Evening star., 1926-11-20
COAL STR|KE'SEND
SEENDESP|TEU UNION
British Miners Are Expected
to Return Soon, Although
Terms Were Rejected.
~ the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, November 20.-Although
the delegate conference of the coal
miners yesterday decreed that the va
,1ous district organizations should
make no final settlement Of the coal
strike with the mine owners until an
other conference In held to consdder
the reports of the various nee otia-
tions, the consensus is this will have
little effect.
The belief prevails thct the seven
month strike. which Is regarded the
most disastrous in the countrys an
nals is virtually over and that next
week miners will be Fastening back
to work. even faster than they have
returned to the pits Of recent days
The decree Of the delegate confer
erce was issued after the announce
ment of official figures In the ballot
ing on the governments terms Tor
settling the strike, which were re-
jected by a ma jority OF l47,6O6.
Mining Due to~Start Soon.
There is no sign of any formal call.
ing off Of the strike, and 1t is expeCted
that some of the e-hard districts viii
continue to hold out for a while; but
all present indications are that prep
arations are being made for the min
ing Of coal to start forthwith and that
the men will return, however reluct-
antly, under conditions that almost
certainly will involve longer hours
and lower wages.
Such an ending has aroused mis-
givinss in many quarters. where hope
for permanent and cOntented peace
seemingly Is not strong. 1t Is con-
tended that while the miners have
gained nothing and lost much, the
mine owners cannot claim more thar
a pyrrhic victory. Their losses and
the losses Of their shareholders are
enormous; the nation and national In
dustries have suffered incalculable dis
sented by the current calculation of
money loss, amounting to between
81. SOC, 100000 and $4,000 ,0o0, 900.
The ruin Of the miners federatio
is among the results assumed by the
press commentators. They say its
policy has failed, and its final effort
to keep control in settlements of dis
pute between miners and mine owners
is regarded as a hopeless attempt to
save it's face.
Beaten by Economic Facts.
Viscount Grey Of Fallodon, former
Ambassador to the United States, in a
recent speech said the miners had
been beaten, not by the owners and
not by the government, but by eco
nomic facts. This view Is indorsed
by an influential section of the press
The Times, citing Viscount Grey's
summation Of the situation, says: "It
would be even truer to say they were
beaten by their own leadership, not
withsta nding the governments efforts
to save them"
The newspaper thinks that the
early departure of A. j. Cook, secre-
tary of the federation. to attend the
congress Of the Russian n trades unions
in Moscow next month Is a signif1ca mt
fact.
After announcing the result of the
vote against the government terms
of settlement, the miners delegates
adopted resolution that all the dis
tricts be asked to negotiate with mine
owners for agreements, but that no
settlement should be made until a
further national conference was. held
to receive the reports. This left the
miners and the mine owners in a
position to make the best terms
possible. under rather shadowy super
vision which. the federation hopes to
hold over the settlements. without
any aid from the government.