COMING HOME TO ROOST.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 January 1922, Page 4

COMING HOME TO ROOST.

Last week two of the Waikato coal mining companies were infqfrmed that the Railway Department could not continue to purchase the quantity of coal it had been obtaining from the mines. In reply to an objection hy the owners of the mines that the Department’s decision was a breach of contract, the Department stated that because of the large stocks of coal in hand and due to arrive, it simply could not continue the arrangement. As a result the output of the two mines will be considerably reduced, and the earnings of the miners appreciably curtailed. The public will feel little sympathy with the miners, who have brought this about by their foolish go-slow tactics of last year 1 . Big users of coal like the railways were forced to go outside for their coal supplies when the coal miners determined to keep them in short supply, and thereby, as they vainly thought, hold them in subjection. But the policy, like many dishonest measures of the kind, has had a boomerang effect, and it is the miners themselves who will mainly suffer. Tt is known that the railways have at least a year's supply of coal—chiefly overseas coal —on hand* and are consequently not buyers, in large quantities, of New Zealand coal at present. Other industries are also well provided with outside coal, so that the New Zealand miner, as a result of his fatuous policy, is in for a bad time this year. It is to be regretted that reason does not prevail with him, for it is a considerable economic loss for the whole of the people of the Dominion to have to buy coal in other countries, pay freight, etc., that can be mined in any quantity locally were the miners satisfied with good wages and favorable conditions. But the experience has been during the past year or two that the higher the wages and the better the conditions the more intolerant and discontented the miners have been. Now that they aie being brought face to face with the consequences of their foolish tactics they may behave more reasonably in future and" do the fair thing by the rest of the community.