THE BRITISH COAL STRIKE

The commencement of the coal strike on Saturday marks the forcing by labor of the issue of radicalism in Great Britain. The English people are normally cool headed and stand always for fair play. Yet the miners show in their strike aims a sharp divergence from this characteristic; while ostensibly their demands are for higher wages, it is felt that the real issue is nationalization of the mines. The government some time ago offered to submit this question to an impartial tribunal. The miners refused. Lloyd George offered to pay them higher wages on condition that they bring production totals up to past records. The miners refused. Their leaders tried to counsel them. The miners would not listen.

The progress made by Bolshevist gold in England is well recognized. Yet, for the strikers to win on this occasion, it is necessary for them to enlist the sympathy of the rest of the country. It is here that they will meet their Waterloo. The English will not be stampeded. They realize that the government has been unusually fair in its offers and that the miners have been stubborn. The sympathy enlisted will be in direct ratio to the success that radical propaganda has had. It will be a test case.