Cylchgronau Cymru

DEIAN HOPKIN University College of Wales, Aberystwyth *This article is a revised version of a paper first delivered to the Merthyr Historical Society in October 1976. On 18th March 1911 a new weekly newspaper appeared on the streets of Merthyr Tydfil. Since that time, the Merthyr Pioneer has entered the folk-lore of South Wales socialism to the extent that when, in 1977, a group of socialists at Merthyr Tydfil sought to establish a new, local paper for themselves, the title they chose was the Merthyr Pioneer. It is not difficult to understand why this should be so. Quite apart from the special position that Merthyr Tydfil has occupied in the annals of radicalism and dissent, the Pioneer was associated from the outset with Keir Hardie, by any standards a key figure in the history of Merthyr, and indeed in the British Labour movement. The Pioneer was, moreover, more resilient than most other newspapers of the Left in its period. It survived difficult times, even though its outspoken policies made it an obvious target for attack. And in its pages were reflected the activities and interests of the Merthyr Labour move ment in a turbulent period, extending from the Cambrian Coal Dispute of 1910-11, through the First World War, to the volatile politics of 1921-2. Being a weekly news- paper it offered a fuller account than a monthly newspaper could possibly offer of the debates and political struggles which took place in the borough. There is, however, one final reason for the historical significance of the Pioneer. Unlike most left-wing news- papers, it was established in a very formal way through the creation of a printing and publishing company. The survival of certain key documents of this company throws valuable light both on the performance and structure of the Pioneer company and, by inference, on the character of the Labour movement in Merthyr Tydfil. In a sense, the spiritual starting point of the Merthyr Pioneer was the General Election of 1900 when Keir Hardie was returned, rather surprisingly, as junior Member for Merthyr Tydfil. There was already one socialist member on the Merthyr Urban District Council, C.E.G. Simmons, but Hardie's victory ushered in a new era for the Merthyr Labour movement. By 1905, twelve Labour councillors had been elected and one of them, Enoch Morrell, became the borough's first Labour mayor.1 It was at this point that the idea of a local Labour newspaper was broached. A newspaper was regarded as an essential part of the socialist armoury. The twenty years before 1914 witnessed a revolution both in the style and in the production of newspapers, accompanied by a major transformation in management and ownership. By 1900, for example, there were 172 daily newspapers being published in Britain and though a ferociously increasing competition led, very quickly, to a contraction in the total number of individual newspapers, their circulation continued to climb rapidly. 2 One reason for this spectacular development was the onset of a new technology which made the production of newspapers both easier and cheaper. Another was a fuller THE MERTHYR PIONEER 1911-22*