The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-01-19
Women Shudder in Dark
When Husbands Crawl
To Daily Tasks.
SNIPERS CONTROL
POORER DISTRICTS
Eyewitness Paints Harsh
Picture of Life in the
Labor Sections.
Bv JOHN STEELE.

BELFAST, Jan. Isl have spent
the day visiting the little houses in
the main streets of Belfast where
women and children live in terror
and men crawl to work through
tInnels cut through backyard
walls, out of reach of the snipers
who lie in wait for those whose
only offense is a different religion.
The religious leaders of Belfast
have condemned the state Of anar-
chy, into which the city has fallen.
as a disgrace to civilization. and
now the Ulster government has
awakened and something is being
done to restore order.
No one has been shot for about a
week. Members of the Catholic
community, who are the chief suf-
ferers, are hoping that the flame of
religious passion will be allowed 10
die down and the conditions OF two
years ago, when Belfast was as or
Derby as any other large industrial
city, allowed to return.
Religion and Politics.
It seems impossible for Belfast to
separate religion and politics. With
few exceptions, a Catholic means a
Nationalist, and a Protestant a
Unionist. So far as can be traced
the present outbreak of disorder had
its origin in politics, when Col.
Smith. an Ulster officer. was killed In
Cork in July. 1920. The Belfact Prot
.stants shipyards workers drove the
Catholics out of the shipyards in
retaliation, killing many, and from
that time there has been a series
Of reprisafs and counter reprisals.
the flame dying down for a time. but
blazing up again.
Conditions have been particularly
bad since last November. and, al
though there is a large force OF
British troops in the city. they can
do little. They are unfamiliar with
conditio ions, and dependent upon par-
tisarS guides for information. Hun
dreds have been killed and wounded
during this period. and practically
every man in the working class
districts Is armed. The sound OF
firing is the signal for everyone to
rush for his gun. Battles between
snipers often last for days.
Guided by Doctor.
My guide through the disturbed
Quarter was a doctor whose practice
lies in this district and who has
been called from his bed a score
of times to attend the victims of
the snipers' bullets. These. how
ever. he declares do not suffer near
ly so much as the women and chill
Idren, who are subject to all kinds
I IA -
premature births, he tells me. has
increased out of all proportion.
This district is known as the
Queen Street area from the name
of the principal thoroughfare. II
comprises a network Of streets lined
with little red brick houses of five
or six rooms. each normally inhab-
tied by one family of well-paid
shipyard workers. Now the Catho-
lie homes are occupied by two. three
or four families whose houses have
been burned or who have been
driven out and have taken refuge
with their coreligionists. In one
such house of six rooms which Wis
tied. four families, comprising six
teen persons, were lodged.
Sharp Frontiers Drawn.
Many Of these streets are what
is known as mixed areas, which
means that one end of the street is
inhabited by Protestants and the
other Catholics. Sharp frontiers
are drawn across which sniping
takes place nightly. One house was
pointed out to me from the door OF
which ii was alleged that a man
with a rifle fired nightly at any
thing that moved.
Among the streets I visited were
Little George street, We're Grove
| and Sussex streets. All these were
typical of the Belfast working quar-
ter, and in spite of the overcrowd-
ing and abnormal conditions the
interiors OF the houses were scru-
pulously clean. Everyone was anx-
ious to .show me their tunnels.
Holes In Walls.
Behind each house is a little yard
separated from the next by a brick
vail. and for the whole length OF
streets holes were cut through these
walls large enough for a man to
crawl through. The women, toe
crawled through to the shops. for
food, and the men who still had
work crawled to ono end of the
street, made a dash for the nearest
house In the next, crawled through
another series of tunnels. and so
progressed until safety was reached.
Most of the men In this quarter,
however, are not employed or have
only casual work. They are skilled
shipyard workers. who have been
expelled from the yards because
they are Catholics. Tho women are
still working in linen and tobacco
factories, while the, Irish Red Cross
is distributing $4,000 weekly of
American relief money in Belfast,
Bullet RiAdIed Houses.
Hardly house in this area is
without the marks of bullets. In the
house referred to, where there were
sixteen persons. the chief tenant,
who Is an expelled shipyard worker,
took me through the rooms and
showed me bullet holes in the win
dows and walls where snipers had
fired into the house during the
night.
II am one of the lucky ones" he
said. II got away from the island
(the shipyarD with my life and I
have not been shot at home. have
managed to get work as a joiner
but there are districts where I do
not dare to go to work and IL my
boss told me to go would just have
to throw up my job"
(Cousrirht 1900 \