New-York tribune., 1921-09-01
Officials Face
Jail for. Aiellii1,,e
E9
A4o,adoll's Idle
I, of Borough Coun-
cll Defy Court Order on
Ground Money Involved
rs Rcguired for the Poor
1 heir Action Is Approved
difficulties Arise is, Dis.
,,acts III Where as Many as
$4,000 Are Uncm, wed

LONDON, Aug. 81. (By The Asso
Grated Press. Thirty labor members
81 the Poplar Borough Council of the
O''y OF London tace arrest and impris-
o""ehs tomorrow through conditions
s,ig SiiUM.hg out OF the increase in unem-
1on' W. nen' more especially in Poplar
nolousn' which is in one of the city's
poorest districts. wy
ne iaber members OF the Corncil |
=. ..re6 A"e6 ny George LaNsbury, editor OF
nc Dally Herald" have resisted m
ttNef OF the nigh court recurring them
- - pay the cas- of the London County
G'ouhcil and various departments deal
and s1h WIZ education, drainage of roads
@nu o'her services for the whole of
LONDON. Their defense is thai the
borough is heavily burdencd with the
nia.htehAnce of the poor and unem-
p'oyeo' and they decline to saddle it
\" any further burdens until the re-
= nm Of the laws which compel each
oorough to provide for its own poor.
wn.1e ,' the rich districts escape this
Ready for Arrest
Nrlts against these recalcitrant
coanciiors expire at midnight tonight,
a yer winch, 1T is announced, they will
De arrested and imprisoned They held
a meeting tonight at which Mayor
March announced that, owing to the
action OF the government in throwing
the burden of the unemployed on local
b0dies, the council had been driven TO
a position where it was impossible to
impose further taxes on the ratepayers
and that the council must commit an
unconstitutional act as the only mcsss
6 Var
of the council would checrfully go to
prison in such cause.
Many thousands of ratepayers as
mbled in the streets while the meet
ing was in progress and held demon
stration of sympathy. Lively scenes
occurred both inside and outside the
council chamber.
In ether London districts to-day
there were large demonstrations Of
uncmployed, where the Board of Guard
lens had refused to follow the eX-
ample of Poplar.
All the London municipalities arc
fac ing new and difficult social problems
through the demands being made by
the unemployed in various working
class districts, such as Woolwich and
Poplar, where there arc labor ma jori-
ties on the local boards.
The present demands insist that in
stead OF the small amounts ordinarily
paid by the boards Of guardians for
whas is known . .loor poor relief
eight to twclv ~ iags for man
and four to six SAi S for each child,
where the man Is unempl red-an
amount virtually equivalent :. what
the man would receive for his full
work shall be paid for himself, wife
and children.
AS in some of these districts there
are from 10000 to 10000 unemploye ed
and at the end Of July. in addition to
more than $4,000 inmates of work
houses and lnfrmaries, there were
more than 10000 persons receiving
outdoor relief, it would be impossible
! for the municipalities to pay such de-
mands without an enormous addition
to the burden Of rates.
Some Of the boards, however, pos
sessing labor majorities, have been ac-
ceding to the demands in part and pay
iEe on a generous scale. Thus, Isline-
ton and Cam mberwell, paying outdoor re-
lief, have been giving man with six
children as much as 73 shillings weekly