The morning call., 1893-10-08
THOUSANDS ARE DEPENDENT
Owing to the Lockouts Many
Are Almost Starving.
A VERY GLOOMY PICTURE DRAWN
With All the Hunger the Only
Need for Police Is to Feed
the Destitute.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7.-Frederic's letter to
the Times from London says: Last week
it seemed as if the story then being told Of
disaster and famine that was desolating
the whole broad counties of industrial
England was as bad as anything possibly
could be in the existing state Of civiliza-
tion. Moreover. there appeared to be no
hopeful streaks of light in the sky. But
to-day we are Oh the threshold of the
eleventh week of this unparalleled calam-
ity. and not only are the heavens biacker
than ever, but distress is multiplying itself
like a malignant outbreak of cholera after
a rainfall. 1t is said now that fully 300, 900
men, women and children In Lancashire
alone are dependent from meal to meal on
pnblic charity. which would bring the
whole army up to three-Quarters of a
million.
The relief measures, which are led by
two Radical London papers, at last are be-
ginning TO show signs Of success. but they
are still ridiculously incommensurate with
the gravity of the awful crisis. Little
more than $4,000 only has been raised
thus far in London, although several
columns are devoted daily to strenuous an
peals. Miss WilaId's donation of her
watch. Zola's gift of go and John Dilon's
81 get talked about, but OF organized help
from the non-advertising public there is a
melancholy lack.
Doubtless. however, these will come in
good order.
Attending this vas. social convulsion as
a whole continues to be the most remark
able feature of it in all Lancashire, where
bou haan "A In
ten Police Court cases have arisen. At
several points where, in an earlier panic,
bodies of extra police were drafted in,
strange constables have been employed to
cook and serve meals at improvised soup
kitchens.
At Leigh forty police have thus been
engaged, and they like it so well that they
have no desire to return home. THese
amiable and, one might say affectionate,
relations between the police and the pub
lie are very characteristic of the North OF
England. In Preston, for example. the
police have for four years had charge of
raising means for and the direction of the
poor children's annual treat, which this
year involved $4,000 teas at Christmas,
$1,000 free suppers during the winter and
an excursion into the country last summer,
besides much free clothing. shoes, etc.
This record for city the size of Denver
is not SO bad, but il the whole North of
England were made up of Prestons, chari-
ties would still not cope with one side of
this tremendous misfortune 1t seems to
be more and moro clear that in the end we
shall find some big economic changes in
England, dating from this upheaval.
As the lowly moving public get further
information as to the merits of the case of
the lockout it takes On likeness of shame
full and bloodess gambling to corner a
mine. The owners have been in the habit
OF selling three-quarters of the years
future output by contract. saving quarter
for open market. There is plenty of COM
petition for these huge contracts. gentle
men, but miss my guess il they do not
turn to matter of good deal to England
at large.
Chamberlan's remarks to American in
terviewers on politics here have been
studied with curiosity. but have been
found to be much less pointed and peril
nent than usual with him. The impression
among politicians on both sides is that he
will come precious near to being up in
the approaching winter session, which |
am informed will have some legislation in
IL based on the present intolerable coliery
episodes, as well as other social and indus
trial reform measures. This will put the
Brummagim boss in the cliff in stock.
He must cater to municipal gas COM
panies, steamship and railroad lines, ETC..
and this year some of these have been at
impossibly low prices. The city of Bir-
mlngham. for example, got its years coal
for its gas works al the lowest price in
twenty years. Then the owners needed
two things to recoup themselves upon the
remaining quarter OF their output. One
was to cut down the annual wage outlay
25 per cent; the other to send house-coal
prices booming upward.
A ten weeks lockout served both pur-
poses admirably. Incidental facts that
millions at the works had been cruelly
hurt on one side and millions of consumers
plnndered on the other do not matter at
all to these and further embitter Tories
against him. Or he must oppose them and
cut loose from the thousand Unionists.
To-day revelation is his attempted deal
with Welsh members in offering TO bring
in dissolution of the Welsh church. il
they would join him in vote OF no conf
depce in the present Ministry and make
him Premier. l assume this is denied by
him, for he must deny it TO keep a place
for himself in British politics