The daily worker., 1926-02-18

was right. And why? This commits
sion answers, that they had examined
the financial position of the corpora
tion and that settled the question
for them. It's true that they did not
examine the financial condition" of
the miners who before they ever went
on strike were living on the charity
of the people of this country and
even if they had, that terrible plight
of the miners would have had no
weight with this highly advertised
unprejudiced commission.
This commissions report is a huge
eruption of words. The ordinary coal
miner is overwhelmed by them. What
the miner wanted to know was how
he was to get enough to live on; what
the report tells in three pages of or
binary newspaper is how the coal in
dustry can be made profitable for Bes-
co. They tell the miner for instance
that the shack that Besco is allowing
him to live in is not paying Besco,
therefore Besco should sell the shack
to the miner at the earliest possible
date. Here is how the commissioners
themselves described the shacks that
they want Besco to sell to the work
ers and make a virtue out of the SELL
ing:
MANY of these houses are old
some of them having been erected by
the General Mining Association more
than fifty years ago. Others were
built for the purpose of housing men
engaged on the. erection of portions
of the operators plant or in opening
up new mines; the latter are little
better than temporary shelters and
are known and properly described as
'shacks.' Many families occupy hous-
es that are much too small for their
needs. The houses generally have
no kitchen or cellar. and in certain
districts, in default of waterworks.
water is either delivered by the opera
tors in carts or has to be carried
from a distance. Where water is
piped into the house, there is an almost
total absence of bathrooms or water
closets, due, we were informed, to the
lack of sewers. There is much COM
plant of the leaky condition of the
roofs, Of ill-fitting doors and windows,
Of doors that are rotted or badly
worn, and of walls on which paper
and plaster are in shreds and patch
es."
These are the houses that are own
ed by Besco and the houses that this
commission is recommending Besco
to sell to the miners because II does
not pay" Besco any longer to own the
tumbledown shacks.
Whitewashing Capitalism.
The commission dealth at length
with the causes of unrest in the coal
fields Of Nova Scotia. They say that
this unrest is not caused by any one
thing, but is the result of the follow
ing particulars:
(1) The opposition which the op-
orators have offered themselves in the
U. M. w. of A.
(2) The Introduction OF Commu-
nistic theories and aims into ordina-
ry industrial relationships.
CD The reaction Of factions with
in the union
(D The difficulties experienced in
adjusting smaller grievances as they
arise in the pit.
(5) The difficulties also that have
been experienced in the settlement OF
larger questions, particularly those
relating to wage variations.
go The abuse OF Cancellation
machinery and the policy OF playing
tactics" rather than attempting TO un.
derstand each other.
CD The economic distress arising.
particularly in certain districts, from
very irregular employment.
Continued In Next Issue.)