The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-21
BRITISH TRAFFIC | PARALYND BY
 BIG RAIL STRIKE
59, ,000 Workers, Involving All Roads, Walked Out
 At Midnight
ACTION PARALYZES
 TRAFFIC SYSTEM
Strike Is Result Of Pro- test Against Reduc-
 ton Of Wages
sy CHARLES N. M'cANN 1 leased Wire te Tho Aes. q sraId)

LONDON, Jan. 2I.-(Monday.)- Britain is in the grip of nationwide railway strike involving 5000 men. Sunday at midnight members of the
 Associated Society of Locomotive En- gineers and Fireman quit work in pro- test against reduced wage scale. Strike
 headquarters claim that the men struck solidly throughout the country. |. Britain is fully prepared to meet the
 emergency. Airplanes win handle mails and passengers. Fleets of trucks will
 bring milk, vegetables and coal to the
 cities. Loyal engineers and firemen
 are carrying on a restricted railway service.
 Of grave significance from the politi-
 cal viewpoint is the fact that the strike
 comes on the very day labor plans to overthrow the Baldwin government.
 It is expected that the cabinet will fall
 late Monday night and that the King
 will call upon Ramsay Macdonald to
 form labor government Tuesday. The first problem that labor will face on
 assuming power is one involving labor dispte and possible labor disorders. Au guardians of the welI-Deing of the en- tire nation the labor government will obviously be called upon to see that the strike does not work hardship upon the people.
 J. Bromley, secretary of the strik- CTS union, suggested the problem of labor government when he declared Sunday that the strikers did not care what the government did "so long as it does not run the railways durnig the
 strike, and thus become .'blackieg' government"
 A group of engineers and tiremen plan to remain loyal, however. Between 1000 and 30,000 mmbers of the Ma tional Union, of Railway Men are en- gineers and firemen. J. H. Thomas, leader of the N. U. R. has ordered his
 men to remain on the job. Some of
 them will probably join the strikers,
 who are banded together into what is
 now bitter rival organization, but the majority will carry on. Meanwhile England is preparing to utilize every means of communication other than the railway lines. Every
 
 been oyerhauled, mad the planes will be used to carry hsils throughont fhe country, as well as to the continent. In addition to the ordinary airplanes passenger services, special airplanes will be run frequently between London land Manchester. The railway companies expect they will be able to run restricted services, designed primarily to bring people to work from the suburbs of great cities, and also to bring milk and perishable foods into the city areas.
 To Cancel Trains Some long distance expresses are to be cancelled, and others made into To- calls. The companies claim that hun dreds of retired engineers are volun- teering for service and will be used if the strike becomes serious. The companies also claim that services can
 be partly maintained by having every engine available pull the largest possi- ble number of cars.
 The fishing industry will be the first to be hit by the strike. Unable to
 transport their fish to the. inland markets, the fishermen will be forced to suspend work almost immediately. The situation in London reflects
 what other cities must face. Coal stocks are low! Ten thousand tons of meat have been stored in the Smith field market. One dairy combine has mobilized 1,5Q0 trucks to secure a steady supply of milk for the city. The produce dealers of the Covent Garden market have organized a simi- lar fleet of trucks, which will work in cooperation with the ministry of trans- port. Coal dealers and others whose stocks will rapidly become exhausted are also hiring trucks on a wholesale basis.