The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-07-04

dustry lasting nine days, after a mon
problem of the mining industry is still
unsolved. Why has no settlement
been found? The answer is easy to
give; no settlement has been found
because the only settlement the gov
eminent and the coal owners want is
one which reduces wages and length
ems hours of work
Insist on Wage Cuts.
No settlement has been found be-
cause. from the beginning of the ne
gotiations seton, foot by the publica-
ton of the coal commissions report,
the owners and the government have
insisted that wages must come down
and hours of work be extended. In
stead of sitting down patiently and in
diligently to apply the findings of the
commission, to plan the reorganiza-
ton of the industry in accordance
with the commissions recommends
tons, to frame a reasonable estimate
of the results which these proposals
are calculated to secure, and to ascer-
tain what sacrifices the state of the
industry then requires to be accepted
by all the parties concerned, and dis
tributing the burden of sacrifice equit-
ably as between all the parties con-
cerned, the government has pursued
an exactly opposite policy. 1t has
tried to force the miners to bear the
whole burden OF the industry's
troubles.
Governments Frantic Folly.
The blindest political partisan who
supported the government with de-
lirious enthusiasm during the general
stoppage cannot fail now to see the
frantic folly of the governments &C.
ton 1t was its attitude during the
negotiations which caused the general
stoppage. Mr.. Baldwin has
used the commissions report and the
offer of financial help from the gov
eminent as a sort Of bribe to the min
ers. He has worked all along for
reduction of wages. He has
never yet faced the problem as it must
finally be faced-as a question of vital
habAOuoA Ah1ROAl dASCg AhfOANlh6 nOL
only the wages and the working con-
ditions of the more than a million
workers, but the whole economic fu-
ture of the country.
Baldwin's Wage Complex.
Mr.. Baldwin has wage-complex
Twelve months or more ago he told
the miners that their wages would
have to come down, and added that
wages would have to come down all
round. He hastily explained later that
he had not said this, or did not mean
it if he had said it. But this action
during the negotiations on the COM
mission report has proved that he has
no thought Of anything except wages.
He has no conception of any solu-
ton of the problem which starts where
the coal commission started with
recognition OF, the fact that this in
dustry, mismanaged by the mine own
ers, exposed to the competition of new
forms of enterprise employing scien-
tific methods in the exploitation of
new sources and possibilities Of power
production, cannot continue to give
employment at a decent wage to the
workers in it unless it is radically re-
organized. 1855
Mr.. Baldwin's only notion is that
the industry can be carried on a little
longer if the Miners will agree to ac-
cept lower wages and work longer
hours.
Millions to Fight Miners.
In pursuit of this idea Mr.. Baldwin
has involved the country in far heav-
Ter losses than the payment of any
further subsidy would entail. Millions
of dollars which might have been APP
piled to maintain wages and finance
the reconstruction of the industry
have been wasted while the lockout
goes on, to compel the miners to ac-
cept lower wages.
In terms of the national economy,
the government has forced the coun-
try to spend far more money in try
ing to drive the miners standards
down than would be required to main
tain those standards-and enable the
necessary reorganization of the indus
try to be carried8out, to the direct and
lasting benefit9pf the community at
large. ~
That Baldwin, has not the backing
Of public opinioHin HIS policy of starv-
ing the minerx into submission is
clearly demonstrated by the startling
result Of the Hammersmith by-elec-
ton. This election was fought d.
rectly on the mining issue. The result
was that the labor vote went up by
2,125 and the tory vote went down
by 3,441, and this seat won by the
tories at the last election was cap
tured from them by the labor party.
II the mining industry is to be
placed on a satisfactory basis 1t will
have TO be reorganized Nothing
could be clearer than this fact.