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IN LONDON: THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE MINING AGREEMENT
Mine owners are far from satisfied.
LONDON, August 1. The newspapers continue to make predictions about what the agreement reached between employers and miners will cost the country. The most moderate admit that the aid promised by the government to support the coal industry will be no less than 10 million pounds, which means an increase of four pence in every pound of taxes paid by taxpayers.
Although the public is generally satisfied to see the threat of strike action averted, many political figures are complaining that the Prime Minister capitulated three hours after announcing in an official statement that the government would not grant any subsidies to the mining industry. It is to be expected that Mr. Baldwin will receive rebukes even from several Conservatives. The mine owners themselves are voicing their complaints. The director of the South Wales Mining Association stated, in part:
The decision taken by the Conservative government is a real disaster. The cure is worse than the disease; we have only taken a step back to make a leap forward.
Mr. Cook calls for the nationalization of the mines
Mr. Cook, General Secretary of the Miners' Federation, declared that the agreement reached was only an armistice. He also issued a manifesto in which he assured that, when both parties are summoned before the Royal Commission, "it will soon be realized that the difficulties remain the same."
According to Mr. Cook, only a complete reorganization of the mining industry, including the elimination of private capital, can lead to the restoration of industrial balance.
On the other hand, Mr. Lloyd George declared: "Miners, mine owners, members of the House of Commons, and the public agree on one point: the government has not risen to the occasion."
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