Evening star., 1911-08-16
SITUATION IN ENGLAND
FAST BECOMING SERIOUS
Government May Declare Martial
Law and Replace Strikers.
BOATS FOR AMERICA HELD UP
No Steamers Likely to Sail This
Week From Liverpool, as
Coal Supplies Cannot
Be Obtained.

LONDON. August 16.-The railway men
at various centers today notified their su
periors OF their determination not to ham
die trains employed in conveying soldiers
and police through the strike areas.
A report was current this afternoon
that the government was likely to re-
.pond to this action of the men with a
proclamation of martial law on all rail-
ways and replacing the strikers with the
men from the royal engineers and Army
Service Corps
Passengers for Manchester We're in
formed at the booking Offices that the
railway companies were unable to guar
antee them transportation farther than
Crewe, which is about twenty-five miles
southwest of Manchester.
Steamers Cannot Sail.
No steamers for America are likely to
sail from Liverpool this week. as they
cannot obtain coal supplies. The mails
for America were forwarded to Queens
town to catch the Southampton boat.
Liverpool is nearing the starvation
point and unless a railway strike Is avert
ed two days more will find the bread
supply exhausted. The only bread now
in the city is that displayed in the shop
windows.
Some les .aurants in this city already
nave been closed because their managers
could not obtain sufficient provisions. All
the necessaries in food nave anxahceu
greatly In price. Today the price OF eggs
went up cents per dozen and butter
made the same advance. THESE are
merely samples Of the tax imposed upon
the housekeepers by the strike.
Strike Fever Spreads.
There wSs little. II any, abatement OF
the strike fever that has spread through
Great Britain today. At some points, such
as the London docks. conditions continued
"a irnnrove. but this was Offset by out
breaks elsewhere.
with the exception OF Liverpool. where
there was riofing nearly all last night.
the men generally are orderly, and, be-
yond pdcketing and peaceably inducing
mon to join the unions, did not interfere
with those desiring work
which resulted in the death of two riot
ers who were shot by hussars IN defend
ing FIVE prison vans occupied by riot pris-
oners whom the mob attempted unsuc-
cessfully to release, has not tended thus
far TO improve the situation, except as
IL has helped to keep the peaceably dis
nosed outside the strike area. This en-
abled the police TO more easily handle
those who were causing trouble.
Rioters Quiet Today.
This was particularly noticeable this
morning. when the streets were quiet
the rioters having retired for a much
needed rest after the nights battle and
also probably to keep out of the way Of
70 d.,rip %
daylight. The police and soldiers. how
ever. prepared for renewal Of hos
tilities when night fell.
Today teams were busy removing goods
from the railway stations to business
houses. They were unmolested. Along
the docks, however. work was at stand
still and the men showed ugly spirit.
The continued rioting on the Mersey port
was not calculated to restore confidence
elsewhere and men at other ports were
refusing to discharge steamers diverted
from Liverpool.
Glasgow, for example. which hai just
disposed OF a street railway strike now
has a dock strike, as result OF the
men declining to remove a cargo OF fruit
from a steamer sent from the Mersey.
Another ominous sign was the choice by
the leaders of the railway workers OF
Liverpool as the city from which to di-
rect the threatened general strike on the
railways which was declared last night
by the executives of the Amalgamated
society OF Railway Servants, the Society
of Locomotive Engineers and F1remen,
and the general railway workers union to
become effective within twenty-four
hours unless In the interim the compa-
nies express q willingness to negotiate for
a settlement Of grievances. Heretofore
the railway strikes have been managed
usually from London or from some Gen.
trail point in the north.
Threat Causes Uneasiness
The threat to tie UP all the railway
lines in the United Kingdom caused more
uneasness than all the other strike move
ments combined, for II was known that
II the effort were successful 1t would COM
pletely cut off the food supplies from the
greater part Of the country. The govern
ment exerted every influence to avert
such q calamity.
This forenoon Sydney Buxton. presiden,
OF the board OF trade. conferred with the
managers of all the railroad lines and
in the afternoon he met the leaders OF
the employees I'm the hope OF bringing
about joint conference The managers
lad insisted upon adhering TO the system
~ Cancellation boards. with which the
men are dissatisfied. An Arrangement
through which the boards would deal
more expeditiously with the grievances
o. the workers might lead TO a settle
ment. ii was thought, and the members
of the board Of trade worked along these
lines.
Should the railway strike take place the
managers hope to maintain a partial
service on all lines and for months have
been preparing for such an eventualiky
They have already made up time tables
for a curtailed service with the aid OF
non-union men, who compose about three
fourths Of the workers The union.
have about 10000 members.
Poor Already Suffering.
The residents Of many of the poorer
districts already are suffering from pro
longed idleness, and in some sections o.
London and the other large cities wher,
the husbands and wives equally con