The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-28
MINERS WILL VOTE ON THE WAGE BILL Little Doubt But They Will
 Accept It THE WORST IS OVER Leaders Expect to See Strike Ended in Week and General Resump-
 tion Immediately After
 Easter

| Easter
 London. March 27.-The event of the
 day in connection with the coal strike
 was the prompt decision of the miners
 federation to take a ballot of the men
 strike. The ballot paper reads: l Are you in favor of resuming work pending the settlement of the minimum
 rates of wages in the various grades 1 by the district boards to be appointed under the coal mines minimum wage
 act?"
 When 1t is remembered that 115, 900
 men voted against commencing the
 strike, there is little doubt that a ma
 jority will vote in favor of it's termina-
 tion, especially as the view Is gathering
 force among the miners that the mine
 owners are trying to prolong the
 struggle to bleed the unions. while
 they render them powerless to renew
 the strike for long time to come. May End in Week
 l The prospect tonight. therefore. is | lidL the StTlhe may eHQ III d week, dl- though there will be no general re- sumption until after Easter. Regret Is generally expressed that Premier As quith at the inspiration, as alleged. of
 Sir Edward Grey. wasted valuable time
 in vainly seeking an independent set
 clement instead of pushing on the wage bill. As coal owners have agreed to
 reopen the mines. no further delay will
 be incurred on that score.
 The government will take immediate ! steps to organize the district boards
 under the bill, so everything will be ready when the men are willing to re-
 sume.
 l A meeting of the liberal members of the house of commons representing the
 mining constituencies, has been ar
 ranged by the government whips for tomorrow, at which the prime minister ] will make an important statement on the attitude of the government. This mee ting Is expected to have an ameli- | orating effect on the situation. No labor members have been invited to at tend In the lobbies of parliament the feeling of gloom which was manifested
 Tuesday has entirely disappeared. hay
 Ing given place to confidence.
 | Worst Trouble Over
 1 The worst of the trouble Is over bdi
 the prices of coal and food still are ris- | ing, and the work of dealing with the inevitable distress Is throwing great responsibility upon the government. l Having made strong figk. in parlia-
 ment to get the best possible terms I for the miners in the bill. labor lead | CTS now frankly counsel the men to ac- | cept the bill Passes Second Reading The house of lords tonight passed the second reading of the minimum wage bill without division. During the course of debate Lord Lansdowne said the op- position would not amend the bill or | delay it's passage, but the ministry must 1 accept full responsibility for it. Nobody
 but the government and its supporters. he added, had a good word for the bill, which failed to satisfy either of the dis putants. Other opposition speakers de- nounced the bill in a similar strain. Owing to some hitched wording of d government amendment and it's failure to suit both sides of the house, the Mar quis of Crewe announced that the com mittee stage would be postponed until Thursday. This will result in delaying the royal assent until Friday. May Resume Work
 1 Reports from the mining centers to- night point to the probability of a large ma ajority in the taking of the ballot of l the men in favor of resumption of work | but it is doubtful if much work is done until after the Easter holidays. In Der byshire a majority for the resumption of work is considered certain; the same may l be predicted for Cumberland, Durham, I Nottingham. Yorkshire, Staffordshire, North Wales and possibly Scotland. But | though in Scotland, as In South Wales, there are large sections in favor of main | taining the fight. they may. in view of
 the distress from the unexpectedly pro- | longed struggle. be outnumbered by 1 those who wish to resume, and make the best of the government bill. The War wickshire miners are expected to start tomorrow.
 1 The most serioas outbreak since the strike began occurred today at Cannock, Staffordshire. where several thousand strikers, accompanied by hundreds of women, raided a colliery in which 80 men were working. They stoned and overpowered the small force of police 1 on guard, set fire to two buildings and | wrecked others. The trouble continued | for several hours, until large reinforce ments of police arrived and scattered the | rioters.
 Owners Accept Bill
 1 The British sl mine owners, after a prolonged meeting. resolved to accept the minimum wage bill. This means all the mines will be reopened as soon as the men desire to return to their places. Conditions throughout the country are daily growing worse. London has only 10 days supply of fuel left and thousands of small factories in and about the city must soon close their doors In anticipa- tion of this the educational authorities have decided to cancel the Easter holidays or the schools, and this action also has been taken throughout the provinces so that the children may be fed with regu- larity.
 In South Wales want and hunger pre- vail everywhere. At Cardiff, Newport and Swansea all the lockers are destitute and the sailors who have been discharged from their idle ships have joined the ranks of the unemployed.
 The strike Is now getting a grip. .on the cotton trade, and several mills in Lan- ca ashire have been closed. In Oldham. the greatest spinning center of the world. a dozen mills have been forced to stop.
 Cleveland O.. March 27.-Admitting they
 appeared to be as far from an agreement as they were week ago. the operators and miners of the bituminous coal fields who are endeavoring to fix a two year