THE COAL INDUSTRY

Evening Star, Issue 19789, 13 February 1928, Page 4

THE COAL INDUSTRY

BRITISH Arm GERMAN OWNERS UNDERCUTTING OF PRICES. LONDON, February 11. In the House of Commons, Mr R. J, Boothby (Conservative, Aberdeenshire), who is just back from Germany, condemned the undercutting of prices between the British and German coal owners, which cost the former £8,000,000 since the general strike. International agreements are operating the finance of several other industries, so why not coal? But there must be preliminary trustification and reorganisation of the British coal trade. He believed that Sir Philip Conliife-Lister could enforce this with the aid of the banks’ pressure. The Federation _ of German Industries was very anxious for Anglo-German agreements concerning coal, iron, and steel. An economic Locarno-Europe was the greatest need in order to maintain the world’s standard of living. LOBBYISTS IMPRESSED. LONDON, February 11. Lobbyists agree that the speech in the House of Commons by Mr Bcothby, who is Mr Winston Cliiu-chill’s parliamentary private secretary, is unusually important, amounting to a definite approacn to the British industry by the German iron and steel cartel and coal owners.

MR COOK PESSIMISTIC. PROPHESIES BIG COAL UPHEAVAL. LONDON, February 11. Owing to further reductions in miners’ earnings in the north-eastern coalfields, the miners’ secretary (Mr Cook) prophesies a big coal upheaval unless the Government intervenes. He adds that the Australian miners have appealed to the international meeting'at Brussels. French, Belgian, and German miners also fear reductions _of wages, and thus an international crisis exists in addition to the British.