The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-25
PUT NOT YOUR
TRUST IN ROYAL
COMMISSIONS!
District &c Militants
Expose Govt. Fake

The following editorial from the
Maritime Labor Herald, the miners
paper Of Nova Scotia, shows the at
titude of the militants Of District 26,
u. M. w. on the question Of govern
ment commissions to Investigate" the
British Empire Steel corporation,
which is attempting to cut their wag-
es ten per cent.
"The FutlIlty Of a Royal Commission,
"The miners want the present rate
Of wages continued for four months
and a royal commission appointed
with power to go into the affairs of
Besco. The remarkable thing about
the mems offer is that it TALES COM
pletely with the suggestions Of DIR.
Robertson, altho the miners declare
that their offer had absolutely no con-
nection with or sprang from these
suggestions.
"Be that as it may, we wonder what
any commission can do in the matter,
The yellow press says that such a
commission can get at the truth, and
once that has been properly establish
ed, then. and then only, can peace and
harmony be permanently brot into the
industrial life Of the country. OF
course that's all pure bunk.
Every often It is only when men
learn the truth that hell is let loose
and If ever the truth of the completely
rotten condition of Besco is told, then
look out for war and not peace. But
what does the yellow press want to
know the truth about? Is 1t about the
miners and their wages, and whether
they could live on less?
There are hundreds of mine work.
ers who have been living on 1925
day, and only worked $50 days in the
year. Do you want three or four we'll
fed parasites to whom the govern
ment will pay $4,000 per day and ex-
penses to sit in judgment and find out
the truth whether a miner and his
family can exist on less than $47S.50
per year or notf
"And suppose that the truth that
this royal commission finds is that he
canI Do you think that truth will
establish peace? You yellow-bellies
pretend that you don't know the
truth about such simple PROPOSE
ton as that stated above, and that is
the very reason you want royal COM
mission. There is nobody so blind to
the truth as those who do not want to
see.
Then again, the miners claim that
Besco is using the wealth created in
the coal mines by the labor of the
miners to pay dividends on idle junk
at Halifax. Besco does not deny this
now, but says their business is a unit
and all of it, including the Halifax
shipyards, must stand or fall together
as far as dividends are concerned.
But you want to find out the truth
about it, do you?
"And suppose your truth-fnding,
fact-hnding commission does discover
the fact and truth that Besco does use
the coal mines to provide dividends
for other concerns than the coal
mines, and the truth and fact is that
Besco is a unit in all its undertakings
and has a perfect right, in truth to do
so, and that that is the very purpose
for which Besco was organizeda VIII
that truth and fact-even sancitfied
by the blessing of three parasites call
ing themselves a royal commission
bring peace into the coal trade? We
do not think so.
1.-THE fact of the matter is that If
the miners refused to believe they
could get any truth and justice out of
commission on which they had a
right to appoint one working class rep
resentative, and for that reason re-
fused to appoint a man, then they
cannot now believe the truth fact
Justice, or any of the other pretty
phrases with which the yellow press
loves to tickle them can be obtained
by a royal commission on which they
will have no right to name any repre-
sentative, but which will be COM
posed wholly of men outside the ranks
of labor.
Peace in the coal industry-and all
other industries-can came only
when the workers own and control
, them, and not one minute before
} then"
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES