The Amman Valley Chronicle and East Carmarthen News

The Vicar of Llandovery has referred on more than one occasion to our fallen sailors and soldiers in the term Our Heroic Dead. Was there ever so significant a tribute? Yet there is something lacking, and every man, woman and child of our Empire must acknowledge the great debt they owe to them. We may believe that our recognition and appreciation of their j sacriifce is sufifcient. Even be it so, it is not enough. The fact will ever remain that we as the-citizens of the New World cannot even repay a small w- portion of our obligation. 1 hat fine old veteran, Lieut.-Genera l Sir James Hills- joh,ne& V.C., during his lifetime had the walls of his stately mansion adorned with cutlasses and swords of every description. These proved the existence of undying memories. We are apt to forget, unless in our midst stands a Living Memorial." At Ammanford there is lacking a suitable Public Hall. The erection of a Memorial Hall, sooner the better, would go a long way to pay off even a small portion of our indebtedness. So far, nothing has been done, and peace is with us. Wake up, Ammanford! Respond generously to the cause. You may remember your sayings during the recruiting campaigns. Our Heroic Dead answered the call. You at Ammanford to their memory do like- wise. According to an announcement made by Dr. Addison, the original Housing Scheme of the Local Government Board has been knocked on the Tead, and that Authority has decided to grant the whole of the loss when that loss did not exceed a penny rate. About 700 Local Authorities wanted to know what would be the extent of the commitments, and the Local Govern- ment Board were definitely able to undertake that the liabilities in connec- tion with the provision of houses which would fall on the Local Authorities should not exceed a penny rate. Really, this is a satisfactory announce- ment and should go a long way to help Ammanford from its present plight relative to the providing of suitable workmen's dwellings. There is a good deal to be done at Ammanford from a reconstructional standpoint. Certain schemes, including the Sewerage Scheme, it is understood, will be taken in hand almost imme- diately. These reforms are pressing, but were considerably interfered with during hostilities. What about the dilapidated condition of the roads in the area? During rainy weather, the main roads are a source of annoyance to pedestrians, and a reproach to the Urban Council; and it is essential that their reconstruction be ccrnrr--iced at the earliest moment. Tirydail Lane also is a sore to the eye of the people living in that neighbourhood, and recently one wag suggested that the Lane be converted into a lake for boating purposes.

The Chronicle will be sent by post to any address at 4/4 for the half-year, or 8/8 per annum, payable in advance. t Our Letter Box. I l We wish our correspondents to kindly state their opinions and give their facts as clearly and tersely as possible. Space is limited, and while We are desirous of giving every- one an opportunity to air his views, We must ask for considerable curtailment in the communications.—ED.]

THE "YOUNG BLOODS "(?). I To the Editor, Amman Valley Chronicle. Sir,—The recent article which appeared in a contemporary dealing with the tactics of the young bloods of the Amman Valley during the mass meetings held to consider the interests of the workers justifies, in my opinion, the contentions of the writer. He goes on to describe how the various speakers brought forward their pet theories of how to over- throw Capitalism or capture the Govern- ment and obtain full control of all indus- tries. I admire the type of leaders, in- cluding Mainwaring, of Clydach Vale, Ramsey Macdonald, Jowett, Snowden, &c. I place Malnwa-ring first and foremost in recognition of his valuable reply to the ques- tion, Should Labour support the Coalition?' held recently at Llandebie! The Govern- ment should instruct the Secretary of War to cast a medal as a token of the country's appreciation to these young bloods during the terrible European conflict, and fur- ther, in view of their great assistance in securing for Russia a "Great Bolshevik Victory. I would go a step further and have Lenin and Trotsky's portraits placed thereon. I am not going to seek your readers' favours, Mr. Editor, by placing the fact before them that I have served. my "King and You during the Great War. Your young bloods of that period were the Conscientious Objectors and to-day are the Revolutionists." Is it not creditable? They failed to gain you freedom; they failed to recognise their debt of honour to Belgium and the smaller nations; and yet to-day they are fighting for" Our Rights as British Citizens." Candidly, am afraid of their Dutch courage." Daily these dear Bolshics are'trying to lure the discharged soldier to their lair. They are putting before them such glorious anticipations. Willi they fall? Rest assured that they will not. They recollect the threatened strike of 1914, the railway dust up. and a few more inci- dents when they were at the mercy of the Huns. You know 'their motto: Lest We Forget." They are going to stick it, and are not going to be bamboozled by a section of ardent admirers of the Red Flag. Y ours, &-c., DISCHARGED SOLDIER. February 17th, 1919.

SOME PIFFLE. To the Editor, Amman Valley Chronicle. I Sir,—As a worker, I think I have wit- nessed poverty and extreme wealth in their most ugly garbs. A man is not a sinner for owning wealth until he uses his wealth for tyrannical purposes, at which juncture it is our duty as workers to fight for our proper share in any industrial undertaking. The Capitalist speculates money in factories, col- lieries, quarries, and in a hundred-and-one different concerns. 'The question is, How can we workers claim a proper and righteous share of the wealth we partly produce? Building on the past, and not on the Socialists' suppositions of the future, it can be safely said that the only known antidote to meet tyrannical Capitalism is collective bargaining in the form of a powerful and united Trade Union. I maintain that Trade Unionism and the body politic known as the Labour Party are two different things entirely. The former exists as a means to an end, and that end is the happiness, prosperity and success of its members. With their direct representatives in the House of Commons, Trade Unions can always get their voices heard in the counsels of the nation. If the Labour Parfy claim to be the representatives of the Trade Unions, then why shall we re- quire Trade Unions, even if we get a Labour Government in power? Other countries, after Revolutions and Communes at different periods in their history, which have produced for them Labour and Socialist Governments, tfilil at the present day have Trade Unions, Capitalism, extremes of wealth and poverty, as we have here; often in more ugly and repulsive forms than Great Britain ever had. There were (until the electors threw them out) men in the Labour Party whose pre- sence in a coal-mine would not be tolerated for a week, because they never paid a penny- piece to any Trade Union in their lives; but, on the other hand, they waxed fat and wealthy out of the shillings subscribed by the Trade Union members. They boasted that they were not in the Labour Party for Trade Union purposes, but for Socialism only. Their programme generally being a sweeping state- ment of nationalisation of all the means of produce but they never giveus details of how their schemes are to be realised, whether by confiscation or by buying the Capitalists out; m i £ .;t, th° oociai ts ideas all differ con- siderably on this point. I fail to find two of their societies who can agree. The question is. Can it be done without being a greater burden on the backs of the workers than the present system ? If the Labour Party hac shed itself of its affiliated Socialist organisa- tions before the recent election, we should probably tvehad 200 Trade Union mem- bers .a v-.z of Commons, and not a paltry Ov U. in my opinion, tiie greatest burden on Trade Unionism to-day is its politics. I would give my vote for a man as a Trade Unionist on a Trade Union ques- tion, but I will r, have him as a politician, because of his Socialist tendencies, which as a member of the Labour Party he is com- pelled to adopt; even if the Socialistic pro- gramme tends to Evolution. In fact, some Labour speaker- .L.F. Jcctlca-t: ve L- e-n paid good 5. .v preaching Evolution as a kind of practical joke," stating that the police and soldiers, in the form of reactionaries, were the only cause of blood- shed. The geod done by Trade Union methods is past history. As a workman, am prepared to do my best for my fellow- men as a duty. If the leaders of our Fede- ration are wrong-I am not saying whether they are or not—then let us change them at once, rather than have unconstitutional strikes, which tend to weaken our cause in the eyes of the public, and weaken our own pockets when the majority can ill afford. In every case the dispute is handed over, a fter a period of idleness in the form of a strike," for the constitutional leaders of our Union and the leaders of sectional strikes are gene- rally the aspirants for the post of miners' agents when the opportunity occurs. It is high time for the workers to find some means of redressing disputes without resorting to organisations in the locality whose ideals are more revolutionary than the majority of the local workers ever dreamt. The Socialists of to-day wait, Micawber- Jike, for something to turn up in the form of a heaven-sent blunder on the part of the present Government, which was only elected two months ago. From Parliament down to the Parish Council their influence is felt under the disguise of Labour." I am not against the shortening of hours, the raising- of wages, as some of my opponents have openly stated. I want to better conditions as far as is economically possible, without casting un- due burdens on the poor, whch strikes in- variably incur. It is the poorest paid men who suffer, and not the Capitalists, by stop- pages of coal supplies. By the time these lines are in print, the fateful ballot for or against a mighty indus- trial upheaval will have taken place. After the whirlwind manner in which the dispute has been brought to a climax, one is apt to wonder whether it is sane Trade Unionism or popllt Ical motives that .prevail. Is the Un- seen Hand of Socialism urging matters on because of the failures of certain Pacifists at the recent election? Despite our differences, ley us hope that wir counsels than dis- ruption—which will cause untold suff ering- I will prevail, and a true spirit of conciliation be the fruits of the present serious deadlock. Socialism, as far as' I understand it, is not the Temedy for social ills and irregularities. It does nothing but spread discontent. I ask, Has Socialism fed the poor, as many reli- gious societies do to-day? What man in dis- tress ever found relief at Socialist head- quarters? What orphanages are supported by Socialists? What is the exact figures of Socialist organisations towards the Red Cross? Their promises are all for the future; per- formance, nil; promises galore; no fruits, but words, words, words, and Atheism. Your Karl Marx Socialist cares nothing for these things: not for Heaven and holiness, not even to feed the hungry or harbour the harbour- less in this world for the more discontent and misery, the better room for his game of agitator. S. SHAW. 6, Thomas Terrace, Llandebie.

I. Pen Picture of Parish Politics. Having had the privilege (?) of attending a parish meeting not a hundred miles from Ammanford, the thought came to me of ex- pressing my impressions. On entering the dimly lit room-paraffin oil being the illu- minating power-l found it quite in keeping with the oratorical light displayed later during the discussion. The purpose of the meeting was to nomi- nate Labour candidates. Shades of Mark Twain! How we wandered and meandered before we came to the vital propositions! The composition of the audience was a mixture of farmers, miners, and a few intellectuals. The majority of the former han entrenched opinions, handed down from their fore- fathers of centuries gone by. It will take much dynamitical oratory to shift them. The miners were more progressive in their ideals. Many had read widely and studied present- day problems, but were sadly, parochial in their application towards a solution. Any new organisation was immediately suspected of ulterior motives. Even the stranger in their midst was suffered under silent, stared protest. The Chairman laboured hard to keep pace with the medley propositions and seconded resolutions. He-poor man-was hopelessly lost when somebody suggested that a tendered proposition became a substantive resolution! his face was a picture reminiscent of a child lost in a fog in London. Bewilderment' Befogged! Bolloxed! Battling hopelessly with tie new-fangled procedure. Slowly the light grew dimmer, slowly rose those hard-faced rugged soas of toil to ex- press themselves, and slowly confusion became worse confounded. Relief came when one suggested that they all go home. He anti- cipated a warm supper! It was pathetic to watch the effort to placate various sections of workers. Farmers wanted to go hand in hand with the miners. Miners desired to walk shoulder to shoulder with the richest farmer. Deacons feared crossing swords with their fellow-members. Methodist wished to walk with the Baptist. Reactionaries wanted to tramp along with Progressives; and yet underneath all fought for their own petty opinions. 1 he physiology of a parish meeting beggars description. The tragedy lay in the fact that these men had been denied the opportunity of exercising their mental powers. Intellect had been subordinated to the pick, p?ugh and shovel. What material there existed for the stump orator. These men would allow themselves to be swayed by the eloquence of the Welsh hwyl." Sad, bitterly sad reflections. To the zealous reformer, the eager enthu- for progress, the picture was a painful one. I have purposely left out the trend of the enscuss-.ons and pr-soaalfties, accepting the moral only, which is to educate, organise, p-p,Fate; and the greatest of these is to ucate. 'he ot V di?-ence between a rut and a grave is in the ,i, h aa d depth. DEE JAY.

FOOTBALL TOPICS. AMMANFORD v. PONTARDAWE. This game was played on the Cross Inn Field on Saturday, before a record attend- ance. The visitors fielded two men short. The home team was represented by the fol- low 'ng:Ftill-back, Jack Leyshon (capt.) three-quarter backs, Jack Morgan, Jack Williams, Abe Rosser, and Roger Jones hair-backs, Jack Rees and Ronald Jones for- f wards, F, Davies, WAt Jones, Roger Barrett, Dai Dovery Harries, D. J. Harries, Gwilym Morgan, jack Lewis, and C. Waters. Ammanford kicked off and sent play to the visitors' 25. From a scrum Ronald Jones secured the ball and passed to Jack Williams, who made a splendid dash towards the line. The fine defence of the visitors' custodian relieved play to halfway, where Ammanford gained a free kick. The visitors again were placed on the defence, and a pretty bout of passing by the home three-quarters nearly resulted in Jack Morgan scoring. The home inside-half was responsible for considerable open play, and eventually from a fine bout of passing Johnny Morgan crossed in the corner. Ronald Jones failed to convert. Play from here on continued to be to the homesters* advantage. Half-thne score: Ammanford, one try Pontardawe, nil. On resuming, one of the visiting side had to retire, this reducing their number to twelve. Ronald Jones again was conspicuous, and was responsible for several fine openings. Rosser on one occasion failed to cross by a few inches. From a scrum near the visitors' 25 Ronald Jones again got the ball, and crossed on his own with a pretty try. Jack Leyshon converted. The visitors, on resuming, made a fine rush, and but for the plucky play of Jack Leyshon would have scored. Play at this juncture was brought to halfway, when the visitors were awarded a free kick. Very little benefit was derived therefrom. Anft,, attempt at a drop by Jack Morgan went wide. Towards the end of the game Jack Leyshon crossed with a bold try, which Ronald 'Jones converted. Final score: Ammanford, two converted goals, one try; Pontardawe, nil. NOTES ON THE GAME. Jack Morgan failed several easy tries. The play of the home inside-half was brilliant. From Saturday's play, Jack Leyshon ap- pears to be improving in form. Dai Harries made a poor show as "rover." The visitors' forwards were by far superior in their play. Abe Rosser deserves a word of praise for his excellent passing. If the visitors had had a full side, it was anticipated that play would have been equal. Of the home forwards, Frank Davies was in fine form. I- THE CRITIC.

Lecture at Ebenezer, Ammanford. DICKENS AS A SOCIAL REFORMER. Under the auspices of the Ammanford and District Chamber of Trade, a very interesting lecture was delivered at Ebenezer Chapel, Ammanford, last night, by the Rev. p"jj' Griffiths, B.A., B.D. The proceeds will be devoted to a tradesman from the town who has been seriously wounded, and in recog- nition of his service to his King and country. The chair was occupied by Lieut.-Col. W. N. Jones, Dyffryn. It may be mentioned that the lecturer gave his services entirely free of charge. The subject was, Dickens as a Social Reformer." The rev. gentleman, in the opening stages, dealt with the relation of literature to social reforms. Dickens secured redress of social grievances and rectified social wrongs. Never did a man wield his pen with more power than Dickens. That great author used his novels for a purpose, and was the means of abolishing social evils. The lecturer then quoted f novels, such as Uncle Tom' s Cabin," and which was responsible for the 'Wiping out of slavery. There were others, all written for a great purpose. The early experiences of Dickens of poverty and oppression intensified his interests and influ- ences. From an educational standpoint, Dickens did much to further reforms. He had the Yorkshire Cheap Schools done away with, and denounced blunderism and cram- ming in our large cities. He ridiculed the gospel of monotony, and once said, 'Tis a crime against the child to rob it of its childhood." Dealing with sanitary and housing reforms, the lecturer said that Dickens referred to the slum evils throuzh one ot his characters, In Chimes." in the character of Will Fern," he depicts the accumulative evils of bad laws. His attitude towards the poor is also proved in Chi mes, through his character Dorothy Veck." la Hard Times," reference is made to the need of the workers to combine in Trade Unions, and also his article in Household Words" dealing with the strike of 1854. Here he e: presser his deep-rooted sympathy with the poor, and in the hymn The Wilt- shire Labourers" Dickens was also respon- sible for a good number of Parliamentary reforms. He satirised the Codle5 and the Noodles of Bleak House. He also exposed the Honours Scandal," and how £ 5,000 was paid in one instarc for th-- nipgJc letters 1 M. P In the character Jetty Higden he shews how the poor despised the poor law system, and how they had detested nothing more than the Enclosures Act. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer at the close.