The Miners' Federation on Tuesday formally asked its partners in
the " Triple Alliance " for approval and support. The railwaymen's and the transport workers' executives with equal formality agreed that Mr. Smillie's demands were " both reasonable and just and should be conceded forthwith." But things are never what they seem in Labour politica, and resolutions like this must never be interpreted literally. The politicians of the " Triple Alliance " are only trying to frighten the public and the Government. To judge from the anxious cries of certain Labour leaders for mediation and peace, Mr. Smillie's moderate associates realize that his violent methods are intensely unpopular, and that a coal strike declared by him at this moment would not only fail, but would also bring the whole Labour party into discredit. Whether they can control him we do not know. The Government's course is clear. They have only to adhere to their decision that the Miners' Federation's demands are wholly unacceptable. Mr. Smillie can be left to find his own way out of a false position.
