Evening star., 1926-08-08
ENGLAND FACING TRADE
CRISIS EQUAL TO RUSSIA
Coal Strike Paralyzing Industry, Causing
Loss of Markets, Held IncaIculable
Blow to Nation.

not only fought in vain. but OF having
surrendered without discretion 1t he
lieved that once il had laid down its
arms the government the Baldwin
Cahinet--would do for it what il could
not do while labor was in arms. =,
least nominallv in rebellion against the
state. 1t feels that Il potent weapon
has been wrenched from it's hand;
without having been actually used, and
that it is being treated as If II had
used that weapon to the uttermOst.
Thus there is rapidly growing UP
school within the Labor party which,
so far from accepting the general
strike as futile. is insisting ti?at it can
be used effectively the moment the
leaders of the labor world are willing
to use 1t without reservation. Instead
of reacting against the extremists who
brought on a general strike. and thus
disaster. the lahOring classes in Britain
are now tending to hold responsible
for present conditions those moderate
leaders who opposed the ut;e of the
weapon and were responsible for uu-
conditional surrender in advance of
real battle. Today the labor press is
talking about a recurrence Of the gen
eral strike. but a recurrence when
abor is led by a Cook and not by a
Ramsay Macdonald or a Jim Thomas.
owners and operators. has determined
to carry the fight to a Knockout. IL
believes that if the coal miners are
crushed now the whole problem Of
national rGaniZatiOn will be sim
plified; that with the coal workers
conquered and cowed it will he pos
Sible to pass In turn to the other fields
and repeat the triumph. 1t believes
that the single and complete remedy
for British economic difficulties is the
reduction of wages or the increase of
hours. 1t believes it can put upon
the shoulders of labor the burden of
the battle for the maintenance of
British economic prosperity.
May Get Sulky Attitude.
Neither the Baldwin cabinet or at
least Mr.. Baldwin himself, nor con-
siderable section of British enlightened
opinion shares this view. 1t perceives
that even though labor he conquered
now and in other battles there remains
to it the traditional remedy. 1t may
have to work longer for less money.
but it cannot be made to produce
more in longer hours. The weapon
of "ca'cann," of deliberately restrict
ed production, remains in it's hands.
In word. the defeated workman will
remain the enemy; he will work. but
will not cooperate; his effort will be
to limit, not to increase. production,
to diminish, not to increase. efficiency
Thus, when the coal miners have
been starved into unconditional sur
render, as they 2"c bound To he in
the end, what will the situation be?
Abroad Britain viii have lost enor-
mously in foreign trade; she Will have
lost hugely in the supplying of many
IL = &C ,-il,n
German and American coal and Ger
man, French and American steel will
have replaced British. but not a few
of the losses will be permanent, or, to
say the least, the recovery of many
markets can only be by long and diff.
cult struggle.
At home, on the other hand, Brit
ain must face a frightfully aCcen-
tuated class bitterness Every laborer
in the country will share the feelings
of the defeated miners. will feel that
their fate is the fate. Of all. that the
purpose of capital is to saddle labor
with all the burdens incident TO Brit
ish economic depression. The definite4
lowering of the standard of living,
the actual loss of much gained by a
century of labor struggle. these must
be the first fruits of defeat for the
coal miners.
Facing Concealed STRIFE.
But will the existence of a united
and rebellious labor class permit real
British competition in the world mar
hets, competition with American
workingmen. who are satisfied, com.
petition even with German and
French wOrkingmen, who are AT the
present time prepared To produce up
n nd
the profound resentments " hicl, the
British wOrkingmen nOurisn? Is not
Britain in very grave danger of
passing from an open to Il concealed
general strike? To a permanent strike
carried on under the Guse Of work
ing by men who, having lost an open
battle, still have the single resource
of restricted production?
Is 1t too much to say that when
the coal miners have been beaten
and sent back to work at longer
hours and less wages the cost of Brit.
lsh coal will he higher. not lower?
L do not think so. And the whole
progress of recent years demonstrates
that underlying all else in the, British
situation is the constant decrease of
production per capita, due, in part.
to the deliberate restriction of OUTPUT
by the dissatisfied worker When the
general strike is over, when the coal
strike is over, both ending in defeat
for the worker, there remains the
task of making the defeated and re-
bellious worker. driven by hunger to
the mines, compete with the miners
of other nations, who have no such
grievances.
After all il is not the coal miners
who are in rebellion i'm Britain. il
Is British labor as q. whole, and the
battle is only being fought in the
field of the coal industry. For more
than three-quarters of a century be.
fore the World War the battle was
in progress. and labor slowly. with in
finite effort and heart-breaki king de
lays. gained measure of ground and
won for itself restricted but still real
victories.
Battle Now Over Losses.
But always the capitalistic world
yielded even the smallest and most
reasonable things only after pro-
longed resistance. Yet that battle
was in the period of prosperity, only
the struggle was over the surplus,
over the profits. Labor was fighting
for it's share, its modest share, of
very great gains.
But today the situation is quite
different. The battle is to determine
who is to bear the larger share of
the losses. The days of prosperity are
passed, at least for a time: existenca
depends upon the reduction OF costs
Restricted world markets. increased
competition, both combine 10 create a
of infinite difficulty. In this
situation the ideal. the essential con.
dition must be the deliberate and in
telligent cooperation of capital and
labor. They are. after all. doomed 10
partnership; the ruin of one is the
ruin OF the other. II the foreign mar
kets are lost there is no work for the
laborer, there is ruin for the Capi-
talist. But how can there he partner.