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South Wales coal-owners stood on a collective agreement with the Miners' Federation, which had been carried at a ballot by a large majority but was now cast to the winds, while the case of Scotland was still more flagrant, as the Government itself, in the person of the President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Winston Churchill), was a party to another collective agreement between mine-owners and miners.

Syndicalism

MR. ASQUITH's declaration in favour of a minimum wage, even though it was coupled with specific pledges that the minimum wage should involve a minimum of work, by which he misled a substantial body of English coal-owners to acquiesce in the Ministerial proposals, naturally confirmed the Mining Federation in their irreconcilable attitude and gave a great impetus to the Extremists, who were confident that with the aid of the Government they would be able to "down" the other side. Thanks to the Western Mail of Cardiff, valuable delights were thrown upon the motive-power and object of the strike, so far as South Wales was concerned, while the speeches of Mr. Vernon Hartshorn, the Miners' leader in that storm-centre, and of Mr. Smillie, the Scottish representative, helped, together with the pamphlet reproduced by the Western Mail entitled "The Miners' Next Step," to reveal the true character of the movement, and to make us realise that the South Wales and Scottish Colliery proprietors are not the hard-fisted plutocrats of the Socialist and Syndicalist Press-they are merely men of courage and determination in the forefront of a struggle against fanatics working for the ruin of all industrial enterprise. If Syndicalism triumphs in one place, it will triumph in another. If the Smillies, the Hartshorns, and the authors of "The Miners' Next Step" prevail over a timid Government and a helpless community, similar Smillies, similar Hartshorns, and similar pamphleteers will crop up in other industries and score further triumphs, not at the expense of the well-to-do, as agitators fondly Imagine, because the well-to-do can always look after themselves, but from the starvation of the working classes. The coal strike has already demonstrated who bear the brunt of the suffering in these suicidal struggles. As efforts are made by the Radical Press to belittle the position and power of the "wild men

VOL. LIX

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of the mining world, who have undoubtedly called the tune of the present occasion, even though Mr. Lloyd George has neve heard of any of them, while the Labour mandarins in Parliamen are equally innocent of their existence, we can only appreciat the performances of Mr. Asquith and his colleagues during month of futile "negotiation" by realising that hitherto-thoug how long it may last we cannot tell-the key to the positio has remained in South Wales and North Britain. The notoriou pamphlet "The Miners' Next Step" had an immense circulatio before it was deemed politic to withdraw it on the eve of th strike. It was published at Tonypandy by a body styling itsel 66 The Unofficial Reform Committee."

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OUR readers should dismiss the idea that the Labour Parlia mentarians are of any account in practical matters. They are mer "The Miners speaking-tubes, who say one thing in the Hous of Commons and very different things at th Next Step" street corners in the absence of reporters. Th men behind the miners' movement are the men reckoned with, to-day and in the future, unless they com pletely over-reach themselves by their present insensate pro ceedings. The Secretary of "the Unofficial Reform Com mittee" responsible for "The Miners' Next Step" is Mi W. H. Mainwaring of Clydach Vale, Rhondda, who for mor than a year has been advocating Industrial Syndicalism an is a recognised spokesman of the Syndicalists in Sout Wales. Mr. Lloyd George, who as a Welshman should know something of Welshmen, affects to regard the Syndicalist as nonentities, but the Chairman of the Cambrian Collier workmen (Mr. Noah Rees) and the Chairman of the Glamorga Workmen's Committee (Mr. John Hopla) are both reputed t belong to the "Unofficial Reform Committee." These two grea collieries employ over 4000 men, and it is surely significant tha their leading miners should both be responsible for the pro mulgation of such a pamphlet; all the more as in th cautious statement of the Times (February 28), "both a stated to be members of the Conciliation Board." Anothe member of the "Unofficial Reform Committee" is alleged to b Mr. William John, Chairman of the Joint Committee of th

Cambrian Combine Collieries. According to the monthly organ of Mr. Tom Mann, the Industrial Syndicalist, Mr. Mainwaring is 3 member of the South Wales Miners' Federation, several other members of which are also recognised advocates of Syndicalism. "The Miners' Next Step" were so insignificant a publication. is suggested by the Cocoa Press, why should it have been withrawn on the eve of the strike? There is no new doctrine in The Miners' Next Step," as South Wales has been saturated with yndicalism for a very long time, and though it may suit Mr. Lloyd Feorge to treat it as a quantité négligeable, we are likely to hear good deal more in the near future of this menacing offshoot Limehouse. The Syndicalists have at any rate the merit of being tank, which is more than can be said of all our demagogues. "The Miners' Next Step" contains a considered scheme to estroy private ownership in coal-mines. As we have said, the inimum wage is but the first step. When this is once secured everything else will come as a matter of course. The number working hours is to be reduced from eight to seven-the minimum age of course remaining untouched-with the deliberate object, as sentimentalists imagine of increasing the miners' opporanities of reading the classics, but simply in order to reduce the tput per man and thus gradually eliminate all the profits of the al-owner and the income of the shareholders. So long as there are any profits there will be agitation and unrest. That in a word Syndicalism.

HOSE of our readers to whom the doctrine is new may be dislined to believe anything so preposterous. Here is the policy of the "Unofficial Reform Committee" comprising prominent working-class leaders as set forth in "The Miners' Next Step."

The Avowed

Policy

That the old policy of identity of interest between employers and employed abolished and a policy of open hostility be installed.

That for the purpose of giving greater strength to lodges they be encourto join together to form joint committees and to hold joint meetings; committees to have power to initiate and carry out the policy within their area, unhampered by agent or executive council so long as they act within eir own financial resources. The lodges should, as far as possible, discard the *method of coming out on strike for any little minor grievance and adopt more scientific weapon of the irritation strike by simply remaining at

work, and so contrive by their general conduct to make the colliery un munerative.

That a continual agitation be carried on in favour of increasing the minimu wage and lessening the hours of labour until we have extracted the whole the employers' profits.

That our objective be to build up an organisation that will ultimately ta over the mining industry and carry it on in the interests of the workers. The pamphlet admits that the policy is drastic.

And it is important that this should be so. No statement of principle however wide embracing, no programme, however widely desired and shrewd planned, no constitution, however admirable in its structure, can be of a avail unless the whole is quickened and animated by that which will give it t breath of life-a militant aggressive policy. For this reason our examinati of policy must be minute and searching. The main principles are as follows: There is to be decentralisation for negotiation and centralis tion for fighting. Then follows this illuminating description "The Irritation Strike."

Pending publication of a pamphlet which will deal in comprehensive a orderly way with the different methods and ways of striking, the followi brief explanation must suffice. The irritation strike depends for its success adoption on men holding clearly the point of view that their interests a those of the employer are necessarily hostile; further, that the employer vulnerable only in one place-his profits. Therefore, if the men wish to bri effective pressure to bear, they must use methods which tend to reduce prof One way of doing this is to decrease production while continuing at wo Quite a number of instances where this method has been successfully adop in South Wales could be adduced. The following will serve as an examp At a certain colliery some years ago the management desired to introduce use of screens for checking small coal. The men, who were paid through s through for coal-getting-e.g. for large and small coal in gross-objected, they saw in this the thin end of the wedge of a move to reduce their earnin The management persisted, and the men, instead of coming out on stri reduced their output by half. Instead of sending four trams of coal from stall two only were filled, and so on. The management thus saw its output in half, while its running expenses remained the same. A few days' experie of a profitable industry turned into a losing one ended in the men winn hands down.

NATIONALISATION of the coal mines, like other forms nationalisation, is regarded as somewhat advanced politics. Ev the present Government are chary of avow themselves nationalisers. But our pamphlete are a stage ahead of the land nationalisers, a in their eyes the Ures, the Wedgwoods, and the Lloyd Geor

"Back Numbers"

are, so to speak, "back numbers." In discussing the "elimination of the employer" they explain: "We cannot get rid of mployers and slave-driving in the mining industry until all ther industries have organised for and progressed towards the ume objective. All we can do is to set an example and the race." In their view "Nationalisation of mines does not lead in is direction, but simply makes a national trust with all the Srce of the Government behind it, whose one concern will be to see that the industry is run in such a way as to pay the interest the bonds with which the coal-owners are paid out, and to extract as much more profit as possible in order to relieve the iration of other landlords and capitalists. Our only concern to see to it that those who create value receive it, and if, by he force of a more perfect organisation and a more militant dy, we reduce profits, we shall at the same time eliminate areholders who own the coalfields. As they feel the increasing ressure we shall be bringing on their profits they will loudly y for nationalisation." The Syndicalists won't stand this. "We Lill, and must, strenuously oppose this in our own interests d in the interests of our objective." We make no apology for Mroducing this further passage which sets forth "our objective," that all who run may read. Sooner or later Socialists were and to breed yet more extravagant schools who would teach world to despise and deride State Socialists as equally enemies the working classes as the bloated capitalists. That is the tion of the Syndicalists:

r objective begins to take shape before your eyes-every industry naghly organised, in the first place, to fight to gain control of and then to ister that industry; co-ordination of all industries on a central production ri, who, with a statistical department to ascertain the needs of the people, issue its demands on the different departments of industry, leaving to the themselves to determine under what conditions and how the work should -ne. This would mean real democracy in real life, making for real mandand womanhood. Any other form of democracy is a delusion and a snare. y fight for and victory won by the men will inevitably assist them in ving at a clearer conception of the responsibilities and duties before them. will also assist them to see that, so long as shareholders are permitted to tae their ownership or the State to administer on behalf of the shareders, slavery and oppression are bound to be the rule in industry. And this realisation the age-long oppression of labour will draw to its end— de weary sigh of the overdriven slave, pitilessly exploited and regarded as an

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