The Washington herald., 1920-03-08

BANS STRIKES
New Policy Of Common
Sens" Seen Replacing
Old Rashness.
CROWS IN FRANCE
Agitation Against National
ization Increases as Walk
outs Become Unpopular.

outs Become Unpopular.
tPublic Ledger Service, Special
J Cable Dispatch.)
| London, March 7.-Sixty-fiye thou-
sand workers in the Welsh steel
districts are on strike. A new strike
has been called at Port Talbot,
Wales, by the coal trimmers. az
protest against an. ex-soldier being
refused employment. The text of the
new labor bill making a forty-four
hour week compulsory for all labor
in Great Britain was published TO.
day for the first time. A Joint ap-
plication for the trade union COR
gress and the labor party will again
be made to the prime minister ask
ing for facilities for a British labor
deputation to go to Russia
| These developments in England's
labor world taken in connection with
the Robert Smillie's offer to resign
the presidency of the Miners Fed
GRAFTON far overshadowed here all
international and domestic events.
Considering these reports without
and explanation one might think
that labor conditions were becom-
ing more alarming in England, but
the reasons for these Developments
| indicate, as does the latest news
from France regarding the recent
railway strike. that common sense
is gradually taking the place OF
rashness in the labor councils OF
Europe.
Steel Strike ExamfSe.
| Take the steel strike in Wales az
an example. For several days it
has been growing, but yesterday at
| Gorseinon the men voted to return
to work and the return of all the
men is expected shortly as a result
| of the labor leaders advices.
OF even more Importance is Rob-
| ert Smillie's request for a long leave
of absence and his offer of resigna-
tion. Smillie, has been the chief
! champion Of naturalization of Eng
| lands mines. His withdrawal is
| generally interpreted as meaning
| that he wishes to leave the field to
| a leader who will champion a COM
promise policy now that general
sentiment appears to be rescting
against naturalization. 1t will be
| recalled that when naturalization
| first was suggested, the leaders
! threatened to use direct action to
force the government to nationalist
| the miners.
! New sentiment among miners Is
| in favor of making nationalization
an issue in the next general elec-
tion. IL London's Interpretation Of
Smillie's resignation is correct,
this is a development of vast sig Q
/ nificance, IL means the substitution
OF the ballot instead of direct a.
tion in deciding one of the gravest
economic questions Britain has to
solve.
Leaders Oppose Naturalization.
The national unionist labor con-
| ference opened today at Southport,
| and the same question of national
| lzation of mines and Industries is
being discussed. Three resolutions,
which are to be known. will be pre-
sented. all of them expressing de
termined opposition" to nationali-
cation. on the ground that il would
lead to decreased production and to
| bureaucratic inGompetency, from
which we have already suffered
during the last few years"
That this spirit of comon sense
! is also growing in France as incl
Gated by the following facts about
! the railway strike"
Campanaud, the worker who stop
ped all the trains by attending the
| labor conference, already had eigh-
| ty-eight days of leave to look for
| ward to this year. and even his
friends thought his desire to attend
the Dijon meeting was rather un-
called for; besides, he was not
| delegate and was not going in any
| official capacity. When these facts
became known to the French work
ers, they resented being called out
on strike to satisfy the whim OF an
! independent laborer, and the strike
ended. Explaining this, Paris resi-
dent writes:
shows STRIKES Unpopularity.
IF facts are wanted to show how
unpopular the railway strike was
among the people OF the provinces
the following will suffice as an illus
tration. At Nancy a depot restau-
rant waiter refused to serve So
cialist delegates coming back from
Strassburg meeting; at Chaumont,
where Gen. Pershing had his head
quarters during the war, tradesmen
declined to sell to strikers; in many
parts of the country tradesmen re-
fused to take their butter and eggs
to market; in the neighboring rail-
way center at Montpelier, bakers
closed their shops against all who
had ''downed tools"
Make no mistake" says the
writer, there Is a great gulf fixed
between the agricultural and indus
trial classes of France. The former
outnumbers the latter four to ese.
That is why an industrial politiesi
revolution has no general SsmSatHy
and no chance of ultimate success
Iad