Expensive Twilight

The national loss resulting from the British Coal Strike (TIME, May 10 et seq.) was estimated last week to equal -L-40 ($200) for every family in the British Isles. None the less the 750,000 miners who were still on strike last week, refused by a 100,000 majority to accept the settlement negotiated by their Executive Committee with Premier Baldwin (TiME, Nov. 15), after their delegates' congress had empowered the committee to make peace "on the best terms to be had." When the miners thus sensationally repudiated last week both their delegates' congress and executive committee, the committee announced in despair that the strike will have to drag on until the various local mine unions are willing to make peace individually with their employers. Over 350,000 miners have already done this; and the "coal strike" as a national unity seemed to be all but fading from the news last week.