The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-03-17
THE FAMINE IN LONDON.
a STARVING MILLION LEAVE
THEIR DENS AND PARADE THE
STREETS.
Strange Scenes Forced on Attention
Of acknowledgements Considers
Reief-Measures-Qu Alexandra
Starts Fund for Immediate AllevIa-
ton of Misery.

| ef-Measures-Queen Alexandra
| Starts Fund for Immediate AIlevia-
ton of Misery.
"Piccadilly," the famous EnslisA
correspondent OF the san Francisco
| Argonaut writes as follows:
London does not sleep well any
! molp. She is experiencing what her
clergy can the terror by night when
they are reading the service There
Is famine il the biggest city OF the
world. one ministry has gone nope
| lessly cut and another is in power,
| and during every ceremony the Eng
lishman has heard, from below in the
street, the hum OF the proletarlat
Some Of IL. TOO, cant forget that
John Burns The new secretary Of the
| local government board some twenty
years ago was tne leader of just such
demonstrations Of the famlnc-stHck-
en- unemployed as are now callihg
forth not only t1e gracious charity Of
| the sovereigns, but the most aaI0lS
consideration Of all Brush saN >
men.
No notion Of what is happening IN
England can be given without hrat
understanding these cold facts: IL
there is no employment for hundreds
of thousands Of skilled laborers; 60
Mr.. Balfour, when premier, IS &C
knowlel@nd to have found himself alb
solutcly helpless; 90 the Queen
g. ,Ay,ti J,C %
ped in and gave the government re-
spite by starting the alexandra
Fund" which today reached the sum
Of G11S000; (4) the London police
are almost helpless in the face or one
million starving people, who come out
Of their dens and parade the streets,
singing the "Marselualse,' and dis
playing the gross features OF utter
unalleviated misery.
Naturally all well-housed, well-fed
London is sleeplesS. The Engllshman
is quicker to understand physical
wretchednesS than most, and, more
than all he hates to be forever jostled
by sour starvelings of men and Wo-
men. Something has got to be done.
1t rests with the new ministry. Even
those who dislike seeing Socialist
John Burns in the cabinet feel that he
is needed. The Alexandra fund is
only a makeshifr.
Now that Burns is in the cabinet
the old stories of twenty years ago
are being revived. 1t is recalled That
at one time he led band of work
; less men into St Pauls, where
they joined in the services and after
ward made quiet appeals for some
change in the law which would re-
store industries. 1t is looked upon
as distinctly odd that he should now
be the head of the board which must
listen to just such appeals.
To the Londoner, the events of the
past few weeks have been intensely
interesting as a spectacle. The first
week in November, 6,0Uc "WorhieSs
women" of East and South London
gathered on the EmDankment. 1nere
were gay banners, loud bands, and
much rageantry. But the real pro
cession was that six thousand Of hun
black. Through unbrohen lines OF
police they marched to Westminster.
As they crossed thorOugnfaTe after
thorou@hfare, behind the police lines,
women of West London clad in costly
furs leaned out Of motor-carriaSes
and watched this strange parade.
Mr. Balfour received the leaders in
the reception-room of the local gov
eminent board Office in Charles
street The premier was described
as looking pale, weary, and ill-at-
ease. MS head resting upon his hand
He listened to the demands of the
women that their husbands be given
employment. One of the petitioners
tainted from lack Of food, and was
carried out. Mr. Balfour replied AGA
demically, concluding his refusal to
institute extraordinary provisions for
relief by saying: Where experiments
have been made. Wnere rash endeav-
ors have been attempted, TO alleviate
temporary distress, and sthe machin-
cry has been set up for what was in
itself an admirable purpose, they car
ried with them collateral conse-
quencos which did not end win tne
period Of distress. BY such means
we shall do far more harm to our
country than if we turn a deaf ear
TO the suiferings which | admit it is
difficult to e1agserate and impossible |
to ignore"
This stony philosophy was not well
received, and it is thought good
deal of it was above the heads Of
the voorhees, women as the phrase
now runs.