After all, it is essential that for one very important
reason the coal industry should be Managed -ultitriately on a national basis. If there is to be an international fixing of prices the British coal industry Must be repre- sented as a whole, and the National Board is, or ought to be, a symbol of that culmination. We know that the mineowners object to mass-bargaining within Great Britain and prefer district bargaining as the result of their experiences of the " national " policy of the Miners' Federation, but they seem to be -making a mistake in smashing the symbol with a criticism which has only a temporary validity. Authorized figures for South Wales show that the mines have lost £4,000,000 in the last four years, and the Times points out that according to the owners' figures the interest on overdrafts, on loans and on debentures, together with other costs, has brought the total loss in four years up to £8,000,000. The owners would surely be wise to appear personally at the National Board and face their critics with such formidable figures. * * * *
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