The Management Committee of the Northumberland Miners' Association, with which
Mr. Burt was so honourably con- nected for many years, have issued a remarkably outspoken circular on the cost of colliery strikes. After deploring the popularity which has lately attended the "strike for every- thing advocate," and condemning the futility of such a policy at the present time, the circular points out that the miners' strikes of the last few years have left the Association with no money and with an overdraft of £10,000 at the bank, which, owing to the decision to pay rent allowance to financial members who were living in rented houses during the last three weeks of the national strike, will be increased to £16,000. The cost of a county strike is nearly £24,000 a week, yet "notwithstanding this enormous cost, with nothing in our funds, and a huge overdraft to pay off, we are contemplating entering into a county strike on three separate questions, and in addition we have decided to give leave to two-thirds of our branches to come out on strike on two other separate grievances." It is clear that the officials find it impossible to reconcile such action with the dictates of reason and discretion. "Workmen," they say, "should never resort to a strike until everything else has failed, and not even then unless they have the means to strike hard enough and long enough."
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