The Labour correspondent of the Times said on Tuesday that
opposition to some kind of joint conference is not in all districts quite so stubborn as would appear from the letter of Mr. Evan Williams. We can well believe it. If the Prime Minister could get a conference together he might win consent to the appointment of an arbitrator. We are glad to see springing up in various quarters a demand that new leaders should be found on both sides. For months we have been saying that Mr. Williams, Mr. Cook and Mr. Smith have become stale, that they have " got on one another's nerves," and that they are so intent upon their personal wrangle that they seem to be unable to take into their survey any of the relevant facts on a wider political horizon. If both sides agreed simultaneously to a change, of leadership there would be no loss of prestige to either. The advice and know- ledge of the present leaders need not, of course, be ruled out. In many material ways these could be drawn upon, and no doubt would be drawn upon, by any com- petent arbitrator. Nor need the Government hesitate in the present desperate plight to call upon men of good will and experience by name. Why should not Lord Londonderry be brought in ? He is a man with intimate knowledge of the coal industry and a man of wide experience in public business too.
Previous page
