The daily worker., 1926-07-31


their lifts to New York and Passaic S
had sent "a big gift of 1929 pounds"
plus lover $4,000. But what has been
sent is not enuf, much more must fol-
low.
Battered old miners lamps are be-
ing sold by the women's relief com
mittee, of which Evelyn Preston is
representative in the United States.
Some of the lamps bring more than
$50. Pins duplicating the Davy lamp
in miniature are also being sold wide
ly. These lamps are the tall ones car
ried by the miner by hand and stood
or hung up, instead Of having one on
the cap.
Mines Paid For Three Times Over.
In the column, Points for the Pit
man." the miner is told what they get
out of you: THE total capital in
vested in the British coal industry is
16O,0OO,OOO pounds (s80O,00O, ,OOO) but
during the lost 25 years the mine own
ers have taken 404,0OO,OOO pounds
($2,O2O,OOO,O0O) in profits and the roy
aIty-owners 150,OO0,0OO pounds, (S750,-
000,000) in royalties. That is to say,
in rs years profits and royalties were
sufficient to buy out the mines three
times overland they still belong to
the mine owners"
OVerwork Causes Disease.
"The Deadly Eighth Hour" is an
article by DIR. Maurice Newfield, who
tells from medical point of view
the disastrous effects of long working
hours on miners. He says that when
work is too hard and carried on for
too long time, the body never COM
pletely RECEIVERS from the fatigue and
hence is weakened in resistance and
made more susceptible to disease.
Every authority on industrial med
icine knows perfectly well that the oc-
cupation of the miner, involving as it
does, working in bad atmospheres
contaminated with poisonous gases
and coal dust, in dim and insufficient
light, and often immersed to the waist
in water, has within it all the factors
that make for high degree of indus
trial fatigue within very short space
of time"
An eye trouble known as nystagmus
"a disease of sight,-may come from
working in insufficient light, says the
doctor, but the miner is not RESPONSE
BILE for that and if he were not so fa-
tigued he would probably not develop
nystagmus only from the poor light.
Anthracosis (miners pththisis, or min
ers' asthma) is caused by the inhala-
ton of coal dust, "but the over-work-
ed, debilttated miner with sapped re-
sistance is the soil" for the disease to
develop in.
Naturalization The Issue.
'The time is passing in nearly all
important industries when it is of any
use for labor to discuss the questions
of wages, hours, and working condi-
tions, apart from the questions of or
ganization and policy on which wages,
hours and working conditions de-
pend" declares R. H. Tawney, econ
omist who presented labor's case to
the British coal commission. "In the
coal industry it has long since pass
ed" he continues in his plea for ma
tionalization. Labor should have be-
gun fighting in 1919 for its program Of
naturalization, he asserts.
Private Ownership Must Go.
81 hold that a coal industry nation.
alization council should be formed.
representing the Miners Federation,
the Trades Union Congress, and the
Labor Party, that it should establish
similar councils up and down the
country and that 1t should organize
campaign for public ownership to last
till public ownership becomes a fact!"
Tawney concludes:
'The case is made clear that private
ownership and operation OF the coal
industry cannot be expected to meet
the needs of the miners for living
wage" John Strachey Is editor of The