The New York herald., 1921-04-11
n connection with the wage agree

in connection with the wage agree
ment.
According to official statements,
twenty mines in Scotland employing
&c, 900 men and eighteen in England
and Wales employing 5000 men have
been completely flooded. II viii re-
quire several weeks before these can
be pumped out and the damage eN-
amined, and possibly several months
before fun working conditions are
restored. Between twenty-five and
thirty mines in all fields have been
partly flooded or damaged BY falls OF
coal. fire. SC. Only five are listed as
completely destroyed. Two of these
are large ones and one Of them is one
of the largest in the South Wales field.
In these cases it viii be matter OF
months and even years before new
shafts can be sunk and other meas
ures taken to restore these mines.
The Government is preserving all IT'S
emergency machinery The recruiting OF
special defence units will start agaln
tomorrow with every billboard In the
kingdom flashing big poster headed:
THE nation needs you.
Likewise the emergency transport
measures reported last night TO have
been perfected throughout the country
are also kept ready, as the railways may
be compelled to reduce their service
10 a minimum before long, not through
n strike Of railwaymen, bur because Of
lack OF coal. Special measures also VIII
be taken to control and relieve the
widespread unemployment which is sure
to follow protracted negotiations.
better spirit prevailing to-day among
labor as A whole is looked on, how
ever, as favoring an early settlement.
When the full story Of that better
spirit comes out it viii be a fair epic
of negotiations and persuasions on the
part Of j. II. Thomas. John r. Clynes,
Arthur Henderson and other moderate
labor leaders. These saner men not only
found opposition in their own ranks
among the railwaymen and transport
partners of the Triple Alliance, but they
had been informed of some information
the Government had secured OF boring
from within" directed from Moscow.
The miners themselves in general are
not affected but were only fighting
what they thought was desperate bat
tie for their own demands.
At first they bitterly resented charges
of Bolshevism. 1t was only when not
only the railway and transport leaders
but representatives of almost every la
Dor movement in London went to Unity
House. headquarters Of the Triple Al
lance. last night and fairly smothered
the miners with protestations and
threats that they agreed to the terms Of
fered.
That fight is over now, and there is
reason to believe that the moderates
among the miners as well as in the
other unions, have had their eyes opened,
and the entire efforts of Thomas. Bevin,
Hodges and others to-day In their mes
sages and speeches were to create an
atmosphere favorable for a settlement.
These men, however all blame the
Government for the crisis. In this con-
nection a report Is again current to-day
that Premier Lloyd George will seek q
general election in June, or. as soon as
the strike situation is out Of the way.
This again was denied in quarters close
TO Downing Street, but the impression Is
gaining that with a new situation de-
veloping both here and in Ireland, and
with possible developments at the inn
perial conference, a general election may
be necessary well before autumn
II was learned tonight that the
miners did send an appeal to their
American brethren during the crisis last
week, but even the miners admit that
they placed little faith in its effective
ness. Government officials who knew
the appeal had been made said they felt
sure the American miner would not re-
spond when he knew the character Of
the complaint here.