A huge crowded public meeting was held last Monday evening at Tumble Public Hall to protest against Conscription. The workers from the neighbouring collieries had congregated in large numbers, and the speakers at the meeting were men appointed from among the workers.
The chairman was Mr. Rees. Morgan, New Dynant Colliery, and speeches were delivered by Messrs. John Jones, J. D. Scourfield, W. Rees, and S. O. Davies.
The Chairman made it clear that the meeting was purely an Anti-Conscription meeting, and could not in any possible sense be interpreted as opposed to voluntary recruiting. In fact, he was a member of the local recruiting committee, and was an active enthusiast on behalf of the voluntary system.
Strong speeches in opposition to Conscription were delivered by the other speakers. They repudiated most indignantly the absurd untruth that had been circulated by the owners of the local colliery, that some of the speakers were Pro-Germans. The gathering humorously ridiculed the accusation, and it was treated as a joke.
Reference was made to the disastrous effects Conscription would have upon the Trade Union movement. It would deprive them as workers of its power to withstand the exploitations of the capitalists.
The crippling of the French railway strike and postal service strike some few years ago by the mobilisation of the French workers, who were conscripts, and commanding them to return to their work not as postal or railway workers, nor as Trade Unionists, but as soldiers of the French Republic, was also referred to.
The Government was severely criticised on their present system of raising the money necessary to carry on the war, and the latest project of raising money by forced loans from the workers was strongly resented in face of the fact that the Munitions Act had turned out to be almost ineffective in its naïve attempt to prevent huge fortunes being made as the result of circumstances consequent upon the existence of the war.
The talk of “forced loans” could hardly be expected to appeal to the workers when they in the South Wales collieries were at decrease in their earnings, while side by side with this we found that the shares of the big South Wales combines and companies were rising in price on the market.
Before we would ever allow Conscription, it was only reasonable that for the sacrifice of our lives we should see our industries and land conscripted in order that we might all realise that what was at stake was the common lot of all citizens of the kingdom.
The speakers’ addresses were next enthusiastically received, and the meeting closed after they had replied to the many questions asked by members of the audience.
