534

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

September 10, 1915.

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.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF COAL.

Sirs,—I have read with much interest your timely
article on “ The Distribution of Coal ” in your issue of
the 20th ult.

Desperate cases require desperate remedies, and this
can be the only justification for the latest harassing legis-
lation to which collieries have been subjected. It will
press hardly upon old collieries especially, and also those
with low-class coals. Many such were losing money
before the war; with the limited price and curtailed
opportunity now given to recover, the reduction of
output due to want of men, and the greatly increased
cost both in wages and materials, it will now be difficult
for such to make two ends meet.

But the most disastrous and far-reaching effect
is likely to result from the drastic curtailment of exports
now being enforced. As an instance of this, take the
figures given in your last issue for Brazil and the Argen-
tine Republic. In July 1914 we exported to those
countries 350,276 tons, against 77,520 tons in July 1915
—a reduction of 272,556 tons, or 78 per cent. America
is capturing that market wholesale. What will be the
cost to us to get it back, and shall we be able to do it?
British tonnage is largely engaged carrying it, while
collieries at home are greatly hampered for want of
vessels. Cost of freights on the much-needed corn
supplies we are getting from those countries are greatly
increased owing to lack of outward coal freights. The
payment for such has consequently to be made by us
in money. It is to be feared the coal trade of this
country will seriously suffer for many years to come as
a result.	Francis Brain.

Castle Rock, Morthoe, N. Devon,

September 4.

LABOUR AND WAGES.

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

At a special meeting of the Conciliation Board on Friday,
held in Cardiff, there being a full attendance, the new agree-
ments were signed by all the members. Mr. F. L. Davis
presided over the employers’ side, and Mr. J. Winstone over
the workmen’s. The first agreement was that of July 20,
arranged under Government intervention; and the second was
the supplementary one, wherein the employers make conces-
sion in regard to the enginemen and stokers upon the bonus
turn, as to which the special difficulty arose later. From the
owners’ side, a statement was put in showing the result of
the audit of their books as to selling prices, this having been
asked for by the men as a preliminary to their formal demand
for an advance. The position at present is that the men do
not secure any advance as a result of the Runciman awards,
but any advance conceded by the Conciliation Board wTill be
on the standard of 150 instead of 100. Under the old agree-
ment, the men were drawing on the standard of 100 plus
60 per cent., and to this was added the 17J war bonus, so
that in total they reached 177J. Lord St. Aldwyn’s award
in May, however, made it clear that the bonus was to merge
in any advance which might be secured. Under the new
agreements, the 1915 standard is 150, and on this there is a
10 per cent, minimum, making a new minimum of 165. In
order to adjust the present rates to the new standard, it was
ascertained that the men were entitled to an advance of 18J
per cent, on the new standard, and when this is added, they
reach the 177J drawn under the old agreement (150 plus 18|
per cent, on 150—27J—equals 177|). Before any wage
advance could be discussed, it was necessary that the agree-
ments should- be signed, and immediately the signing had
been completed the Board proceeded to the discussion of this
matter. In order that the miners’ leaders should be in a
position to negotiate, the owners handed over to them the
result of the joint audit which had been made of the books
of the owners. These figures were considered by the Federa-
tion for some time in private, and later on they put forward
a demand for an increase of 12| per cent, basing this on the
increase in the price of coal and the prospects of trade. Any
advance secured, it must be borne in mind, will, by the
award, be retrospective to August 21. The owners pointed
out that such an advance was impracticable, in view of the
greatly increased cost of production, which it was estimated
was equivalent to 5s. per ton. They made a counter pro-
posal, offering a 5 per cent, advance, but this the men’s
leaders could not entertain. The parties being thus unable
to agree, the services of the independent chairman, Lord St.
Aldwyn, will become necessary. His lordship, it is note-
worthy, has no power to vary the figures, but has only the
power to give his casting vote for or against. He may give
the 121 asked by the men. or the 5 offered by the employers,
but it is outside his scope to vary the amounts. There have,
however, been instances when the chairman, having heard the
arguments for and against a proposal to alter the wage rate,
has suggested an alteration before the question has come
before him in the way of a formal application. The Board
should now, according to the rules, stand adjourned for 12
days, but as both sides are anxious to expedite the matter,
they have agreed to ask the independent chairman to fix an
early date for considering the points in dispute.

A private meeting took place in Cardiff last week,
when about twenty branches of the South Wales and
Monmouthshire Enginemen, Stokers, and Craftsmen’s
Association are said to have been represented. According
to a report supplied to the Press, the majority of the members
of the association have gone over to the Miners’ Federation.
Whereas in 1908 the association had 11,000 members, there
are now only 5,000. A report was submitted of a meeting
which a deputation from the association had, on August 24,
with the Miners’ Federation executive; and it was stated
that the Federation had agreed to accept branches of the
association upon terms for merging as had been previously

arranged, two of the enginemen’s agents (who had associated
themselves with the merging movement) to become Federa-
tion agents. The chairman directed attention to recent
events, and pointed out that the latest agreement obtained
by the Federation had conferred great benefits upon engine-
men and stokers and said that it was their duty to accept
responsibility as well as benefits. For years past all
benefits obtained by their own association had been secured
only after concessions had been granted the miners; and
again recently this had occurred. When they met the
owners the previous Monday, they were conceded only what
the miners had gained, the most vital things being post-
poned until it was seen how the miners got on in London.
The meeting, after considering the statements submitted,
recommended that branches who favoured merging should
take action to that end; and three representatives were
appointed to meet the miners’ executive to draft an agree-
ment for signature.

The committee appointed by the Coal Owners’ Association
to meet the representatives of the Enginemen and Stokers’
Association held a meeting on Monday, when Mr. T. H.
Deakin presided over the owners, and Mr. W. Hopkins over
the men’s leaders. The conference, which had been
arranged the previous week, lasted for several hours, and
eventually an agreement was reached, in which the men’s
demands were very generously dealt with. The agreement
states that it is signed by the men’s representatives on behalf
of those employed at the owners’ collieries, and who may
be members of the association, and it provides that there
shall be a new maximum for all stokers of 5s. 6d. per
day, plus percentage, which at the present is 78|; any
rate higher than 5s. 6d. to remain in force. All enginemen,
pumpmen, stokers and men on the mechanical staff are to
receive a bonus turn as from July 13, and this means an
extra turn for all who complete five shifts, or should a man
be prevented through no fault of his own from completing
the five he is to be paid at a proportionate rate for the turns
worked. The third concession is, perhaps, of the greatest
importance, for it reduces the shift from twelve to eight
hours, the men instead of working two twelve-hour shifts
putting in three eight-hour shifts, and in cases where
extra payment is now given for working twelve-hour shifts
such payment to be adjusted when eight hours are worked.
So far as stokers are concerned, the agreement comes into
force on the day .it was signed, and the other classes will
be brought in as soon as this can be arranged. Mr. Hopkins
has stated that arrangements have been arrived at deleting
the words “ Above 21 years of age ” in the classes arranged
last week, so that all men employed in the mechanical
departments will benefit. On Monday next a further meet-
ing of the owners and the association will be held in regard
to haulage enginemen and other similar classes, proposals
as to their conditions of work to be discussed. At a meeting
of the executive of the association on the same day, the
resignations of the two agents who are taking office under
the Federation were received and accepted. Mr. W.
Hopkins, who is the secretary of the association, referring
to the statement that 20 branches were represented at the
unofficial conference which was held at Cardiff, said he
had received a communication to the effect that only 11
branches had subscribed to the proposal to merge with the
Federation, and of these two had subsequently withdrawn.

Despite the appeals of their leaders, the railwaymen of
South Wales have during the past week given evidence of
considerable unrest, and on Saturday a branch meeting of
the National Union of Railwaymen at Cardiff passed resolu-
tions calling on the executive to give the necessary six weeks’
notice to terminate contracts, demanding a 5s. a week increase
immediately, and adding that an additional war bonus will
not be tolerated. Other resolutions protested against the pro-
posed tax on wages, and stated that conscription would be a
menace to the principle of freedom of the people. Mr. A. J.
Wifiiams, South Wales organiser, urged that immediately
after the war there should be a demand for an eight-hour day
for all grades, and he estimated that this would absorb some
80,000 men. One of the speakers stated that the companies
could not be blamed, as they were being exploited themselves.
The Swansea railwaymen on Sunday passed even stronger
resolutions, in which they demanded “ an immediate advance
of 10s. per week, exclusive of the present war bonus,” that
five nights should constitute a week’s work, and so on, and
they warned their executive “ that unless our wishes are met
we will be compelled to take drastic action.” On the same
day enginemen and firemen in the employ of the Taff Vale
Railway Company met under the auspices of the Amalga-
mated Society of Locomotive Enginemen and Firemen, and
protested against the alleged reduction made by the com-
pany in the wages of the drivers in their employ, claiming that
as the railways were under the control of the Government,
they refused to recognise any interference by any individual
company. They asserted that unless their grievance was
remedied., a mass meeting would be called, which would con-
sider a down tools ” policy to bring the matter to a
successful issue. Regarding the Taff Vale men’s resolution,
Mr. A. J. Williams, ► the South Wales organiser of the
National Union of Railwaymen, said that the Question of
reducing drivers to firemen was under consideration by the
Conciliation Board, and yet the company had reduced a
further number of men. The company had stated that they
were short of firemen, but on other lines when drivers had
done firemen’s work, there was no reduction of wages, which
in the present case meant, on the average, a loss of about
10s. a week. The Taff men, he said, felt keenly on the
matter, and were supported by all grades on the Taff line.

On Tuesdav morning the Nos. 6, 7, and 8 pits of Messrs.
D. Davis and Sons, Tylorstown, were idle, some 2,500 men
being on strike in consequence of non-unionist trouble. A
mass meeting was held during the afternoon, when a resolu-
tion was passed favouring a stoppage until all the men could
show clear cards. Several of the non-unionists came into
line during the day, and by the evening those outside the
Federation and those in arrears had been reduced to about
half the prior number. The pits were again idle on
Wednesday.

A sidelight on the situation in the South Wales coal field
is.provided in an article from the pen of Mr. Hartshorn, the
miners’ leader. He refers to the fact that the Federation has,
during the dispute, been fighting the battle of the enginemen
and stokers, and goes on to say that its success has proved
once and for all that the Federation can do more for such
classes of workmen than “ any sectional body.” He con-
tends that there is no other organisation in existence which
could have carried through the negotiations with the same
prospects of success as the Federation, and concludes by
remarking that the solution of the workers’ grievances does
not lie so much, if at all, in sectionalism as in combination.
Reading between the lines, it is easy to see that the Federa-
tion do not intend that the advances they have gained for the

enginemen and stokers shall be overlooked by these workers,
or that it shall be thought that any other union had a hand
in securing them.

“ Show cards ” at the Cymmer Colliery brought out the
fact that about a score were in arrears with their Federation
contributions; and these were not allowed to descend. Later
on the majority arranged to “ pay up.”

No fewer than 30,000 men are said to have been idle on
Wednesday last week, in accordance with previous resolutions
to abstain from work pending signature of the new agree-
ment; but those resolutions were rescinded, and work was
generally resumed on Thursday. A section of the men, those
in the Abertillery area, have gone so far as to apply for one
week’s strike pay on account of the stoppage, notwithstanding
that stoppages were so strongly discountenanced by the
executive.

One serious incident connected with the strikes was that
at the Naval Pit, in the Rhondda, the officials had to under-
take stoking, in order to maintain the ventilation and keep
the pumps going. Only one stoker and one pitcher came to
the pit at 7 a.m.; and no previous intimation of absence had
reached the management.

North of England.

Resentful that a comrade named Bellis had received his
notice, 36 men and boys, mainly putters, who constituted the
back shift at Follonsby Colliery, refused to go to work on
August 23, thereby laying the pit idle for 5 J hours.
Officials, hewers, deputies and others kept the pit working
for 2J hours, and were then compelled to “ loose out.” The
incident had its sequel at South Shields on Tuesday last,
when Messrs. John Bowes and Partners Limited, owners of
the colliery, claimed 5s. damages from each of the 36
defaulters. Mr. Sutherland, for the plaintiffs, stated that
during the past five months they had been victims on three
occasions of that kind of trouble. The lads did not seem
to realise that by such conduct they were directly and
indirectly retarding the manufacture of munitions. The
owners were on the Admiralty list, and a certain amount of
coal was supplied to the Admiralty. In addition, Durham
coal was peculiarly suitable in respect of its bye-products
for the making of high explosives, and certain of the bye-
products were practically commandeered by the Govern-
ment. The magistrates made the order claimed, with costs.

The St. Hilda lodge of the Durham Miners’ Association
has passed a resolution condemning the executive committee
of the Durham Miners’ Association for advising members
to revert to fortnightly pays, and expressing the opinion that
the time of the executive would be better utilised in
propagating reforms rather than advising the workers to
accept conditions which are detrimental to them.

At two largely attended meetings of the miners employed
at the St. Helen’s Collieries, Siddick, on Wednesday last,
the following resolution was unanimously passed :—“ That
we, the members of the Siddick branch of the Cumberland
Miners’ Association, do emphatically protest against any
agent or any member of the said association, or any member
of the Labour party accompanying any deputation to British
Columbia for the purpose of importing any miners to the
Cumberland coal mines', as we think that no good, but
harm, will come out of it, seeing the condition that some
parts of the Cumberland coal field is in; and we are also of
the opinion that if all alien enemies were interned in British
Columbia there would be work for Britishers.”

Federated Area.

The question of the use of forks in Brodsworth Colliery,
Doncaster, has once again come to the surface, and looks
like giving rise to trouble unless speedily settled.

Scotland.

As a consequence of the advance in wages given to coal
miners, the wages of shale miners have been advanced by 3d.
The rate of wages is now at the highest point that has ever
been reached in the history of the oil trade.

At the monthly meeting of the Fife and Kinross Miners’
Association, it was reported that a serious state of matters
existed at Blairhall Colliery regarding the deductions made
for foreign material. The executive agreed to arrange for a
ballot being taken to decide as to whether they were in favour
of lodging notices for the purpose of abolishing these deduc-
tions.

The Trade Union Combine.

A meeting of the joint committee of the Miners’ Federation
of Great Britain, National Union of Railwaymen, and the
National Transport Workers’ Federation, which is arranging
the basis of a combine of the three unions to deal with
national questions affecting the combined trade unions,
whether wages, working conditions, or legislation, met at the
Westminster Palace Hotel on Friday last. Mr. Robert
Smillie, president of the Miners’ Federation, was in the chair.
The committee decided to delay the holding of a conference
ratifying the rules until after the meeting of the Miners’
Federation.

Trade Union Congress.

The annual parliament of trade unions opened at Bristol
on Monday, Mr. J. A. Seddon (St. Helens), chairman of the
Parliamentary Committee, presided. Mr. Robert Smillie
(president), of the Miners’ Federation, made a statement as
to how the miners stood. The miners, he said, had con-
tributed to the war probably as large a proportion of their
membership as any other class of workers. There was a
special desire on the part of the War Office to recruit miners,
for reasons that were best known to Lord Kitchener and
other generals. There had been an enthusiasm and
patriotism evinced amongst the rank and file of the miners
which was astonishing. He had heard it said that there had
been a lack of munitions, and there had been an attempt
to foist on to the shoulders of the works of this country
the blame for that kind of thing. He wanted to say it was
the bungling at headquarters, and not the rank and file
of the workers. The Home Office, the Board of Trade, and
the War Office could not agree.

Mr. J. F. Barker, of 92, Hatfield-road, Ipswich, informs
us that he has recently been favoured by the new Rossington
Main Colliery Company Limited, near Doncaster, with
order for five of his patent ‘‘ King ” safety detaching hooks
with double catchplates, complete for loads of 22 tons,
exactly similar to those supplied to the Maltby Main
Collieries in 1912. He has also had repeat orders from the
Imperial Navigation Coal Company Limited, the Welsh
Navigation Steam Coal Company Limited, for his Davies
and Barker’s patent sinking riders, and has recently sent
two to Messrs. William Dixon Limited new sinkings in
Scotland.