Mr. Shinwell deserves to be judged by the effect he
gives, or tries to give, to his threat to get mid-week sport stopped on account of the absenteeism it creates in the coalfields. The miners themselves would probably resent it, and that no doubt has to be taken into account ; but the question concerns match more than the coal in- dustry, as every Birmingham manufacturer knows well. In its totality the bearing of the evil on national prosperity is serious in the extreme, and when the so-called sport—for it is a very vicarious business after all—has such effects, the national interest clearly dictates that, so far as mid-week events in industrial localities are concerned, it should be summarily curtailed. Mr. Shinwell has, no doubt, no power to act in the matter single-handed, but he should be able to count on all necessary support from his colleagues. The trouble is that it has been left so late. Football, which is the chief alternative to work, is just about ending its season.
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