The case of Mr. Arthur Homer, the miners' leader, is
singular. Mr. Homer is a Communist ; there is no disguise or concealment about that. But he has worked with complete sincerity to improve coal-production in this country. I have never found anyone who doubted that. At the same time, as a Communist, he is dead against the Marshall Plan, and much more concerned to see it fail than succeed. To that extent he must sympathise with the Communist- inspired strikes in France, directed very largely against the Marshall Plan. But Mr. Homer is the servant of the National Union of Mineworkers, which has declared itself by a decisive majority in ,favour of the Plan. In those rather embarrassing circumstances Mr. Horner has flown to Paris to confer with the Confederation Ginerak du Travail, which is engineering the French strikes, including the French miners' strike. What will come of that remains to be seen. So does Mr. Homer's attitude about the possible supply of coal by this country to help France out in her extremity. And when Mr. Horner stays in Paris to plan with French Com- mun'sts, absenting himself from the first meeting of the new joint Coal Output Committee in London, very serious questions arise.
Previous page
