The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-11-13
EMPEROR COOK.
THREATENS
TE-UP
Would ParaIyze British In
dustries, He Says, to
Help Labor
By F. A. WRAY
international News Service

| er's Federation OF Great Britain
commonly termed in the British
| newspapers Emperor" Cook, the
man who, when the great miners
strike was threatened last July
compelled the British government,
| to come in with an offer OF sub
| sidy of SIS, 100000 in order to cal
off the probable industrial disturb
| ance.
Description of Cook
When 1 saw Mr.. Cook. in his
pleasant, well-appointed office IN
Russell square, London, he looked
neither like an emperor nor an
agitator.
He is q middle-sized man Of forty
one, and dresses in a. well-cut quiet
blue suit. He wears gold-rimmed
spectacIes, his reddish hair is thin
ming, he has q clean. well-cut face,
and his general appearance Is that
of an intellectual business man tc
whose mind violence would be the
last thought in the world. His
speech Is that of the cultivated stu,
dent.
At the end Of q long conversation
asked him about his career and
his history. This was his story:
MY father was q soldier in the
British army. At the age Of eleven
became q school 'half-timer' and
spent the rest OF the day working
for q local farmer. can milk and
pillow. At the age OF fifteen, when
I was earning two shillings Per
week about so centsI became dis.
contented and emigrated from
Somersetshire to Wales.
ssI became a collier and worked
in the mines. Two years later ]
became a local preacher In the Rap'
fist Church, and at the same time
I was elected the local representa-.
tive to the Miners Federation OF
Great Britain.
"At the, same time joined the
independent Labor Party of Great
Britain and was Immediately ex-
PEELED from my local preachership.
Went to College
when I was twenty-one / won
a scholarship to the Labor College
in London, and spent q year IN
studying economics. Since then ]
have been miners official in dif.
ferent capacities.
81 was opposed to the wa
throughout, and was sent tc
prison In 1918 because Of the view.
point took / was also sent to
prison In 1921 because Of the con.
nection / had then with the miners
strike.
.sAnd this is my creed. am
not a politician. am an indus
traIist. I would just as soon deal
with a Tory government as Labor
government with Jimmy ThOmas's
Included therein.
81 am ali for the solidarizatiOn
of labor. hold that all labor
is indissoluhly interconnected, and
il Is useless for one section to
move until 1t has the cooperation
and support of every other section.
while / am a leader Of Labor,
there will never be anotl1erx sec
tional strike in Britain. When one
section moves, every other section
must move simultaneously.
Aim Is Larger
THAT is my first point. But
that affects Britain only. The real
outlook and our ultimate aim, is
a larger one.
81 am absolutely opposed to ma
tionalism. That il the obstacle in
the way Of the worlds worker.
81 would abolish all geographical
boundaries, all signs OF exclusive
nationaIism.
"The workers OF the. world need
three things. First, a minimum
wage that secures them decent
living and decent comfort; then
reasonable working hours and Sc
curity; then the right to hold their
own in any particular industry,
with those who, in the accepted
sense, control that industry.
Let me speak in the broad sense
for one moment. Striking down
the workers In the position to de-
eide against over-production in any
particular industry.
Take my industry, the coal in.
dustry. We have over 500 pits
shut down in this country because
economically they do not pay. In
Germany-and let me say here and
now regard Germany as the inter-
national black-leg and would bar
her workers from the international
because her workers toll longer
hours and at far less wages than
any other country-they are turn
ing coal out at far less than we
can. In the United States, with
their machinery and easy coal. they
are also underselling us, and, so far
as can judge, will continue to
do So
This state of affairs is suicidal
from the workers point of view.
II a pit is unproductive, whether in
Britain, Germany, or the United
States, and is economically unprof-
table, let us close 1T down at once,
But when we close 1t down, we
must see that the worker in the
Industry still has his minimum
wage, that he still has his sense IF
security, and his realization that
We are working for the good of the
industry.
THAT brings me back to my point
about revolution. In our day, revo-
luton does not mean a lot of
messy bloodshed. The workers are
tired Of that.
What 1t means is that the great
Industries in any country shall be
absolutely combined and controlle /
by the workers to realize the wage,
the safety and the security OF the
worker. A reasonable demand by
one section shall be the demand of
all.
His Idea Of Revolution
Last July we miners threatened
20 strike. Although no pledge was
given. we knew that a day after
we struck, that the railroad men,
the lockers, the transport men,
would necessarily be out in sym.