Evening star., 1926-05-24
STRONGER BRITAIN
TRACED TO STRIKE
Having 1t Out and Over With
Believed Beneficial
to Nation.
BY A. G.. GARDINER.

By Radio to The Star.
LONDON, May "a. - England's
storm has passed almost as suddenly
as it came. The nations knockout
blow to the general strike was COM
plete and final and even Left Wing
leaders admit that there never will
be another general strike. The Wea.
pom had to be tried, but it has proved
a broken reed.
The strikers had reckoned without
King Petrol, who henceforth holds
the key to the position.
All the evidence goes to show that
the episode has wrought a remarkable
change in the spirit of industry. The
menace of a general strike has black
ened the sky for years and made the
position of employers in many indus
tries almost intolerable. while estab-
fishing the authority of the more ex.
treme element of trade unionism.
Bogy Believed Destroyed.
The terror now has vanished. The
general strike is a bogy that VIII
never function again. The men now
know the limits of their power and
have become more reasonable. The
masters know their strength and are
no longer under duress. The pres
sure in the printing world had become
tyrannical, but in closing down the
newspapers the unions cut their own
throats and the new agreement has
made the employers masters once
more in their own affairs.
No disposition is visible to attempt
to destroy unionism, but henceforth
it will be contained within the limits
of it's legitimate functions.
Meanwhile, the coal dispute, which
was the origin of the whole trouble,
continues: both employers and en-
ploves have rejected Prime Minister
Baldwin's new proposals. Since the
government refuses to continue the
coal subsidy, the deadlock Is COM
plete.
Rig Fund From Russia.
The mems funds are near exhaus-
ton. but their spirit of resistance Is
inflexible. Russian miners have sent
a, quarter of a million pounds sterling
for the support of the miners, but
this is a mere drop in the bucket.
The home secretary, who inter,
cepted Russian help for the general
strike on the ground that that Strike
was illegal, announces that there VIII
be no interference with Soviet aid for
the miners, who are engaged In
legitimate trade dispute.
q. great crop Of political bitterness.
The whole political labor movement
is STAGGERING under the blow, and en-
yenomed personal conflicts rage as to
the responsibility for the Illuminating
disaster. On one side the leaders are
blamed for laundering into an impos'
sible challenge to the nation. On tne
other, they are denounced for coward
ice in surrendering.
Labor Without Leader.
]. H. Thomas, as usual, is the
scapegoat of the extremists. He is
accused of having engineered the
Black Friday collapse of the triple
alliance five years ago, and of defeat-
ing Red Friday revenge now, by dis
loyalty to the strike.
In the present circumstances, labor,
without a leader who holds the con
fidence or respect of his Followers Is
like a ship in a mutiny.
The Liberal position is much the
same. A violent storm is raging
around David Lloyd George. who is
accused of making personal capital
out of the misfortunes of the country.
His dispatches published in America,
and reproduced here, created great in
disnation. They are regarded as a
yelled justification of the strike and
an attempt to prejudice the interests
of the country abroad and make diff
culties for the government in a ma.
tional emergency.
Lloyd Georges supporters, mean
while, attack Lord Asquith and Ok
ford for criticizing only the strikers,
instead of ccndemning the govern
ment for m!shandling the situation.
Lloyd George Stranded.
The impression prevails here that
LLOYD George contemplated a bolt to
labor, but the premature collapse of
the general strike leaves him stranded,
with resentful Liberals demanding
that a fresh Jonah should be cast
from the ship.
Lloyd George refused to attend the
meeting of the Liberal shadow cab
met because Asquith supported
Prime Minister Baldwin without re-
serve. His opponents point out that
meanwhile he is writing for American
newspape in a spirit of hostile senti-
ment to the Liberal party, which on
the issue of the general strike over.
whelmingly indorsed the government.
Disruption of the party is complete
and all expectation of reconstruction
while Lloyd George remains now is
frankly abandoned.
tCOpyright 19C6)