Cracking?

White-necked, white-handed coal miners have ceased to be anomalous in Britain, for the coal strike, bringing leisure for ablution, has lasted through the summer (TIME, May 10 et seq.). With one million miners still on strike, with their four million dependents living on hand-to-mouth doles, with British production at last seriously curtailed by lack of coal, a conference was held last week between miners and owners. Britain waited expectant while President Evan Williams of the Mine Owners' Association conferred directly for the first time since June with President Herbert Smith of the Miners' Federation, at London. Mr. Smith had just received a mandate-- from the striking miners to negotiate. He announced himself willing to compromise on every point but one--the present seven-hour miners' day must not be lengthened by a moment. Suave, but inflexible, Mr. Williams replied that the owners demand "revision" (lengthening) of the miners' working day as a preliminary to any compromise whatsoever. . . . Ensued complete deadlock before the peace negotiations had even begun. The negotiants bowed formally to one another, dispersed. All hope of peace seemed gone. Then 17,000 Nottingham and Derby coal miners broke suddenly with the Miners' Federation, accepted an offer from the Bolsover Colliery Co. to resume work at their former wages, agreed to labor 7 1/2 hours a day. Though capitulation by 17,000 miners out of a striking 1,000,000 meant nothing, an impetus to separate and regional agreements was thus given by example. Tory mine owners, prematurely exultant, touted rumors that the strike was cracking.