September 1, 1916

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

415

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS.

The Editors are not responsible either for the statements
made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents.

All communications must be authenticated by the name and
address of the sender, whether for publication or not.
No notice can be taken of anonymous communications.

As replies to questions are only given by way of published
answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped
addressed envelopes are not required to be sent.

MINING SCHOLARSHIPS.

Sirs,—Fcnr the past twelvemonth a great deal has been
said and written upon the importance to the nation of a
more intimate connection between the educational estab-
lishments devoted to the teaching of technology and the
actual industries themselves. The need for such closer
connection has been only too obvious to those engaged
in technical education, but it has apparently required a
crisis such as we are now passing through to awake the
country at large to the urgency of the case. As the result
of this awakening, much eloquence has been expended
and much paper blackened, but the outcome of all this
oratorical and literary energy has been to leave us all
precisely where we were. It has been reserved to a
North Country Mining Company to show the nation -the
way in which this much-desired consummation may be
attained, and it has done this, not by talking, but by
doing. The Weardal^ Lead Company Limited has estab-
lished a definite connection between the mining college
and the mine, by founding two scholarships, one at the
Royal School of Mines, London, and the other at Arm-
strong College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, which provide the
students who succeed in getting them with a year’s work
in the mines, dressing floors, and smelting works of the
company in Weardale, together with sufficient money to
keep them whilst thus engaged. It is well known that
the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy has done most
valuable service for a number of years past, by providing
scholarships on similar lines in connection with mining
companies working mines in various of our colonies, but
I believe that this is the first instance in which any
purely British mining company has come forward with
the offer of scholarships of this description. The inno-
vation is one of such far-reaching importance to the
mining industry that I venture to draw public attention
to it, in the hopes that the good example thus set forth
may inspire others to follow it. Recent experience has
taught us the supreme importance of developing to the
utmost the mineral resources of our country, and there
is no more effective mode of development than providing
students who have received a sound education in the
principles of their profession, with'the means of acquir-
ing the requisite experience in mines within the country
itself.	Henry Louis.

Newcastle-on-Tyne, August 26, 1916.

PROSPECTS FOR THE WINTER.

Sirs,—There are two problems prominently before the
colliery world and uppermost in the thoughts of the
public and mercantile world just now, viz., (1) What will
be the effect of the supply of coal should the war continue
into the winter, and (2) what effect will it have upon the
trade generally should the war suddenly terminate?

Both these problems are eagerly discussed in all the
large coal centres, and both have an important bearing
upon the traders generally. In order to weigh the full
force of the argument it is necessary to glance . at the
position as it stands at the present moment. With
160,000 to 200,000 miners known to have enlisted, it is
not to be wondered at that the output has diminished by
some thousands of tons, and at the same time, owing to
the establishment of so many munition centres in almost
every part of England, the demand has increased by leaps
and bounds, and on the Continent the coal fields are
still more seriously interfered with; in many cases
altogether seized by the enemy, and the output trans-
ferred against us instead of in our favour. On the other
hand, house coals are not actually consumed to any great
extent during the summer months, so that the present
pressure does not arise from the actual requirements of
the public, but rather from an intense desire on the part
of all who can afford to lay in a stock, to be prepared, as
far as possible, for future contingencies. The difficulty
of obtaining a sufficient supply is, therefore, traceable
almost exclusively to the excessive demand for foreign
trade. Interned boats seized by the Government were
confidently expected to provide a lower freight for the
coasting trade and also for our Allies, but freights have
risen in proportion far higher than coal values, and this,
too, in the face of the large number of enemy ships
seized in the Allied ports. Of these, 144 are in British,
59 in Italian, 12 in French, 30 in Russian, and 74 in
Portuguese ports. The ships seized by Great Britain and
Italy are all being used, but the high rates of insurance
and the risk and danger of navigation have largely influ-
enced the abnormal chartering rates. These ships, how-
ever, will have an important bearing upon the economic
question as soon as war is over. To the uninitiated the
present scarcity has given rise to very grave concern as
to the public prices ruling in London and other large
provincial towns during the winter months, and fears
have been expressed that the advertised public prices
will range higher than has been known for many years
past; but the new Act,the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act,
1915, will undoubtedly check any movement of this kind.
The fear is not so much from the high prices of coal, but
from the absolute difficulty in obtaining a sufficient
supply whilst the output is so restricted and the foreign
demand so strong. Even with the diminished output,
some colliery owners have to deal with a constant claim
of 65 to 70 per cent, of their entire yield for munition
works, and it will thus be evident how little remains for
ordinary household use. The building trade, including
brickburners, lime and cement works, and other kindred

trades, are already beginning to feel the strain and stress
of the war, and hold very heavy stocks of their own pro-
duce, so that their coal requirements are slackening, and
the market is now well provided for all classes of fine
slacks. All these points bear upon the question of the
continuance of the war during another winter, but should
it be brought to a speedy termination, another train of
influences would undoubtedly be set in motion. Even
then, however, it is gravely anticipated that the price of
coal cannot fall to any appreciable extent.

1.	A vast number of men would be released, but
thousands would continue in the fighting lines for many
months after the termination of war, and, unfortunately,
many thousands will never return, whilst others, severely
wounded, could not be employed in their old occupations.
Barges and railway wagons would also be free to a certain
extent.

2.	The immediate result of the suspension of hostilities
would undoubtedly stop the unusual strain for coal
supplies for our Allies and for munition works, etc., and
for a short while a slump in coal prices might be antici-
pated, but in the early future such an unprecedented
boom in the rebuilding and engineering trades would
follow that for many years a strong and vigorous trade
might be confidently looked for. The Price of Coal
(Limitation) Act has unquestionably exercised a very
beneficial effect in regulating the public prices, but the
possibility of a great scarcity of coal during the coming
winter has set in motion a widely diffused attempt on the
part of all householders to obtain a fair supply of fuel
during the summer months. The Act regulates not only
the public delivery prices, but also all Contract rates, and
no change has been reported in the public price since
October 1 last, now 11 months ago. Some little diffi-
culty has arisen in connection with the trolley price in
the South of London, but the extra Id. per cwt. seems
to have been attributable to the cartage difficulties and
allowable by the Board of Trade. The “ pooling ”
arrangements by the various railway companies of their
rolling stock should prove an immense boon, and effect a
great saving in shunting after the war. Rightly or
wrongly, the general public are undoubtedly adopting
the wisest course in taking advantage of the recom-
mendations of the Board of Trade to secure as early as
possible, and especially during the warm summer
months, a good supply of coal for the winter, and in many
of the large institutions and factories an unusual store of
coal has been laid in and open ground filled up with
stacks of coal, so that the coming winter may be looked
forward to with equanimity. London as a whole is better
prepared with its fuel supply than ever has been known
before, and preparations are still being pushed forward to
complete the full standard of the requirements to the
utmost measure of the stacking ground available.

August 27, 1916.	Correspondent.

COLLIERY SURVEYORS.

Sirs,—I am very pleased to see that the colliery sur-
veyors are at last awakening, and giving vent to their
feelings through the medium of your valuable journal.

It is about time that a move W’as made, and I think
that it is an opportune time to form a surveyors’ union.

The wages paid to members of our profession, and
especially assistants, is nothing more nor less than a dis-
grace; in fact, the lowest-paid labourer or dataller is
paid more than several assistants that I know of—and
this after serving an apprenticeship of maybe five or six
years, and also’ attending the mining classes, not to
mention the premium to be paid.

I feel sure that if we formed a union we should soon
have our positions recognised, and our numerous com-
plaints .rectified.

Trusting that you will insert this in your valuable
journal, and that other members of the profession will
express their views.	' Head Surveyor.

SAFETY BELTS AND SHAFTMEN.

Sirs,—At an inquest recently, remark was made of
“ the difficulty of getting men to use safety belts.”
This difficulty is small at pits where firms adopt a pit set
of proper belts sufficient for each man to have one
allotted to his use. As men have to remember rules
28, 31, and 38, and know their belts are proper ones,
they find no reasonable ground of objection consistent
with their duty to themselves, officials, and employers.
Men know their own risks and responsibility, get to know
times and methods of usage of their bolt rigs, and occa-
sional usage leads to regular use. Usually, the most
stubborn objector becomes, in time, the greatest advo-
cate of their use. Strong opponents become staunch
'friends.

The difficulty mentioned is founded on the provision
of belts that are not .“proper appliances .-. . for
ensuring safety,” and men know the folly of trusting
their lives to such things as leaning straps, through or
on which men fall, and are likely to be injured or killed.
Why, at this time of the day, officials expect men to use
these leaning straps as “ safety belts is a mystery.

Bristol, August 28, 1916.	A. Hanley.

Russian Coal Production Premiums.—The coal section of
the Government has been considering in special consultation
a project of pro ton. measures for increasing the production
of coal in the Donetz basin, including the payment of pre-
miums for coal produced up to November 1916. During the
past three years the June and July production has fallen away
by 15 per cent., and in the subsequent months the decline is
less1—12, 10, and 5 per cent.; but in November it proceeds
without reduction. The premium proposed is 5 or 6 copecks
(l|d. or l|d.) per pood (36 lb.); but if the mine owner in
a given month despatches coal with over 20 per cent, ash,
he gets no premium for such month. The effectuation of the
scheme is expected to cost 5,900,000 roubles (about £630,000).
Official opinions are divided as to its advisability.

Notes from the Coal Fields.

[Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Strikers and Military Exemption—Miners' Income-tax—
The Serious Shortage of Colliers' Houses—French Syn-
dicate Seek Anthracite Properties—Coal Shippers
Purchase a Fleet—Labour Shortage at Newport Docks.

In a case before the Western District mining tribunal, at
Swansea, a manager sought exemption for a number of men,
and Mr. Dyer Lewis asked whether the men were not on
strike. It appeared that the men had ceased work at that
particular colliery since July 20, and that all of them except
one had gone to work elsewhere. Upon the ground that
application for exemption for these men was not being made
by their present actual employers, the application was
rejected. Nevertheless, the question has been raised whether
men on strike thereby lose their right of exemption as being
in a certified occupation. The inference drawn from the
proceedings at the tribunal was that this was the opinion
there expressed. Similar consideration might apply to a
lockout, and the men’s union is therefore taking up the
question whether the miners in such circumstances lose their
privilege of exemption.

The matter is of importance because of pending disputes
in the Swansea district, where, in one case, a large number
of men were idle, and it is probable that approach will be
made to the Home Office, in order that an official declaration
on the point shall be made—whether men on strike or under
lockout will be deprived of their military exemption.

Mr. Dyer Lewis has referred to the position of boys who
attain the age of 18, and he states that in their case applica-
tion for exemption should be made within thirty days. They
must have worked at the colliery for some years. Applica-
tion should not be made in cases where they have been
employed only a few months.—In a case where a young man
had come over from Ireland, his name not being on the list
submitted, although he was employed at the colliery, Mr.
Lewis said it was too late to deal with him. He further
stated that the list of each colliery would be taken en bloc,
and probably every man who was married w7ould be granted
exemption

Upon this question of youths attaining the age of 18 years,
Mr. Heath, manager of the Glyncorrwg Collieries, has
directed attention to the Home Office circular of June 7,
which states that the Act renders liable to service not only
those who have already reached the age of 18, but also those
who may afterwards reach that age. The circular points out :
“ In the case of -any boy hereafter reaching the age of 18
wdiile in employment at your mine an application for
' exemption should be made to the colliery court within thirty
days of his reaching that age; otherwise he wrill be liable to
be taken for military service. It is important that these
cases should not be overlooked.’’ Mr. Heath therefore urges
that youths who attain that age should immediately report
the fact to their employers, in order that applications for
exemption may be sent in within the prescribed period.

Income-tax deductions allowed to miners are the subject
of keen discussion just now. The anthracite men, at a dele-
gates’ meeting in Swansea, on Saturday, had before them a
report' from Mr. J. D. Morgan, their agent, that a basis of
19s. 6d. per quarter should be allowed in respect of
expenditure on tools, when abatements and reductions in
respect of income-tax were being dealt with; this being by
arrangement in Swansea district. To this the delegate
agreed. In the Llanelly area, however, the assessor would
not agree to more than 15s. per quarter, and the meeting
decided to urge a claim for 19s. 6d. as in Swansea district.—
The Eastern Valley (Monmouthshire) miners, who met on
Monday, had the income-tax surveyor present; and to him
they made application for an allowance of £6 per annum.
But this he regarded as excessive, pointing out that a booklet
issued by the Federation set out 5s. to 7s. 6d. per quarter as
reasonable, and also citing allowances of 12s. to 30s. per
annum. Instead, therefore, of the Eastern Valley making a
general agreement, the meeting resolved to insist on the £6.

A motion at this meeting to allow income-tax to be
deducted at the colliery offices was rejected, and each man
will exercise his own preference as to mode of payment.

Swansea “ docksmen ’’ met on ’Change during Monday,
and decided to provide an ambulance. Over £600 was sub-
scribed at the meeting, and this in addition to £200 pre-
viously promised.

Monmouthshire miners are about to send a deputation to
the Board of Trade urging the need for improved conditions
of housing. In some areas an increase in the number of
working-class dwellings is imperative, hundreds of cottages
being required; and Monmouthshire difficulties are only
typical of all the colliery districts. It has been estimated
that several thousands of new buildings are now required in
South Wales, and it is certain that, with the return of miners
from the war, the situation will become acute. At present,
two or more families occupy one house, but when the soldiers
are back this will be impracticable.

In Merthyr parish the quantity of coal raised during the
year ended June 30 was 1,423,427 “ long ’’ tons—a decrease
of 191,042 tons ; and the small coal, of which the total was
nearly 430,000 tons, showed a decrease of over 50,000 tons.
In Gelligaer parish, the output of large was 1,833,850 tons—
a decrease of 85,227; and of small 484,600—a decrease of
rather more than 3,000 tons. Coal brought to bank in
Gelligaer, though wTorked in other parishes, was 1,942,256
tons, which was 78,835 tons decrease; and the small was
493,705—a decrease of only 800 tons. In Aberdare parish,
the decrease was 120,683, the total being 1,437,396 tons;
and the small totalled 552,401—a decrease of 40,843.

Persistent rumours have been current as to endeavours
of a French syndicate to acquire one of the largest anthracite
collieries in the district; but, although negotiations are said
to be far advanced, no trustworthy information is yet obtain-
able.

The members of the Brynmawr and Blaina district of
miners have balloted upon a proposal to change the working
hours from 7 till 8 to 8 till 4, and they have rejected it by
1,588 votes to 1,022, the adverse majority being therefore
566.

Newport has a special interest in the announcement that
the Mannesmann tube undertaking is now’ under entire
British control, for, in addition to the works at Landore, near
Sw’ansea, it is anticipated that mills w’ill be erected by this
company at Newport, a scheme to that end having been
in contemplation when w7ar broke out. That the new7 syndi-
cate should include and thus bring directly into touch w7ith
South Wales such outstanding personalities as Sir Hugh Bell