OCCASIONAL NOTE

Shortage of rolling stock and other railway hardships have so long formed the subject of complaint by the coal companies, that there is a certain novelty about the fact, revealed to us in the last published railway administration survey, that the railways have on more than one occasion during the past year, been reduced to serious straits through the apprehended shortage of coal. Especially in view of the controversy now proceeding between the Coal Controller and the Mining Association the outside public might have been forgiven for carrying away the impression that the railways were “on velvet,” to use a popular phrase, where coal was concerned, and that it was the unfortunate collieries which were always at a disadvantage. It is proverbial, however, that those who are well-off never seem to be aware of the fact, and so we have the railway report surveying in retrospect “times when the coal stocks ran down to a critically low figure, and the question was whether the railways would be able to keep themselves or essential industries going.” Considering that the railways appear to have had first call on coal as well as on rolling stock the recurrence of these crises suggests that in the matter of coal supply they did themselves less than justice. In spite of everything, however, they managed to make an aggregate profit of, apparently, more than ten millions sterling, and it would be very interesting to have an analysis of the proportion borne to this handsome total by their savings due to cheap coal.

LABOUR CONDITIONS

The Depar tment of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Medical Research Committee have appointed an Industrial Research Board with Professor Sherrington, of Oxford, as chairman, to investigate the relation of hours of labour and other conditions of employment, including methods of work in relation to the production of fatigue. The duty of the Board will be to organise an investigation of different industries with a view to the discovery of favourable hours of labour and rest pauses.

RANGOON RICE MARKET

The rice market is slacker than last week owing to the nearness of the holidays. The Secretary of the Burma Rice Merchants Association has sent a telegram to the Viceroy’s Secretary and the Foodstuffs Commissioner asking that the freight for rice to Bombay, Calcutta and Madras be reduced to pre war figures, and that railway facilities for the transport of rice from these ports to localities where it is needed be provided. The present freights from Rangoon are Rs 55, Rs 36 and Rs 22-8 respectively which the Association considers excessive, which it urges should be reduced to as low a rate as could cover the cost of transport.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Mr. Leon Bourgeois, President of the French Association for the Society of Nations, interviewed, said he and the President of the British, American and Italian Associations were now formulating a scheme for presentation at the Peace Conference, namely that the Allies firstly form a League of Nations including compulsory arbitration and limitation of armaments. Then the Allies would inform Germany of the conditions of peace, and immediately after peace was concluded the Allies would convoke a universal conference at which they would call upon nations anxious to join the League to observe the rules agreed upon by the Allies. Guarantees would be required of each State, and those presented by Germany would be strictly verified.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

An expedition is being sent to Austria- Hungary by the American Commission to negotiate peace, to study the political, social and economic conditions in Austria and the surrounding States. It will have its headquarters in Vienna and sub-agencies at Prague, Budapest, Agram and elsewhere, and will report from time to time to the enquiry department of the Commission. The party is headed by Professor Collinge of Harvard University, who recent ly returned from Archangel. Among other members are Professor Kerner of the University of Missouri for Bohemian affairs; Mr. C.M. Storey of Boston, who for the last three years has been with the Department of Justice devoted to the control of alien enemies; Lieut.- Colonel Sherman Miles, who served as military attaché in the Balkans and Russia; Lieutenant Reginald Foster, previously in Poland for the Rockefeller foundation; Captain Dellschaft, recently with the Prisoners of War Congress at Berne; Captains Passkowtok and Campagnoli.