PEACE ON RAND

Taranaki Daily News, 18 March 1922, Page 5

PEACE ON RAND

BIG FIGHTING OVER. THE STRIKE SETTLED. RESTARTING INDUSTRY’. By Telegraph.— Press Assn.—Copyright. Capetown, March 16. Military operations on a large scale are now probably over. What the Government and the community now have to face is the work of reconstruction. The Premier is leading the way. It is noted that the whole population is making a determined effort to get the industrial machine into working order again. The gold mines are working partially throughout and the railways will soon be normal. There has been no railway strike and such interruptions as took place were caused by terrorism.

The news of the calling off of the strike in Johannesburg has been received With general astisfaction. In a statement the Industrial Federation declares that the meeting at which the general strike was declared had no authority tb do so. The decision was put into operation by unauthorised persons without waiting for the decision of a separate meeting.

The statement of the executive has created a great impression, as showing that the general strike was not forced upon the workers by the Chamber of Mines and the Government, as lias been maintained hitherto, but by intimidation and against the will of the federation. The latter also recommended that steps be taken to call off the mine strike.

The Johannesburg Star obtained from a wounded official at the Brakpan mine the story of the murder of the other officials after the attack on the mine on Friday. The details are reminiscent of the days of the savage Zulu chief Diguan. The official states that the garrison had already surrendered when a mob of Reds approached. One ruffiian fired at and killed a man; another man was also shot dead. The Reds then started bashing the three other officials with rifles as they were lying upon the ground unconscious, owing to battering they had already received. Voices cried “Let us shoot them,” and several shots were fired at them as they lay, with fatal effect. MINERS SEEKING WORK. The mines are receiving a rush of applications for a return to work. A number of farmers who appeared in the direction of Middlesburg were dispersed or captured by the Government forces.. Several were taken pris-. oners and subsequently released. The Nationalist newspaper de Burger utters a grave warning against any movement pointing to unrest and states that the Nationalist party will support the Government in the maintenance of law and order and when order is restored will call the Government to account for every deed in connection with late occurrences. The paper asks: Has there not been enough bloodshed? The Government holds means of overcoming everyone. Let him protest against the Government, but not with arms or force.”

It is now ascertained that Fisher and Spendiff, the Red leaders at Fordsburg, committed suicide. There is evidence that each died from a revolver shot in the temple. Fisher made a will leaving his property, amounting to £2OOO, to his wife, and also making certain provision for Mrs. Spendiff. GENERAIy SMUTS’ THANKS. Some of the burgher forces which assisted the Government have already been disbanded. A general tribute is paid to the police, who °bore the first brunt of attack. They consist largely of Dutchmen, with a considerable percentage of Nationalists, but all played a gallant and loyal part. The aeroplane did excellent service, bombing the Reds and assisting the land movements. Not one escaped being hit by rifle fire. Among the Red. plots which failed were arrangements to link up with the forces in various centres, disorganising their plans, and reducing them to sporadic attacks. General Smuts, reviewing the Railway Regiment, said the crisis was over, thanks to the way the citizens had done their duty. He paid a tribute to the devotion of the regiment. The Government had again found it could rely on the complete loyalty of the railway service in time of stress. He hoped the organisation would be maintained, not for military purposes, but for upholding law and order. As an aftermath of the outbreak, at least 19,000 prisoners and other suspects have to be sifted and examined. Some thousands of Reds are detained. ; WORLD’S GREATEST GOLD REEF. I IMPRESSION OF THE RAND. The following impression of the Rand, where civil strife is now raging, is given by Mr. Richard Curie, the well-known traveller and writer : “Its developed area stretches from Johannesburg to Heidelburg, a distance of about. 40 miles, and from the top of some high building you may trace it clearly by the enormous mounds of white tailings, up to 3,000,000 tons* in weight, that are dotted along its length. They lie bleached and glaring in the sun, the fine dust of their surface blowing in the wind, and though attempts to grow grass upon them have been made, all have failed through the action of the cyanide with which they are impregnated. “The battery ‘stamps’ are never silent. Night and day they are pounding up the rock, and there are certain spots in Johannesburg where you can hear them as you lie in bed in the stillness of the early hours like the regular beat, of distant waves. And sometimes, too, you will hear the muffled rumble of falling rock within old disused shafts, a rumble that shakes the houses and curiously resembles a genuine earthquake. Indeed, the .mines in Johannesburg itself are now mostly usedup, and year by year the industry shifts farther to the east.

‘The mines themselves are like so many self-contained towns. A large mine, for instance, will employ 20,000 men and have a completeness of equipment both above and below the surface that is astonishing. I have travelled 3000 vertical fpet into the earth at 40 miles an hour in one of these mines and have found down there elaborate pumping machinery, electric trains, a crowd of men going about their business as if on the surface. Up above, the hoisted rock is being pounded into powder, is passing over the mercury-coated sUme-board*,

is gradually being made to give up its treasure. “Then, again, of course, there is the social side of the mine, the trim quarters for the whites, the native compound with its up-to-date kitchens and bakehouse, the hospital accommodation. Yes, each mine is, as far as possible, complete in itself. The final thing they show you when you visit a mine is the finished article. That is to say, when you have observed the whole vast complex energy of the ’machine they point out the results in a few bars of dull yellow metal. They are made in two sizes, worth respectively (without the premium) £4OOO and £2BOO. I had heard some vague rumor that if you could lift one of them and carry it away you got it as a present, but I was hastily disillusioned before I could make the attempt. Perhaps they saw the look of desperate determination in my eyes.”