l v impos- ,%ibi (' .?copt to the most agile and fearless. r c^ kily^ the glass passage-ways were uncom- bed from any accessible roofs, or, remem- bp??? ? ?he Canadian who led a party over the j, s at Islington on Saturday, they could have ?n tHj-ned into sham bles. "Shortiv after my wlln t? the hall I was called out to see a 8w.^SPa ^Gn(l with whom I chatted at the main cinema. At that time things SeprJ r110 more advanced with the opposition "tha. i,en I had entered the building some quar- t?r °j. an hour P?'?ioualy, except that more of the S1 *i °r~i')a^ £ ed men had gathered near to ?her T ?'?d, and the voices were even more than Within five minutes of that the end was near. I In deed, I had scarcely returned t, the hall be- fore the opposition could be heard howling at I the gate which barred the entrance to the ves- tibule whilst sticks were battering the ironwork with sharp metallic rings. Two minutes after- wards the first of our casualties appeared in the gallery, and dropped over into the main hall. It was our Comrade Horner, of Ynyshir, who in trying to defend the gate. had been dragged to the ground and badly kicked whilst helpless there. This five-foot and a very little bit of stockily set Rhondda Socialism had had his teeth punched out of his head, his eye and up- per face badly bruised, and would probably have been killed had not Dolland leapt out and res- cued him at the cost of a nasty cut under the eye. After that injuries became frequent, Ted Ascott, who had driven a section of the Merthyr party over in his car, was badly cut about the head, and lost about a pint of blood, that satur- ated his coat and underclothing until they were impossible to wear. One of the glass and mahog- any doors went crash, and I saw an elderly dele- gate stagger through the curtains bleeding pro- fusely from a crescent cut over the temple, whilst Ted Davies, of Aberdare, was, perhaps, most injured of all with nine punctured wounds in the nape of his neck, and Davies, of Swansea,, was a. bloody faced mess from injuries to the nose and head, whilst bruises were plentiful. By now the mob was in the vestibule, but they were chary of charging the hall, and it began with a bombardment with sections of woodwork torn from the building. The first missile I saw was a long strip of electric insulating wood carrying a fuse box, and after that pieces of wood some- thing like chair spindles, but more likely the mahogany window-cross pieces, whizzed into the hall. -Now the ddegalkas wel e beginning to make down those blind alleys that had seemed to me to be death traps, and my heart stood still to think of what might happen down there. A few stalwarts tried to hold the brutes who led the mob, but they were without weapons, for flimsy walking-sticks and umbrellas, were like rapiers against artillery, when compared with the heavy niops, steel-ended sun-blind poles and other wea- pons weilded by the opposition. They were swept back and down the exit alleys. I now had a chance to see the invaders at close quarters, and I recognised how well they had been chosen for their work. Their leader was a huge lout of a fellow, whose shtrt sleeves, none too clean, were rolled back over his swelling arms, covered with the disfigurement of tatooed anchors and mottoes. He, I have since been told, is the re- doubtable Smith, D.O.M." His was the face of a wild animal as he swung his great mop around his head to bring it down on the head of any luckless delegate who stood in his path. By the left-hand side grand organ he found a still more formidable weapon in the shape of a steel-shod spike with a, fourteen or fifteen foot handle, of a couple of inches diameter or there- abouts; with this he disappeared into the exit, from which the sound of tinkling glass imme- diately 'came. The rest were wild, but not with the wildness of their leader, into whose path I was devoutly thankful I-had not come atad stflll more devoutly thankful that Morgan, the blind delegate, was far removed, for the remainder of the moo, mostly silver-badged, had a slight sem- blance of the humanities left, for they opened to let Morgan and his escort pass, gave me free range as a pressman—the only one ever in the interior of the building—and also left alone a young lady whose loudly expressed belief in the immunity of women at the mercy of "civilised" men I had not shared a minute before. I am glad she was right. I had now a chance of as- sessing the real strength of the opposition, for whilst only two or three had disappeared down the exits, somewhere about a dozen were left in the hall, armed and excited. One of these found huge delight in squirting water from a syringe, or hose he held over the vacant seats, and an- other, whether in madness or the desire to loot, I do not know, was tearing at one of the heavy red curtains. Davies, of Swansea, his face covered with blood, myself, the girl and the at- tackers were now the only occupants of the stage end of the theatre, a dense mo b of goggle- eyed sight seeing non-combatants lining the far end of the hall. Davies recognised some of the attacking party, and with what object I do not know, stood still calling their names. Their re- ply was a battering with sticks, which was bru- tally cruel, and he, too, was beaten out of sight. As I left the hall I was accompanied by a "silver badge" man who after emphasising the state of his throat began to call Come along, gentle- men, weare going to hold, a meeting. All scats free, and remember the other side pays for it." At the vestibule trellis-gate stood a police officer —of superior rank I opined—immaculate with his kid gloves, and reminding me of a, .commis- sionaire more than an officer of the law. Outside all was movement and excitement, and I passed many delegates pouring into the build- ing. I have mentioned above that one of the exits ended in a trellis-gate opening on the facade of the Elysium, but now securely locked, and through this a crowd peered, overtopped by a cadaverous parson, who leered at the sight of pacifists climbing a party wall, and in the middle of the street a press photographer was mounted on a chair taking a sight down this alley-way through his direct vision finder. I was too anxious as to the fate of the dele- gates to go back into that hall, and seeing the men on the walls I asked where the Elysium gave onto at the rear, and was directed to the Strand." Entering the Sirrand through a side street with a green painted corner shop, from which childrish trebles; come singing hymns, I understood where the invaders had been secured. The Strand would run some of the East End slums a close race. Its stables and small houses, bedraggled women, and shifty-eyed males pro- mised all kinds of devilry and infamy. Along this street I went, followed by flaccid young women until I approached the rear of the Ely- sium. My presence was apparently susp icious, and a cross-examination was started, but the mention of the Press brought me the information that twelve men had escaped over that cliff-like road and got off before they could be caught. If any more came over I should imagine they found they had come out of the frying-pan into the fire. Down those alleys I am told that to the threat of dire punishment from the iron-rimmed wea- pons the sticks and umbrellas of the delegates were taken, but how the bulk of the escapes were made I do not know. Inside a decent man," the universal opinion, had taken the chair for the" loyalists," and members were busy execrating the pacifists." One of the latter who ventured to move an amendment to some resolution that was being carried was promptly hustled out. The singular fact of this riot was the absolute absence of police. Plenty of time had elapsed from the setting up of the play and the gather- of the mob to have allowed of the collecting of the. entire Swansea force and its concentration on the Elysium, but nothing was done. and with the exception of the superior officer I have men- tioned I saw no polieeiban until the. whol e thing was over. The whole occurrence arouses again, in an acute form, the question of the relation- ship of the advanced Democracy to the State, of which it is a part. Once and for all we shall have to determine what that relationship is, and what our attitude must be. A.P.Y. Mr. C. P. 'Trevelyan, M.P. I THE MEANING OF RUSSIA'S CALL FOR I PEACE. Mr. C. P. Trevelyan, M.P., addressed a large meeting at Bradford on Sunday, and was sub- jected to some interruption. He said that a great m^iny people believed that the Russian re- volution was brought about by the slackening of the Tsar's Government in regard to the prose- cution of the war. It was, however, « protest against the most infamous Government that ever existed, and was a movement for freedom. Very soon it became a movement for a world peace, not a separate peace for themselves. One great reason why the terms of the Allies should be restated was the great change which had come over the mind of the German people, evidence of which was given by the recent Reich- stag resolution. The German people were heartily sick of the war, and if they knew they could get a decent peace they would press their Government to come to terms. Mr. Snowden at Leicester. I UNINTELLIGENT MILITARISM IN I ENGLAND. Mr. Snowden, M.P., was the principal speaker at the Leicester Provisional Committee Confer- ence on Saturday, deputising Mr. R. McDonald, who was with the Russian delegates. He said that Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Bonar Law re- fused to consider the Reichstag peace resolution on the ground that democracy in Germany had no representative authority. Before a democra- tic Government composed of Lord Milner, Lord Curzon, that arch-democrat Sir E. Carson, and Mr. Lloyd George talked of militarist and un- democratic Germany, let them cleanse them- selves. The only diffelence between the mili- tarism of Prussia and the militarism they were fighting against in this country was that Prus- sian militarism was much more intelligent. ■ J ■ Orderly Gathering at Norwich. I The conference at Norwich passed off quietly. Mr. Charles G. Allan brought a. letter of greet- ing from the Russian society delegates now in this country. Councillor1 H. E. Rickard, the chairman, said that at a rough calculation they represented 100,000 persons. He said that in this great world-crisis the soldier and sailor must play an important part, not so much on the battlefields of Europe as in bringing about the cessation of hostilities, and bringing all Europe to a proper state again. Newcastle Meeting Stormed. I FREE FIGHTS IN THE HALL. At Newcastle a large number of persons hostile to the meeting rushed the hall, apd there were free fights in which some soldiers and sailors took part. There were calls of What about the Lusitania?" and the singing of Rule, Britan- nia!" Sailors mounted the platform, and one man, baring his arm, showed the seared scar of a wound he said he got fighting for traitors. It was some time before the meeting could start, and when the chair-man said it was impossible to end the war except by negotiation he was met with cries of "Rot." A resolution of sympathy with the Russian re- volutionists was passed, but when another reso- lution was proposed pledging the meeting to work for peace there was a scene of great dis- order and excitement. The platform was stormed by colonials, who had been holding a. counter- demonstration, and there were melees in differ- ent parts of the hall. Furniture was upset, and, the police being powerless, the meeting was broken up. At the Bristol meeting a resolution calling upon the Government to work for peace was op- posed by some shakers, but the resolution was eventually carried by a large majority.
Russia and a Struggle for…
Russia and a Struggle for Peace. | I ADDRESS TO BRITISH LABOUR. I The four delegates (jf the All-Russia Confer- mice of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates^—MM. G. Erlich, 1. Goldenberg, N. Rousanov, and A. Si-iiirnov-aTe now off to Paris and Rome, after a stay in London of three days. On their depar- ture they have issued a Manifesto, in which they state: The object of the delegation is to organise an international Socialist fftid Labour conference with a view to carrying on a struggle for peace. In order to strengthen the achievements of the Russian revolution and in order that the Russian democracy may obtain the possibility of organising in Russia a stable democratic order, the monstrous war ruining humanity must give place to peace. Having put forward from the first days of the revolution the watchword of a struggle for peace, the overwhelming majority of the revolu- tionary democracy in Russia has never even for a solitary moment inclined to the ideaof a separ- ate peace with the Central Powers, and has al- ways considered peace on an international scale -a peace concluded under the pressure brought by peoples freed from the domination of imper- ialistic hypnotism, peoples who are taking their destinies into their own hands." After recalling tfie steps taken by the Petro- grad Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Dele- gates, with the sanction of the All-Russia Con- ference (representing close on twenty millions of democratic electors), to convene an interna-i tional Socialist Conference, the Russian dele- j gates proceted — The organisers of the International Congress are convening the latter with the deep conviction that in order to bring the world-war to an end the International has to bring about on the part of all Socialist parties and all Labour organisa- tions a renunciation of co-operation with those of their Governments who will either refuse to declare their war aims or with those who are openly or secretly putting forward Imperialistic aims or decline to renounce the same. At the same time the organisers of the Congress ex- press the conviction that all parties and organi- sations invited to the Congress share the views expressed above and are prepared to give an un- dertaking to carry into effect without any hesi- tation and without any deviation the decisions arrived" at in conference m accordance with the principles laid down above. During their stay at Stockholm the delega- tion had the opportunity of convincing them- selves that the idea of convening the general congress on such bases enjoys considerable popu- larity among the different Socialist parties and Labour organisations. Their stay in London and the friendly communion with English Social- ists and Labour organisations has added to their conviction that the conference will indeed take place. As far as the Labour party is concerned, it is at the present moment bound by the well- known decision of the Manchester Conference. In view of this the Executive Committee of the party is calling a national conference for the 10th of August, at which the question of the Labour party taking part in the general congress* will be discussed. The Independent Labour Party and the British Socialist Party have ex- pressed their agreement in principle to partici- pate in the conference. During the negotiations with the English Labour organisations the delegation had among other things to express their opinion on the ques- tion of their taking part in the conference of the Socialist parties of the Allied countries. The delegation have given in detail these considera- tions which were 1 previously expressed by the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council in their resolution upon this subject. In accord- ance with this resolution, a special conference of Socialist parties and Labour organisations in the Allied countries is superfluous, because such a conference would only mean the sanction of the breach artificially created by the war between I such parties and organisations and also because only an international conference uniting in one common effort all the Socialist parties and La- bour organisations may lead to peace. In view of this the delegation has pronounced itself against the convening of such a partial confer- ence of the Allied Socialists, but at the same time the delegation declares that, if such a con- ference should nevertheless be called and take place, they will attend the same, but solely for the purpose of getting information and in order to put forward their point of view. This declara- tion of the Russian delegates has met with no objection on the part of the English Socialist parties and Labour organisations. The delegation has therefore all reason to consider itself satisfied with its stay in London, and takes this opportunity of expressing to the leading organs of the English Socialists and La- bour organisations its deep recognition of the friendly "and very cordial attention with which it has been surrounded during its sojourn in London."
|Briton Ferry Notes. I
Briton Ferry Notes. I Pastor and Peace. I A "Peace Day" was held on Sunday at the Jerusalem Baptist Church, Briton Ferry, pacific sermons being preached by the pastor, the Rev. ft, Powell. Making no apology for his departure the reverend gentleman at the morning service- said war was paganism and no pulpit should justify paganism. To a large congregation in the evening he said a system which caused Eng- lish Baptists to fight Baptists of other nations was indefensible. I. LP. I Mr. Philip Morrell, M.P., was the I.L.P. speaker at the Crown Park, Briton Ferry, on Sunday, to another big crowd. A resolution em- bodying the principles of the Revolution was carried with only one dissentient. Collection: £2 14s. 9d.
HOW IT WAS DONE!
HOW IT WAS DONE! THE DOCUMENT DISTRIBUTED IN THE PUBS. THE MEETINGS WILL BE HELD. The following document was circulated in the puolic houses of Hoxton on Saturday n-iornina MEN OF HOXTON! This afternoon at three o'clock in your midst A Meeting of pro-Germans will be held assisted by Delegates from the Committee in Russia which demoralised and ruined the Russian Army. These people are organised in the hope of doing the same dirty work in the British Armv. The Meeting is at BROTHERHOOD CHURCH, CANAL BRIDGE, SOUTHGATE ROAD, Be at the Whitmore Head, 2.30 p.m. Scores of old Soldiers and others are going to march to the Canal Bridge to show these TRAITORS What they think of them. REMEMBER THE LAST AIR RAID AND ROLL UP! THE CHALLENGE TO THE WORKERS' AND SOLDIERS' COUNCIL. Of the six conferences of the Workers' and Soldiers' Council fixed for last Saturday and Sun- clay, three were complete successes. Delegates from Trade Uniolts) Trade Union branches, Trades Councils, the I.L.P. and B.S.P., and other democratic organisations attended in large numbers, the resolutions demanding a people's peace without annexations or indemnities, a charter of democratic liberty, and calling upon the workers to form local Workers' and Sol- diers' Councils were carried by overwhelming majorities. From these conferences—Norwich, Bristol and Leicester—district Nepresentativee have been appointed to the Provisional Commit- tee. The other three conferences—those ar- ranged for Lc?.on, Newcastle and Swanks.- .pro<T!? .? ?.?!?.iy suct.?aitil. The creden- tials for the London Conference show that dele- gates were attending from our 40 Trades Coun- cils and from over 200 Trade Unions, Trade Union District Councils and branchees, in addi- tion to hundreds of delegates from the I.L.P.. B.S.P. and other Socialist, Labour and democra- tic organisations. At Swansea the bodies repre- sented included 26 Trades Councils andt 125 Trade Union branches, of which 66 were miners' lodges..Figures are not yet to hand as )to the representation of the Newcastle Conference, but previous reports clearly indicate that the Trade union organisations were equally well repre- sented there as at the other conferences. These essentially working-class conferences, convened in a perfectly, open manner, to discuss questions of vital importance to the workers, were broken up by gangs of ruffians organised by disreputable reactionary political hacks, with the tacit approval or the Government. In the House of Commons Sir George Cave said that the Government was watching closely the activi- ties of the Workers' and Soldiers' Council, and we know why sinister operations have been going on all the time against the Workers' and Sol- diers' Council; why those responsible for letting public halls have been bullied and intimidated, why the letting of the hall originally hired at Swansea, the Town Hall at Newcastle, and the Memorial Hall were cancelled, and why London and Newcastle on Saturday, and Swansea on Sunday, witnessed scenes of sheer brutality and hooliganism without parallel in the public life of this country. The rulers of this country are copying the methods of the Tsar. In their efforts to stifle free expression they are relying upon the Black Hundreds. Afraid of discussion, afraid of the spread of knowledge, afraid of the grow- ing desire for peace, afraid of the reckoning to come, they are using the dark forces-the paid hirelings of the reaction and the most depressed and ignorant of the working class-to stem the rising tide. The dark forces failed the Tsar. The dark forces in this country, as our rulers will soon find out, are very unreliable and can be as easily used against them as for them. Just as the great Leeds Convention was his- toric, so will the wrecking of the Brotherhood Church become historic. The brutal punching and kicking of women by (j'unken hooligans and Colonial soldiers—it is curious that in all these organised displays of hooliganism only Colonial soldiers figure—will not contribute much towards increasing the war spirit of the people of this country, particularly amongst the organised workers. The Trade Union delegates will be able to report to the' Trades Councils and to their branches how well the authorities guard the sacred fires of freedom in this country, and we are confident that the great cause for which the Workers' and Soldiers' Council stands will tre- mendously profit thereby. The sinister methods adopted by our enemies are doomed to failure. They are a direct chal- lenge to the Workers' and Soldiers' Council. They will be answered. Had we known that the authorities would deliberately permit the bruStal assaults upon our men and women we would have taken effective steps to deal with the hooli- gans. Soldiers, engineers, railwaymen and all kinds of workers were available as stewards. The Workers' and Soldiers' Council will hold their conferences, and if the recognised forces of "law and order" fail in their duty, then such steps will be taken as will ensure quiet and orderly gatherings. Nor is that all. The South Wales miners are considering strike action, and their lead will be taken up in other quarters and the authorities would be well advised to re- cognise their responsibilities before it is too late. TOM QUELCH. (From "The Call," the official organ of the B.S.P.).