Page:Cook (1927) The Nine Days.djvu/9

 Government and the coalowners, called together on April 29th a Conference of Executives of all the unions before which I had the honour of placing the miners' case. The Conference kept in session until Saturday, May 1st. There were two decisions of importance. One was that no negotiations should take place until the lock-out notices had been withdrawn, and the other was the now historic and memorable decision of 1st of May, which included a decision that no one should return to work at the end of the General Strike unless all union agreements were to be maintained.

Some of us felt that this Conference should have been called earlier to make all preparations for the struggle.

Time and again we had appealed for that to be done. But there were certain leaders who were determined that no preparations should be made. Most notable among them was J.H. Thomas, arguing that any preparations would only encourage the Government to make ready, and would lead people to believe that we thought a fight inevitable. Either this was hypocrisy or lack of knowledge. As everybody knew, the Government had made full preparations to meet any emergency, and were determined that the miners should have their National Agreements broken and their hours lengthened.

The miners' case for a living wage has never been questioned. No body of men, whatever their political opinions, could deny the miners' claim to a living wage, nor could they deny that the wages operating on April 30th did not even represent wages equivalent to the standard of life in 1914. And the whole Labour Movement were unanimous on one thing: that they would take any action necessary to protect our present hours and standards. Therefore, the decision of May 1st was to support the miners in defending their present position. No longer hours; no reductions in wages; and no breaking of the National Agreement. That was clear. For example, Bevin, speaking at the Memorial Hall on behalf of the General Council, said: "Even if every penny goes, and every asset is swallowed up, history will write that it was a magnificent generation that was prepared to do this rather than see the miners driven down like slaves."