May 4.
Pecuiar emphasis has been laid on the fact that probably for the first time in the history of their crises the miners have not been given an: opportunity to ballot on the offers made to them by the opposing side. In the light of this information the' opinion must be that the ballot is withheld because the leaders fear a serious split in the ranks, and having heard somewhat of the hardship the strike has already wrought in the coalfields, that would be a perfectly natural event. Extremists among any section of the British people are invariably in a small minority, and in our industrial life no less than in - polities and diplomacy, the spirit of compromise, which has carried us so far, is ever to be observed. This spirit is what the miners' leaders evidently -fear at the present juncture. They are fighting for recognition of definite claims, of a definite status for the: mining industry, and having got the miners out on strike they are evidently trying to keep them there until a decision has been forced. It gives the impression of something new in the sphere of industry, for there is a dis; tinct suggestion of the army of' workers being controlled by general staff, just as much as is an army in the field. Apparently a strong discipline is being enforced, apparently the leaders have taken to heart the lessons of the war when they saw the tremendous driving force comprised in a body of men obeying, automatically it seemed, the dictates of one centralized authority. This very fact brings into prominence a feature of which hints have from time to time been given, that the nature of the struggle is changing from economic to political.
This feature is matter for anxiety, but attention should be given to the extent to which it may prevail. In the camp of the miners two forces are probably at work to-day, one, represented by the leaders, being intent on the political aspect of the case, the other, supported by the greater number of the men, being concerned solely with the strike's economic results, with the effect it will have on their livelihood. The latter part of the proposition will readily be admitted, for to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.