Republican farmer., 1919-01-31
100000 STRIKE
 IN IRELAND AND UNITED KINGDOM! Half Strikers Are ill Bel- fast Whare Strike Move ment is Spreading.
SHIP WORKERS
 OPPOSE ACTION
All Trouble Due to Demanl For Shorter Hours With
 Same Wages.

London, Jan. 2S-It is esG- mated that nearly 100000 mH and women are idle in tie United Kingdom and Ireland because of strikes in various trades, creating one of the most serious situations induStrialLy that the country has had to face in many years. Half of the strikers are in Belfast. where the strike movement is cOntin- uing to spread.
 The city of Belfast by night is in virtually total darkness, the hospitals being the only places where lights can be shown without danger of at taCks by strikers. Everywhere else the display of a light has caused either the stoning or the storming of the premises. In cases where sucn drastic action was not taken the peo- pie were forced by threats to screen LIlelT IiSnlS-
 Fortunately last night was snowy and wet by turns; otherwise. 1t is con sidered. there might have been more trouble. This morning men iu tho various smaller industrial plants Who had remained at work came out f9r safety's sake. the picketing having become more extensive. One of the morning newspapers was forced to suspend publication. The shipyart> workers are opposed 10 the strike and' are endeavoring to arrange q meeting for Wednesday.
 There is no change in the situation on the Clyde, where 1000 shipyard | workers are out, nor in London where 16,000 ship repairers are striking and | have refused an offer to refer the | question of wages to a, committee 1 To these must be added 24 600 Fifeshire miners 5000 South Wales miners, b. 900 Edinburgh shipwrights, 1000 1 Manchester lockers, 4.000 South Wales shipyard men and 8 number of l Glasgow municipal workers. Except in London. where the ques- I ton is one of wages, all these strikes 1 are due to a demand for shorter | hours, with the same privileges and wages as prevailed when longer hours l were worked. The strike is the most serious ever experienced in this city of
 strikes" the correspondent writes
 Belfast is like a dead city. Its en-
 tire social life is paraIyzed. theatres
 and saloons are closed, tram cars are l -,I IaI
 are closing, and there were no after
 noon papers today. Only two small
 editions of morning papers appeared l yesterday.
 Photographic and telephonic com
 munication with outside districts Is seriously handicapped. After sunset Belfast becomes city of candles Res | taurants are closed and evening ser
 vices cannot be held by the churches
 Railway stations are lighted with
 Naptha lamps, but in their homes the
 people depend on candles. Should
 the candle supply fail there would
 be a plague of darkness.
 '"The main cause of the trouble, lies 1 in the fact that the workers in cleo
 tric and gas plants have joined the shipyard workers in demanding a 40-
 hour week. Things are in such a. state of chaos that a change must come soon. Grave Giggers joined the strike on Monday"
 Belfast, Jan. 28-Strikers attacked shops here last night, seeming to cen ter their assaults on stores showing 1 lights. One large store which gener- ates it's own electricity and was bril- liantly illuminated was stoned by the
 mob. The plate glass show window! were smashed and women's clothing exhibited there was carried away. IT
 another district a saloon was broker
 open and liquor was taken by mem l bars of mob.
 Police engaged in dispersing rfoter!
 were fired on but at last succeeded 1T
 restoring order.
 1 CTN TE ~ TAINC 10 0OS