Evening star., 1926-05-16
BY HENRY w. BUM.

"HE following is a brief sum
mary of the most important
news of the world for the
| Il seven days ended May Is:
Great Britain.-On Wednes
| day the British general strike was
| called off by the General Council ol
the Trades Union Congress, having
| run a course of only eight days
! Prime Minister Baldwin had declared
| that he would not resume negotiations
with the council until it had uncon
ditionally called off the strike
Whether or not Mr.. Baldwin was well
advised in taking that position, it was
one from which he simply could not
recede.
The council then surrendered un
| conditionallv. Formally, yes. Mr.
! Baldwin evouchsafed no written OF
direct oral guarantee. But there mad
heen conversations. wherein labor
leaders mot including miners chle1s)
mine owners and sundry blgwigs par
tfcipated. in which Sir Herbert sam
mel. who had been president or the
Roval Coal Commission. played the
leading role, closely supported by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Ear
of Reading and Lloyd George. Sir
Herbert submitted to the labor leaders
a. program for pacification ana recon.
s,ruction of the coal industry, of
which the following are the main
features:
~ The government subsidy to the
coal mining industry to be renewed
"for such reasonable time as might
be required"
C0 a national wage board for the
industry to be instituted, to lnciude
representatives of the miners ana tne
mine owners, and neutrals' WHICH
should revise the miners wage scneu
ules. but with the priVlso tnat io
wage revisions should begin 10 run
before iron-clad guarantees hau ueeI
given the miners that reorsatiiAdlioi'
Of the industry as per the reconl'
mendations Of the coal COMMISSION
would promptly be erected
1N The government to appoint
| commission to include representatives
of the miners, which shoulu ora" "f
| the legislation required.
az The government to provide aoe'
ouately for the miners thrown out
of work through closing down Oh
unprofitable colleries ESTIMATED al
from 10000 to 100000 mem, hndlne
! other employment for them and grant
! ing a super-dole pending such pro
vision.
| The above program seems answer
! able to the farthest reasonable de
mands of the miners. 1t may scarceiy
be doubted that the general councli
| was induced to call off the genera
strike by the convention that Mr
/ Baldwin was pledged to do his utmos'
toward realization of that program.
| But is Mr. Baldwin so pledged! we
l,o,,o ONLY, nj TO 90 uDOn.
But to me the inference Is If
| resistible that Mr.. Baldwin authorized
Sir Herbert to intimate delicately
whisperingly, that he did so pledge
himself. That the council should ac
cept the intimation so conveyed as
though it were a signed and sealed
| written pledge is. in my view of it
| the highest tribute to Mr.. Baldwin
and Sir Herbert; while testifying nc
less to the good sense and
! magnanimity of the council.
At any rate, the council presented
| themselves to Mr.. Baldwin on Wednes
day morning and without expressed
conditions declared the general strike
off. That, However, did not affect the
coal miners strike, which continues.
| The miners executives. as was to
| be expected, have shown themselves
| intransigent, announcing dissatisfac
ton with Sir Herbert's program; but
| better sense is expected of the ma
| tional conference of miners delegates,
| now in session in London.
| 1t is probably correct to say that
the losses from the general strike are
| more offset by certain happy eff
| fects therefrom. That monstrous
sham, the general strike, has beer
exposed; that popular fallacy has beer
punctured; that terrifying but com
paratively harmless Djinn has beer
nut back into his bottle and the stop
per forced home. The British people
have acquired new self-confidence
and a remarkable addition to theil
J prestige. Best of all. the all.impor