Evening star., 1926-08-22

~ HE, following is brlef sum-
mary of the most important
news of the world for the
4 seven days ended August Il:
Great Britain.-On Wednes-
day the delegates conference or the
Miners Federation authorized the eX-
ecutive committee Of the federatlon
to enter into negotiations with the
mine owners and the government
looking to settlement of the coal
strike. The next day accordingly TINS
committee and the central committee
Of the mining association 'oWners)
met. They quickly parted with noth-
ing accomplished except an addition
of mutual irritation.
The owners program was eight
hours and wage settlements by dis
tricts. They declared against further
subsidy from the government. Inc
miners representatives turned down
the proposal of extension of the work
ing day and of district settlements,
with the usual bang. Wages must pe
on 2 national basis. Wage cuts might
he considered in connection with the
matter of reorga aniZation.> ct is not
unite clear from the dispatches, but
apparently the miners committee IN
sisted. as of old. that no wage cuts
should become effective prior TO pro-
mitigation of q definite program or
reorganization for the industry, guar
antee by the government OF lts real
ization within a reasonable stated pc
riod of time and of just provision Tor
miners thrown out of employment IN
consequence of the reorganization, ana
aDpreciable beginning of the work OF
reorganization pursuant to the pro-
gram.)
II NAV scarcely be doubted that ma
ioritv sentiment in the realm is with
the miners, especially since they nave
aha ndoned the slogan of Not penny
off nav, not a minute off the day. so
far as to be willing to consider some
Temporary wage reductions. 1t Is gen
erally felt to be very unfair to the
miners to require them to accept
lower standard of living without CIV
ing them as clear an understanding
and as definite guarantees concerning
tbeir future status as may be possible.
There is even. il seems to me. gen
eral sympathy with the miners refusal
to hear 10 extension or the WorklIls
day. They regard the shortening or
the working day as the most precious
of the gains so hardly won IN the
struggle away from that serfdom so
"Svbil." They argue that it would be
aa sier 70 recover the lost wages than
the lost hour. =.
The attitude of the government is
obscure. most irritatingly and unfor-
tnnately so. Some day the govern
ment is itself in the dark: hesitates as
70 measures of reorganization, eSpe-
ciallv in view of the fact that sue
cessful consummation of experiments
now widely making in low-temper-
ature carbonization and dlstillatlon OF
raw coal would result not merely In a
far more drastic reorganization OF the
coal mining industry than that con.
templated by the report OF the coal
commission, but. if you please. revoiu-
tionary reorganization of the whole
Industrial structure. But, say the
critics of the government. the re-
organization contemplated by the re-
mort of the coal commission would be
in the right direction anyhow, would
not be labor lost, would facilitate the
larger reorganization in somewhat
dim prospect. The question is techni-
cal and no doubt under painful advise
ment by Mr.. Baldwin. At any rate.
the government has dealt with the re-
port of the coal commission eclecti-
cally, to all appearance hesitatingly,
if not muddlingly, which has re-
suited in muddlement and irritation
to the miners. Is it fair. under the
circumstances. to call them intransi-
gent? The obscurity is thickest as
to the government aid. Mr.. Baldwin
recently turned down the bishops
proposals on the ostensible grounds
that further subsidy Was unthink-
able. Yet very few of the critics can
1F -fs.,.. ion
TO put the industry. on a definitely.