Pioneer

"-I Technical Science and the Worker. SEE PAGE 3

POLITICAL NOTES. By F. W. JOWETT. f PAGE 2.

"The Times" on Revolution, I BY BERTRAND RUSSELL. I One of the odd things about this war is the ay in which everybody regards it with perfect lhplacenc.v and cheerfulness until he himself is "ouched. Hardly anyone minds the constant and danger of brothers and husbands and ?s at the front, but the minute risk suffered ?'ing an air raid suddenly makes the civilian Population think that waf is not all pure joy. If ?opie had realized in the beginning that they themselves could not escape the horrors of war, t,,would have been a combined resistance, "l1Ïch must have defeated schemes of War rds in Germany and elsewhere. But each class 11 turn imagined that it could place the burden upon some other class. The married men, who Jtei'e afterwards conscripted, agitated gaily for ?he conscription of the single men, and the men  reserved occupations did little to befriend I^f ther the married or the single in less fortunate! ?ades. profiting by the experience of past disunion, ?he Times," which has in its hands the supreme Power in this country, has at last ventured upon ? wider stroke, by which even the men in war j I ^ustries are to be made to bow the knee. In series of three special articles on the ferment  revolution," it sets to work to make its mid- ?e-f;Iass readers' flesh creep by accounts of the horrible and subversive policy pursued by Trade v ?lons under the instigation of some of their vounger members. The denunciation is impres- "?'e, though not very clear. It would seem that has been committed by the 1 ade T) mons is that of trying to get a rise of .?g?s bearing some proportion to the rise in tlces. We are told that the policy which has been pursued must lead to anarchy and the ?eak-up of the State. There is only ?ii(, remedy, ") 'W, are assured, and that is to break once for ? the power to strike. The proposal of the _t'iter of the articles is that the Government "ould stand absolutely firm against all demands 011 the part of organised labour even if the con- Sequences should be a general strike. In the eVeht of a strike, black-leg labour is to be em- P oyed—whether soldiers or coloured men is not «ar- and the strikers are to be subjected to a 6tri(--t hrwrv>+f + 1, v»,iU ™-i^„i. hn np- through starvation }At the end ;t'1 t'? ?? 0l?rc told, their power wul be broken I f,? r ever, and the who l e of the La b our wor l d will for ever, and the whole of the Labour world will I "6 prostrate at the foot of the capitalist. The great strjke," says the concluding article, "is a Santic bluff upon the nation, and it only needs to be seen through to he defeated. But each 6 1011 at present believes in this bluff. They do not see that they are equally dependent tt130n the State, of which they are all the em- °jees. The national life would be seriously fcoiganised, but those who continue at work oe the first to recover from the disorgani- gatioll It seems hardly possible that the strug- ghle would last more than a week it would not avü to be repeated for a generation; and after lie fight the productive activity of the country °r the purposes of the war would be doubled. Q. Uch is the conflict which appears to be impend- lng, and therefore it is the duty of the Govern- 11let to prepre a complete programme of a.ctloll, by which to cope with all eventualities d t(, n\et all PDBsible dislocation." ("The Ime'3, l nday, 28th September). It is a very serious situation that is fore- shadowed by these articles. Lest we should think that they are merely the personal opinion of the they were introduced by a leading article th attention to the weighty nature of what ¡ley had to say. There can be no doubt that ord NOl'thcliffe is behind them, and hitherto sin nee the war began his wishes have been law. i "e are forced to conclude that he considers' the on)ent propitious for a first-class struggle be- rjvWnCapital and Labour. We know that "The lles 5 considers the defeat of Socialism more irvn'tarn than the defeat of Germany, for it ""PP-1-ted the Koi,iillolf revolt, of which'the ulb- leoiS Purpose was to defeat the Socialistic land I egIslation threatened by the Russian Govern- me even at the cost of the loss of Riga and a r OSS I blc advan('(' on Petrograd. t The reasons for choosing the present moment e far to seek. The great bulk of Labour is Patl'lotlc and unwilling to impede the military o?n '?ons. It is probable that the Unions can ee h!'oken one by °ne, and that a great part of ?n?ojr 'c opjnjo? pyp? 'among. Trades Unionists, Will lool? with' doubt and hesitation upon a stop- T>ao- ?J WK ? vital industry. The State has ?c?nuued such enormous powers in the curtail- ltJent ,of speech and writing that it will be diffi-   the fads of the dispute known. 0v« n" wor? kers of military age it?can hold the ?th??\? cosscnption. It will have at its di? !>ovil ie of Aiitej. ?ica, which is still rosal all the ?'?sources of America, which is still in t! 10 early stages of war intoxication. Last yeaT. ()DIN- ??"" ?"???t of a strike prevented the ?Hm ?'" of coloured labour. If the Govern- ?G? n7 ? ?"?"R to face a strike on a large scale, tb tbero'^ nc!thiny; to prevent it from flooding the count ?'tit negroes and Chmamen. and send- s ing r i"-It') thE! Army the British labour which is t'eve? ?nderGd superfJyous.  S been °TOWlll()' Jncreaslll2:1v dear that It has b ? Rowing increasingl y clear that the war o 110^ leave the economic structure of \1níe<;?unchanged. Assuming, as we must do Unless th????tnde of Labour becomes greatly < n"'e{ tl t l- °han"ed 'n ? the war continues for another two tYeat" it can hardly be doubted that wither T ?our or Capital must ultimately go dow Ja OUr °:: Capital must uItunatEY go down. Ti l°rf wIll not be enough wealth in the Country f 1" to Prosper. Eitlier the growth J ,oclab¡;;l 'II 1 ?' Social? ? secui'e for Labour a more ad e- ?uate s har- ? ? ??? national wealth, or else Capi- C41lat(" ,?ha" of the national ii,ealtli. else C,,tpi- tal, backed tt -?' State an d the Army, will suc- ,7, III l'pd ceod in redi n" Labour to a. servile condition, J ](.) "']O'e '11 1 *n which w-'i-* ?? ?e only just snmLcient to sup- L>ort life, TV Was t''3e condition of Labonr at the end of the i raP°Wnic W as, and if om- pre- sent masters e +veir way'lt wjU be its con- dion againwhe!n tbi war ends. It is true that  )1' PI'JCIPltating the stn]ggJ.p, wiJ) do Capital hv -? '[???S the strug?., will do %ve ht0 lo ZLZ rl ihu^* efman^tory, but ^d,] make it h0lc] itj tIns c?sideratio? .1 111,1 1 ?C? it hold It hand. I will not presume to offer any advice to La- bour as to how it is to meet this crisis-indeed, it would be illegal to do so. The lamb is being led to the slaughter, but D.O.R.A. forbids us to give any hint of how to escape the butcher's knife. The one thing that can be done is to point out what are the hopes of the Capitalists as revealed in these articles. A vigorous policy on the part of the Capitalists, says the writer, will be supported by a majority of Trades Unionists. Even now there is always a minority of working men opposed to a strike, though it is engineered in their own particular interest; and it is not to be supposed (say) that engineers are going to be enthusiastic over a miners' strike, from which they can only be sufferers." This passage assumes, I fear with too much truth, that the intelligence of Labour is very much less than that of Capital, and its solidarity much less firm. Sectional struggles, in which the whole force of Capital and the State is pitted against a small part of Labour, are confidently assumed to be realizable.. By resisting strike, the writer continiies, "ive do not mean compelling strikers to resume their work. We mean that those who are loyal to the nation should do the work of the nation themselves, and allow no one to impede them." This assumes that in the ranks of the workers, presumably among the sol- diers, there will be found men willing to do the bidding of the Capitalists at no matter what cost to their own class. Is this assumption justified? We arc compelled by law to hope that it is, and Heaven forbid that we should break the law.

I Trade Union Notes. I I By Trade Unionist. Dr. Addison, the Minister of Reconstruction, in his first speech in that capacity, had much to say that is of paramount interest to Trade C nionists and Labour men. He referred to de- mobilisation, the provision of raw materials for the transition period after p(.,ace.tlie iizipi-ove rnent of relations between employers and employeci, and the necessity for increased productivity. In dealing with the last he said that as a nation we must increase our produce in order to over- come the devastation of the war, and to do that we needed four things: "Better co-operation between Capital and Labour, better conditions of life,, better training, aau jt. f t, industrial methods." He ftent on to talk about removing the dread of unemployment, of the right of the workmen to share in the benefits derived from the introduction of improved methods, better housing conditions, fewer hours of labour, and lie even hinted that it would he a good thing to allow workmen a share in determining the con- ditions of their work. The Labour Movement propagandists, especially the I.L.P. section of it, have been emphasising these things for years, and it is quite refreshing to know -tbit their views are being recognised and adopted by Gov- ernment Ministers. But, after all, I have considerable doubte as to the efficacy of the methods proposed by him to bring about such salutary changes. It is evi- dent, from his remarks, that the Government intend to retain, for an indefinite period after the war, control 'over industry, by keeping in its own hands the decision as to. the order in which Labour shall be released from the army, and trie: provision of certain essential raw materials. Now, we as Trade Unionists and Socialists, do not in the least object to State control. But we must clearly distinguish between State control of a kiurl that allows the people generally a voice in its decisions, and a State control which in- ci eases the authority of-a centralised bureau- cracy, such as we at the present time have, and which Dr. Addison clearly has in view. Such a control as that indicated by Dr. Addison will cer- tainly force British industry into trusts and com- bines. It will mean the establishment of great manufacturing monopolies. Again, I say. La- bour will not object to the principle, but if La- bour and the consumer have not an adequate slarp in the control of such monopolies, their, in- terests are seriously threatened. Again Dr. Addison seems to have much faith n! the establishment of Employers' and Workers' Councils on the Whitley Committee Report lie es, and that Labour will be adequately safe- guarded and satisfied. I doubt it very much. Labour has not declared on that matter yet. In such mixed bodies, the employers are apt to con- sider themselves as chid partners, and to expect acquiescence to their methods from the workers' side. However, inasmuch as Parliament has not been consulted concerning such far-reaching pro- posals, it is doubly important that the Trade Unions as a whole should give them the most careful consideration, so that the interests of the men they represent—the workers—should not in the least way be prejudiced. The settlement arrived at between the Execu- tive of the M.F.G.B. and Lhe Coal Controller has naturally been the chief topic of interest in South Wales during the past week. As all readers of the Pioneer" know, an increase of Is. 6d. a day for all men over 16 years of age, and 9d. a day to youths under 16 has been secured. In the past all increases in the wages of miners have been on the percentage system, which, of course, gave the higher rated grades a larger actual increase than the lower rated. In this cgse, however, the Controller argued that, inasmuch as the application was for a special increase to meet the increased cost of living, the fairer method would be to give to all giades a flat rate increase There will, naturally, be some grumbling amongst the best paid men, but, on the whole, it is safe to say that the new principle will be recognised as a just one. For my own part I sincerely welcome it. It re- cognises that the increase in the cost of living- is th6 same for both, and that the need of the one is as acute as the need of the other. It will further have the salutary effect of breaking down in some measure, the grade barrier that has done so much to prevent that perfect unity so necessary to working-class success. "> .q_ ,I. .=' The increase falls far short of the original de- mand, viz., 25 per cent. on present earnings— as a matter of fact it is not 25 per cent. on the earnings of the lowest grade workmen—but in spite of that, I think that on the whole it will be accepted as a very substantial and satisfactory ircrease, and the action of the Executive will undoubtedly be confirmed at the various confer- ences. Personally, I think it would have been better if the Executive had held out for the original demand. I am of opinion that if the whole of the workmen in the United Kingdom were in a position to demand not small increases of wages, ridiculously below the increased cost of living, but a wage corresponding with such cost, it would materially help to bring the war to an end. I hope that the partial success which has attended the miners agitation will be an In- ducement to all other classes of workmen to be more insistent in their demands for better con- ditions of la bour. v, ::< We are being reminded by the p, "ress that the increased wage bill will mean a daily increase of L-71,250, or an annual total of £21,370,000. Now the colliery owners could well afford such a sum, enormous as it is, but as a matter of fact the cost will be borne by the public. The follow- ing clause practically assures this. Here it is: This advance is to be regarded as a special war wage intended to assist in meeting the in- creased cost of living, and is~g<ven on the un- derstanding that any increase in the selling- price of coal shall not operate to secure a further advance of wages under the wage agreements in the various districts unless such increased selling price shall warrant an ad- vance beyond the special advance now granted. It is probable the owners will be given a further advance of 2s. 6d. per ton. Perhaps more. s The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave no en- couragement to the M..F.G.B. Committee that interviewed him with a view of having the ex- emption limit for income tax again raised to £ 160. The M.F.G.B. has, however, decided to press forward with their agitation until such time as their demand has been complied with. I strongly object, on principle, to have work- men's wages taxed at all, but in this case, the miners,, or at least a majority of them, have favoured the carrying on of the war to a finish, and how they can seriously object to paying their share of its cost passes TJJJ- comprehension. It may be of some interest to readers of the Pioneer" to know a little of the working of the colliery control arrangements. We have* been kept pretty much in the dark with regard to this matter, but Lord Aberconway at the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company's meeting let a little light on it. It appeals from what he RaId, that the profit of 1914 is taken as the standar said,^ d (an exceptionally good year) and if this is exceeded the owners get 5 per cent of the excess. The Coal Controller gets 15 per cent to help the poorer collieries, and the Government an d the Gover-.iiiient gets the remaining 80 per cent as tax.

ft Merthyr Rates Discovery. REMARKABLE ERROR IN COLLIERY ASSESSMENT. An amended supplemental valuation list for the parish of Aberdare which was placed before the Merthyr Assessment Committee on Saturday revealed an astonishing error in coal returns in connection with the Lcckett's-Merthyr Colliery Company (Limited). As a result of this error the company had not (according to amended returns sent by them to Mr. W. W. Price, assistant overseer for Aber- dare) paid rates upon tonnage of 1,175,213 tons of large coal and 315,710 tons of small coal, equivalent to a ratable value of £ 35,682 5s. The error covered a period extending from December 31st, 1906, to December 31st, 1916, and the ad- ditional poor-rate arid district rate which would have been paid by the company if correct returns had been made were £ 8,014 9s'. Id. The secretary of the company had intimated that they were prepared to pay the whole of the rates based upon a correct assessment. Accordingly Mr. F. T. James (the clerk) pre- sented an amended supplemental valuation list, which, as a result of the alterations in the assess- ment, showed an increased gross valuation for the colliery of C,172,527 15s. and ratable valua- tion of £ 43,332. The list was approved of.

Co-operative Educational Activity in the Rhymney Valley. I PROFFESSOR HALL'S FINE SEND-OFF. AN INTERESTING SURVEY OF THE PAST, AND GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE. The hiost conspicuous feature at the annual Co-operative Conference held last Whitsun at Swansea was, the renewed interest there mani- fested toward Education. Judging by the re- ports from various parts of the country, this en- thusiasm has spread to several of the local Co- operative Societies. The New Tredegar and Dis- trict Society, probably under this influence, decided to form Educational Classes for the coming winter session, and with this object in view secured the services of Prof. F. Hall, M.A., the Advisor of Studies to the Co-operative Union, for a two days' visit. To excite the in- terest of the younger members of the movement a special circular was sent out inviting them to special conferences on Education, held respec- tively at New Tredegar and Bargoed. At both places very useful meetings were held ,and are entertained for the formation of clashes at ootli places. On Wednesday at New Tredegar, and Thurs- day evening at Bargoed, fine musical and educa- tional meetings were arranged at which Prof. Hall spoke. At both places the halls were full, clearly an appreciation by the members of the efforts of their committee, and an encourage- ment to proceed further in this direction. Speak- ing at Bargoed on The Worker in the State of To-day and To-morrow," Prof. Hall referred to the time, not very distant, when Britain had no factories and no workshops; no tall chimneys emitting huge volumes of smoke, but a country, rural and quiet, with few towns, comparatively small, and bad roads which, in dry weather, were often covered with two or three feet of dust, and in wet weather were impassable with mud. The village was almost self-contained, supplying al- most all its wants. The worker la boured at home at the hand loom, assisted by his. family. He also had his plot of land, at which he worked. Owning his own hand-loom the worker reaped the benefit of his labour. He was his own mas- ter, and, unlike the worker of to-day, the harder he worked the greater his reward would be. The villager worked to satisfy his wants, and only after these were satisfied would lie sell any sur- plus ijft. A great change came, however, with the series of wonderful inventions such as the flying shuttle, the power loom and the steam engine. In fifty years Britain had become the workshop of the world. The adoption of im- provements to the coal-mining industry resulted in an enormous increase in output at a cheaper cost. This re-acted favourably on the smelting industry, which had previously signs of stagna- tion for want of abundant supplies of fnel. Towns, grew rapidly. Wealth increased incre- dibly, aad side by side with this huge wealth in- crease, poverty spread. The position of the worker was now different. Industry was now being organised by persons able to supply Capital and the worker ceased to be his own master. He was also rendered landless through successive Acts of Parliament. With the discovery that strength was not essential to work the machinery came the employment of women and children in the factories, effecting a great reduction m men's wages. Children of six, five, and even four years of age were employed for long hours under bad conditions. The worker was not satisfied with his new position and rioting took place. It was soon realised by the saner section of the workers that there was no hope of relief through rioting and they set themselfes to con- structive work. Attempts were made to unite the workers in trade unions, to secure for them the vote, and to abolish Capitalism by the estab- lishment of Co-operative Societies. Success fol- lowing these attempts, the workers, in a hun- died years, had become more powerful to im- prove the conditions under which he worked and lived. To-day prices and wages-seemed to move in a vicious circle. When wages rose, prices rose to correspond. The worker was no more than a cog in a huge machine. W lat was urgently needed was that he should secure a greater con- trol over industry than he did at present. The apathy of the worker would have to be over- came. Apathy and selfishness were the two great eremies to progress. High wages and short hours were not everything. What was important -ias that both s h oii]- ? i?l-i? -zig. What was lmportqrit was that both should be wisely used. And it was necessary that the worker should do both. Was the social life in the future to be organised as at present? If not, it was now time for the'worker*; to prepare the future. If the spirit of competi- tion entered largely into our International re- lationships, this war would not prove to be the last war, but one of a long series. Society must be reorganised on a new prin- ciple; that of the Basis of Association and the Brotherhood of Man." Landlords and Capital- ists were not necessary^ There was an abundance of wealth in the country, and a decent existence was possible for all who were prepared to con- tribute to the wealth of the country. It was necessary, however, that the worker should se- cure control over industry and commerce. The community must become intelligent enough to so organise itself as to become its own Capitalist and Landlord, and thereby gain for itself the fruits of industry. This would not be brought about without some hard thinking and working. It was the duty of the worker to take advantage or Education to fit himself for these positions of responsibility, for without this control the worker ^vould continue to be merely a wage slave. uVlore education is required. The child lias a right to all that the elementary and secondary schools had to give, and the universi- ties should not be closed to anyone through poverty. The neglect to develop the latent talent of thousands of children to-day resulted in an enormous loss to the community. We anted able children—children trained in the right spirit, that spirit which encouraged ser- vice to the community rather than its exploita- tion. E ducation was discussed from many points of view at the present day. Some very promin- ent men urged that more education was neces- sary beochise we would have to compete with. Germany after the war, and it was essential that Britain should capture the markets of the world. This was quite wrong. Education should aim at something greater than the making of more efficient workers. It should exist in order to make life fuller and open out new interests in a bagger world. The worker must understand what is going on in politics and industry in oider to wield greater powers on them. The newspapers were too often allowed to do the workers' thinking for them, and had been looked upon as the expression of public opinion. The State of the future would be what the 17crkers made it": a State based on Competition or a State built on Associated effort. To-dav any increase in wages was swallowed up in increased rents and prices. Co-operation encouraged the worker to control his own industrial future, and to become, collectively, his own landlord, and capitalist. Competition to divert trade from one channel to another would be abolished only when the workers were wise enough to do so. State action after the war would cover a wider area than now. Land nationalisation would be- some practical politics, and no doubt the prob- lem of railway management and also that of mining and other industries would be solved by national ownership. Municipal enterprise would be extended, and the voluntary Co-operative Movement would assume many forms. To-day, national necessity had forced our rulers to adopt in many instances, a form of Co-operation, but they had not adopted the spirit of Co-operation. Bureaucracy and officialdom were alien to the spirit of Co-operation. What the workers want is Co-operation with a Co-operative spirit and Democratic control. They had no desire to free themselves from one tyranny to engage in an- other. A better world could not become a reality until it had been reorganised in the right spirit —the spirit of Do unto others as you would be done by." The competitive system, with its diverse interests, had no place for this concep- tion of social relationship. Co-operation, based on the eommunitv of interests, would raise the world to a height not yet reached, and would bring out the best in all men and women.

Socialism After The War. I J. R. MACDONALD'S NEW BOOK. f Socialism After the War," J. Ramsav Mac- donald, II.P. Xaion :l Laboui Pre^. U. nett.] This little book of 80 pages is either too long or too short. As -a pamphlet its last chapters would have been an admirable production, though personally I should have preferred a longer extension of the earlier chapters, together with the amplification of tli<?f-,e last sections, into a volume of two or three hundred pages--say, a new double double volume of The Socialist- Library. As a brochure it is too expensive, and necessarily too superficial. It has, of course, all e c e- a Ti the distinction of Mr. Macdonald's style—a dis- tinction that will give it a ready place in the library of thousands of sincere and grateful ad- mirers of our great leader, but it would be folly to allow our admiration of the writer to con- found his distinction as a writer, with the dis- tinctness of the outline of this particular and im- portant book. I am aware that the task of giving a lead to the great body of the I.L.P. which naturally devolves upon Mr. Macdonald in these very critical times is a heavy one and one calling for the exercise of all his great tact, but I cannot help but feel that in his earlier chapters he could have introduced more detail. What he has said respecting the absolute neces- sity of the reorganisation of industry with especial reference to the shop steward movement, and his tentative support of the bare outline -of the National Guilds League, is rather behind than ahead of what all of us have been long feeling and saying in the strongholds of indus- trialism and the I.L.P. movement in this part of the country at all events. The outlines of his honaons on both hands ar2 further off and vaguer than many of us feel should be the case just at this moment when a clear lead is most earnestly hoped for, and most clearly called for by the peculiarly exacting nature of the times. As I say, I am not unalive to the difficulties of such a task, and I am quite prepared to hear that the majority of my colleagues in our own district are opposed to me in this. With the possibilities of its educational value amongst those I.L.P. members and sympathisers whose lot is. fortunately, not cast in industry I am not concerning myself here, for my audience does emphatically belong to the industrialist I.L.P.ers, and amongst the more advanced at that. But whatever may be my personal opinion of the value of that first section—and I do indeed place a very high value upon it despite mv own regrets—I have nothing but praise for the'latter sections of the book in which Mr. Macdonald is more at home than in the opening chapters. Here his masterly command of politics and the problems of International statesmanship have given us a series of chapters that combine, better even than many of his earlier works, his great lucidity as a publicist and his courage and longsightedness as the premier statesman of the British Socialist Labour Party. Those chapters must be. read in their entirety by anyone who desires to know what Mr. Macdonald thinks should be the political course of Labour, what re- forms are to be included in our future pro- gramme and our attitude towards the financial difficulties of post-war budgets, and such at- tempted solutions of militarism as the League of Nations. It would be quits possible to strip out beautiful sentences to indicate the trend of Mr. Macdonald's logic, but I am positive that there is not a waste word, that, in fact, Mr. Macdonald has exercised a figurative Scottish parsimony in his language, and lest I should do injustice to his barely presented thoughts I refuse to assist any I.L.P.er's desire to evade thc-I exp-enditure of a shilling by lifting glowing; sentences from the context that is here so necessary to a prop%- assimilation of their nutriment. There is lots of nutriment, and whilst I do find it possible to wish that the 80 pages had been issued at 6d. I still stronsrlv recommend the snanrXn? of turn, I C'. n- L- (sixpences on it. A.P. Y.