On Tuesday the Conference decided to place the nationalization of
the mines at the head of the election programme. But the Conference had also to consider whether the millers were in the meantime to be helped, and, if so, how. Mr. J. H. Thomas, in spite of an attempt to shout him down, gave as good as he got, and with great power showed the futility of the demand for an embargo on foreign coal and for a levy on the trade unions in aid of the miners. How could his own friends, the railway- men, submit to a levy ? Some 45,000 of. them were out of work. They had been thrown out of work by the General Strike, and 200,000 of them were working only three days a week. Sacrifices ! How many more sacrifices were the railwaymen to make ? Mr. Ben Tillett told much the same story on behalf of the dockers and transport workers. The Transport Workers' Union had spent 11,000,000 on the coal dispute, and now had 80,000 men unemployed. As for the dockers, 60 per cent. of them were out of work.
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