Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-03
BELFAST GROWS FAST
1t Has Doubled in Population
Since 1871 and Still Grows.
RELIGION DURING A STRIKE
Old Bias Crops Out-Troops Kill.
Priests Persuade.
CITY OF CERTAIN SALVATION
Where They Have Churches Galore
and Keep Sabbath Holy Till
Sunday Afternoon.
CITY OF CERTAIN SALVATION
Bl WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Snecial Correspondence Of The Star and The
Chicago Record-IIerald.
BELFAST. August IS. 1905.
Belfast has population Of ;iSO09 ac-
cording to the most reliable estimates.
! The latest enumeration. in 1901 showed
a population OF $3.50. which is just
double that returned by the census of
ISL
OF this population 120.269 are Presby-
terians 1O2991 are Episcopalians. 1892
Roman Catholics. 1.J06 Methodists and
the remainder are divided among dozen
different religious denominations.
Belfast Has a Setback.
The growth of the city has been COM
paratively slow during the present year.
because of severe business depression
caused by a long strike last summer and
a very dull market for linen in the United
States The city suffered very severely
from the strike. 1t began on the docks
and was. due to the refusal of the steam
ship companies to reinstate several roust-
abouts who had been discharged for
cause The union leaders called out every
laborer on the docks: the teamsters
struck in-sympathy and other unions fol-
lowed until almost every trade and indus
try was paralyZed. Then the trouble
driftcd into a religious war. The ma
chinsts and skilled labor generally are
Presbyterians, the roustabouts. teamsters.
laborers and coal handlers are Roman
Catholics. Members of both churches
struck together as union men. but the
Protestants were very largely in the ma
jority. The Roman Catholic strikers
complained that the relief committee was
favoring the Protestant strikers and that
the Catholics Wee not getting their
share of the relief funds: hence there
was violent split and the cause of the
strike was lost sight of in the new con-
troversy.
Troops Kill, Priests Restore Order.
Regular troops were called out and fired
on the rioters. killing a small boy and a
girl who were in the crowd. Intense eX-
element followed which very nearly in
VOWED the entire city in anarchy. The
Catholic priests came f--ward and
promised the lord mayor that if the
military were withdrawn. they would be
responsible for good order. and they final
ly succeeded in persuading their par
ishioners to go back to work. w.-.ch broke
the back OF the strike.
A large number of the strikers were
unable to get their jobs back. and it is
asserted that at least 1890 men are still
out of employment in this city and vi
cinity. But that is owing quite as much
10 the commercial stagnation in the
United States as to the strike. Our panic
troubles with the unions here. and as we
take more than half of the products of
Belfast and all orders from the United
States were Cancelled it was a terrible
blow. 1t almost paralyzed all industries
here. But things are picking up again
quite rapidly and resuming normal con-
ditions. The statistics for 1908, however,
will not show anything like the average
annual growth OF the city that has been
shown for the last fifty years. During the
tod
In Belfast. Up to the LIST of July this
Year the total was only 416
Cottage Homes, Not Tenements.
The working people of Belfast do not
live in tenement houses, as is the GUS
tom throughout the rest of Europe, but
every family has its own separate cot
tage. and there are long streets Of neat
brick two-story, f1ve-roomed houses sim
liar to those found in Philadelphia. only
the rents are much lower here. For $40
month d Belfast mechanic can get