El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-30
BIC COAL STRIKE
NOW imminent
ON Page /, This Section-)


Continued from Page /. This section.)
innate placing the length OF time il
can last at less than a month
without coal, many other industries
viii be tied up ana thousands OF work
ers in other lines viii be thrown OUT
Of employment Railroads, factories,
electric power ana light companies, gas
plants and other large enterprises viii
be heavy sufferers, but the indiv1d-
III family-particularl those Of the
poor-wiu be hit hardest Hunger
and privaLiOn. pain want, hardship viii
follow in the districts most affected,
while the pinch OF the strike viii be
felt generally throughout the coun-
try
The coal strike fin England began
just q month ago today. and in few
weeks the conditions of the poor in the
mining districts especially was with
out parallel in the history of Brit
ain. The shortage sent the price Of
coal so high that none but the we'll
off could afford IT,, and the cost Of
transporting food over the railroads,
crippled by the shortage of coal, was
increased to a hitherto unknown fig
ure
The Black Country.
The situation in the coal districts Of
Birmingham, called by EngHshmen
The Black Country" Is related with
pathetic human interest by an Eng
Hsh Journalist who made a personal
visit to the section and called upon
miners families in company with q
doctor who Was making the rounds
Of his patients The same conditions
will find their duplicate in this cOun-
try within a short space of time, I'M
less the miners and operators come
70 an early agreement His descrip-
ton follows:
IF you like TO come with me- said
a young Black country doctor. you
can see how things are FOR yourself.
I'm starting on my rounds now
and we stepped out into the F.
we struggled through driving I.
showers unit we dived suddenly into Z
q black alleyWay Mean houses with /
lines down Two sides OF it, joyless and /
5Ordid except for an occasional win .
dow where one had a sight OF a fern /
or plant in a pot, welcome as an Ca
the latch OF one OF the houses, and
we entered.
1T was q low-roofed, 4wood-ceiIed
'o0m-my head almost touched the
roof as L stood. There was no fur
1iture in It beyond sort Of wooden {
bench with high unyielding back,
common In Black country houses, a
,nair or so, and a second bench By
he fire. on this a woman sat wait
4g for the doctor. Her foot trou-
)led her, she said.
You've got fire. I'm glad to
Zee. said the doctor.
'7Tts about the last she said IL
he strike goes on
There was q figure Of q saint on
ne mantIep1ece. and a dog and
lorse and boat and a basket of
lowers, an endless congregation OF
Unrelated things limited only BY the
uperficiaI area of the shelf. And the
walls were covered with tradesmen's
lendars and phOtOgra phs. A cap
Jung on nail, and q wOman's straw
at over the corner Of picture frame.
n & Of e1r.ar. t
80 Pretty wretched isn't iJ7' said my (
riend- He looked M the foot. pre-
cribed and went on. Through mud
nd rain. oF b:arS cs,urts Nr-h black
ools filling as we passe5. we
lowed miry way At length we I
topped q. another house. There's q 5
liners wife here sad the doctor
1t was In poorer quarter this
nd the rooms Were cTeI mere barely
Finished The mother was still IN the
venties, and the bloom IN her
leeks had not vet faded. She was I
ursing q fretting child He's been I
Their children appeared. from no
here 1T seemed
THE doctor sounded the child. and
lille he was doing it, asked the wo-
ian about her husband.
He's been trying to get back to E
Ork again, she replied but they I p
ont let him. i wish he could get !
3ck- He went yesterday and the dav =
efOre but it's no use. I don't know n
hat We're going to do. ] paid six Il
nee for quarter of coal this morn =
g, and it's persisted coal to look at i
Another House.
In the next house we visited we as
ended the flight of wooden stems
hich I had marked rising dimlv out 7 c
the shadows in one corner in the o
-evi0us rooms. It took us 10 the / o
Dper room. 1 should saw that an
he houses we saw We're of the same
ass a bedroom on the upper floor /
"a a living-rOOm on the lower (
lene were two beds In this room and I {,
chair or SO The patient. who was d.
fferiug from bronchitis. lamented S,
e strike with bitterness. She said. ~
d My son in Derbyshire writes to p.