The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 11, 1921. THE CRISIS AT HOME.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 11, 1921. THE CRISIS AT HOME.

The decision of 'die Triple Alliance to declare a general strike in sympathy with the miners, unless negotiations were re-opened between the miners and the owners, or the Government, made the position at Home about as critical as it possably could be. The mineowners and the Government are both prepared to reopen negotiations, but insist, quite rightly, that the pumps at the mines must first be re-started-The miners, however, refused absolutely to do this, on the ground that if they acquiesced “they would surrender their only vital bargaining weapon.” This is equivalent to saying that sooner than they will trust to a peaceful settlement of their grievances, they will not only destroy their means of livelihood, but, what is of .far more serious consequence, will imperil the whole industrial existence of the country. Such a decision may well cause all reasonable men to stand aghast at what Mr. Lloyd George mildly describes as one of thq. gravest mistakes in psychology ever made by the leaders of a great organisation. The mere strike weapon has heretofore had its terrors, but it is a mere slender -switch as compared with a destructive torpedo, as exemplified in the flooding of the mines. At the recent conference the mine leaders accused the Government of tricking the miners into an agreement last November, and backing up the employers on the present occasion. To refute such absurd charges was easy, and Mr. Lloyd George’s dignified response left no room for doubt that the Government’s main concern was, not the position of the owners, but the nation’s welfare, and to prevent the industries of the country from being destroyed. He accurately summed up the situation when he said: “ I understand the threat to destroy the mines is to be used to force the owners and the nation to capitulate.” The miners are not only using illegitimate force, but adding ferocity thereto. As force can only be met by force, the miners are simply inviting serious trouble for themselves and those dependent on them, for hb Government can be expected to stand meekly by and see law and order flouted with impunity, and destructive tactics adopted that menace the industrial activities of the' whole nation. At the same time., as the miners well know, there is great reluctance on the part of the authorities to take extreme measures. If the Government were actuated by the same impulses as the miners they would act first and think afterwards. Such is not the case in Britain, where every possible effort is made to adjust disputes in a generous spirit. There must be, however, a limit to union coercion, and that limit has been reached and passed in the case of the miners. The weapons they -are now using are such as cannot be tolerated, and must be abandoned either willingly or forcibly, the only alternative being the supremacy of mob law, and that is unthinkable. If the miners and the rest of the Triple Alliance goad the authorities into using armed force they have only themselves to blame. What will be tlje use of the miners eventually securing a national wage if the mines are destroyed by flooding? It is pitiable to see men' so devoid of common sense as to, deliberately and maliciously destroy the source of employment on which they depend for existence, and to aggravate the existing unemployment by compelling the closing down of national industries. One cannot, help but feel there is a sinister influence at work behind the leaders of the Triple Alliance, the -aim bring not so much the immediate welfare of the working men as the overthrow of the existing economic and political constitution of the country. This morning’s cables show that the men themselves in the railway and transporters’ unions are not being consulted in regard to “coming out” in support of the miners. 1 he leaders simply commit them, and they are expected to meekly comply. The moderates have rightly sensed the Bolshevik tendencies of the leaders, and some of them are protesting vigorously against taking the drastic course proposed, but past experience has shown that the moderates in a crisis of this kind do not stand out for long against the more militant and extreme, -and the possibility of any considerable section of the railwaymen or transporters remaining at work, if the strike takes its course, cannot, therefore, be relied upon. The nation will accept the challenge, and fight for its very life against those who would destroy the country's industries, ruin and starve the people and make England generally a replica of Russia. Already the are being called up, and

will be bitter and sruel while it lasts. Unfortunately the innocent will have to suffer equally with the guilty, but if the revolutionaries are beaten—and beaten they assuredly will be—the loss and suffering may not altogether be in vain. The gravity of the situation is relieved somewhat by the message received early this morning reporting arrangements to resume negotiations; it means that the Triple Alliance will now hol'd its hand, and the outcome of today’s meeting will be awaited with anxiety.