Coal: A Dilemma

Once again last week the House of Commons faced Britain's knotty coal problem. The need for coal continued to increase; its production kept on declining. Now tubby, furrowed, bespectacled Labor Minister Ernest Bevin proposed to send civilian and military conscripts selected by lot into the mines. This, the members recognized, was no solution. At best it was a desperate stopgap effort. It might produce more coal; it would also create more dissatisfaction. At week's end the first lottery drawing for the draft was postponed.

The Spectre. Gnarled, cheerful Jim Tweedy, who has spent 60 of his 71 years in the mines, put his finger on one trouble with Bevin's plan. Said he: "If you conscript a man for the Army he goes willingly to fight for country, home and bairns. If you conscript him for the pits he is told to fight for other men's profit." The House's lone Communist Willie Gallacher said it another way: "If it is proposed to ballot young men into the pits, it is time to ballot the owners out."

Britain's mines, backbone of its industrial economy, are privately owned, but are operated under Government control. Sharply hit by prewar depressions, working conditions are generally poor. Safety measures are often neglected. Miners are bitter, blame the owners for everything. Since war began, step after step aimed at getting more coal has failed. The extent of the failure: despite all efforts the average weekly output during November of this year was a million tons less than a year ago.

The Discontented. The mines are short of miners, those at work are unhappy. Among factors contributing to the miners' discontent: 1) threatened conscription of youths from mining families for pit jobs; 2) the feeling that peace will bring no improvement in working conditions or security; 3) distrust of union leaders; 4) resentment caused by the Government decrees which returned men in the armed forces or war factories to the lower-paid jobs in the mines.

Wanted: A Mandate. Time & again total nationalization has been proposed as a cure for the ailing, often mismanaged industry. Prime Minister Winston Churchill has refused to accede without a people's mandate. That would require a general election.

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