The Washington herald., 1913-09-08
Court Gossip of Interesting
EpentS on Two Continents

Tof the Irish Parliament In 11H, Robert
de B. was Governor OF Ireland
Sir Marcus, the fourth baronet, after
marrying the heiress of James, third Earl
of Tyrone Catherine, Baroness de Ia
Poer) was created, in November, I720.
peer of Ireland. as Baron Beresford and
Viscount Tyrone. Four years later he
was by letters patent, created Earl of
Tyrone to perpetuate the iIlustrious fam
lily name of his wife. His son, George de
la Poer, after his marriage to the only
daughter of Henry Monck and Lady Isa-
bella Bentinck.. daughter Of the first Duke
of Portland. in 17s9, was created a Mar
quis OF Waterford
A great deal is being written about
the deplorable conditions Of mining at
johannesburg. We are told that the life
Of a miner will last only about three
years. But there are deeper causes for
the present crisis than the ravages of
miners phthisis and one Of them is the
Improvement which has recently taken
place in the condition OF mining on the
land. The South African Parliament has
been hard at work on this question, and
last year a drastic act was carried
which compeIs miners to adopt all sorts
OF remedial appliances. As the condi-
lions have improved. the number of white
men applying for jobs in the mines has
increased Quite large number of Boer
farmer boys have volunteered for posi-
| tons as foremen and engineers, who
were glad to exchange the low rate of
wages current in the "dorps" (villagesJ
Tor the higher rate paid at johannesburg.
These men do not take kindly TO Brit
ish trade unionism. They are a class
apart and constitute a very important
factor in the present situation. In South
Africa the negro is at home. He was
on the soil before the Portuguese came.
He is the workingman Of South Africa.
The white trade unionist is by no means
indispensable The minimum wage sug-
gested for the white trade unionist was
81 a day for some and % shillings a day
for others. 1t was argued that the cost
Of living in Johannesburg is so high that
these wages are not as much as those
paid in England.
This may have been the case years
ago, but recently there has been a
marked reduction in the cost of living.
and a glance at the salaries paid to
government officials will show that IS
shillings a day compares favorably
with the wages accepted by trade
unionists in England. Roughly speak
ing, the salaries of government off,
cials on the Rand are about the same
as those paid in England.
GOuln africa Is the center WOrlQ
struggle between the principles of
trade unionism as enunciated in Eu-
rope, America, and Australia and the
principle Of free trade in the labor
market. 1t was possible to exclude the
Chinese from South Africa, because
they were Chinese. 1t Is possible to
exclude the japanese from America be-
cause they are foreigners Australia
excludes the coolie. but South Africa
cannot exclude the Zulu, Kafir, or Hot
tentot. The trade unionists will not
permit black man TO join the union.
but the black man is beginning to un-
derstand for himself what the strike
means.
The Chinese in South Africa Sruck
several times. and always successfully
They gave their masters no notice, nor
did they make any written. demands
They had a secret society which en-
abled them TO strike at the most in
convenient moment, but they never
used violence. The Kafir watched
them, and he is watching the Johan-
nesburg trade unionists. II the South
African government is compelled 10
choose between the work of the black
man and that of the whites, the
chances are that the black man will
win. South African trade unionism
must either be modi6ed or it will van
ish altogether. FLANEUR.