Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-07
BY CYRIL ARTHUR PLAYER.


The Communists are being stupid
The Communist group in Great
Britain Is interesting. It includes refu-
gees of many tongues among them re-
spectacle intelligsntsia who cry over the
privationS of the unemployed.
With these people the writer spent
much time; attended purely Com
munist motion picture show. The man.
ner of this unemployment film was as
follows: 1t showed impressive pictures
of prominent London edif1ces. illustra-
tive of British contributions to democ-
racy. government and the like. Flashed
swiftly among these pictures were views
of British regiments leveling arms and
firing volleys at unperceived foes. Then
followed superb lot CT views of British
industries which. however. formed a
satirical comment on naturalization
A picture of conveyors loading ships
was followed by view of the unem-
ployed who, presumably. would have
had work If conveyors had not been in
vented. steel bore digging through
coal was companioned by the faces OF
idle miners. The cure for all this, the
film proclaimed. was obviously solidarity
with the u. S. S. r., and to prove the
case there were shown long views of in
dustry and progress in Russia with
giant machines-rationali
That is one extreme. The other is
the subject of this article, this is the
view of the employers or, If you will, OF
the conservative party.
Employers Called Stubborn.
The employers have been more or
less heartily damned for StubbornneSS
in reaching settlements on wage and
hours issues. 1t is less remarked, how
ever that labor itself has been reSpon-
sible for some of its own problems, nor
should that fact be blinked because it
may be questionable to say so.
For example it cannot be denied that
the miners, by reason of their strength
largely contributed to their own ruin
The beginning of the real economic
trouble with the miners dates to the
days Immediately preceding the war
when they began to get strongly organ
lied. At that time they were organic
ing for shorter hours and more money
and were ably led by Frank Hodges
Hodges was clever negotiator; knew
when to cede point; knew when to be
firm, and, as a result, was respected
and trusted by employers. He was an
informed econor7tct and had no fear of
facts; often he told the men their am
bitions were illogical and illusory. and
probably that was why he lost his hold
on the rank and file.
That left the gate open for the fire.
brand. Emperor" A. j. Cook. who
eventually obtained complete control as
general secretary. Cook appealed to
the Communist element, and because
those who have too little and hope for
everything always relish extravagant
gestures, the miners in their eventual
period of adversely put their strength
behind him.
Before the war the miners worked
q nine-hour shift. There were two
shifts. When the war came miners
were scarce as a result of army en-
rollment. Finally the government for
bade further recruiting of miners. and
those already in the service were held,
20 far as possible, to the mines Be
cause of their power the miners were
able to force adoption of the eight
hour shift, ard then they forced the
shift down to seven hours. The owners,
to maintain output, had to increase the
STATS and the pay roll. But for a pay
roll considerably augmented the out
put was not increased in proportion; in
fact. the output remained virtually sta
tionary, and at times even fell below
the records of previous years.
The industry at length aWoke to the
fact that it was grossly overmanned;
that it had on the pay roll surfeit of
labor necessary to make the whole sys-
TEN effective. and that this was not
only costly but fatal, as the output did
not cover the cost.
Price of Coal Scars.
The price of coal scared. This re-
acted on consumption figures; trade
then fell off and, to complicate matters
still further, the reparations scheme
went into effect and Germany began to
unload coal on all former British GUS
toners in Europe-Holland, France,
Italy and elsewhere-and the foreign
market demand for British coal fell.
This, in turn. affected shipping, which
was in the habit of picking up coal
where other goods were unavailable.
The first crisis came in 1921, when
there was three months coal strike,
and Great Britain had to import coal
to keep business going. In spite of this,
scores of furnaces in the north were
closed down and industry in every di-
Tection was affected.
The strike finally was called off and
the country was beginning to see day.
light when the coal strike of 1926, which
developed into costly and futile gen.
eral strike. set the industrial clock back
1t is only fair to state that this in
formation was not furnished by J. B.
Forbes Watson, director of the National
tions, or by any one directly or indi-
rectly Connected with the employers.
The employers, at least, have reached
rock bottom, and it is apparent that,
excluding the extremists Of the indie
pendent Labor Party and their cousins,
the outright Communists, labor is more
nearly in sympathy with the present
attitude Of industry than ever before in
the history of Great Britain.
W. Hr;a @olr
tries normally employing 1000, 900 work.
people, may begin with the statement
that for some years before the world de-
preSsicn there was widespread, though
erroneous. belief that the restoration of
this countrys industrial vitality would
follow from external circumstances,
such as the restoration of financial sta
hilitv in foreign countries Today there
IS the same tendency to seek consola-
ton in the fact of world depression and
- ignore the real gravity of the situa-
ton, which lies in the fact that for
~ years before the world depression
hogan Britain had been continuously
enable to find employment for 10 per
rent OF its people, even when world
trade was good and other countries we're
Eot suffering from unemployment.
so Ivy Cent Owt of Work.
1'oIay. after 10 years of persistent
unemployment there are, from week to
week. some 20 per cent of the entire
Ipcustrial population without work
=hs country, with a population of As
$4,000 to support, has to import from
oIher countries so per cent of the food
e consumes and also large part of its
raw materials. To pay for these i'm
pore it has to rely on the ability of its
Industries to sell their goods and serv-
ices in the worlds markets.
Britains export trade, therefore, is
the very essence of its life, and it Is the
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