GRAVE RIOTING IN MADRID.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20087, 17 November 1930, Page 11

GRAVE RIOTING IN MADRID.

STRIKERS RUN AMOK. POLICE FIRE ON HUGE CROWD. SEQUEL TO A FCNERAL. (UNi'liD PHtSS 4SSOCIAUOS —tf BLUCI RIC TBLBOXAFH —COPVRIOET.) (Received November lftth, 5.5 p.m.) MADRID, November 10. There was an amazing sequel to the death of four labourers, through the collapse of a house which was allegedly due to faulty construction and material. All the building-trade workers struck work to attend the funeral, and formed, with others, a procession of 50,000 people. The police haired tho way through the central streets, and during some confusion, due to an attempt on the part of the crowd to force a progress, the police fired a volley, the bullets whistling past the wreathed coffins. The crowd fled, leaving the cortege until order was restored, when the funeral proceeded. Two persons were killed and 4'J wounded, including three newspaper men. Another roport says four persons were killed. General Strike Declared. Later a, tense situation developed, following the declaration of a lightning general strike, as a protest against tho police firing on the cx - owd. Forty thousand workers downed tools, the strikers taking drastic action against those refusing to obey the strike order. They tore up flagstones and heaped them on the tram lines. Taxi-cabs disappeared, and most of the shops were closed. Those shops remaining open, including the big depart mental stores, had windows smashed.

The strikers overturned stalls in the market-place, molested and frightened children going to school, and nearly stripped some rather eccentrically dressed women. Students and thidinottes enjoyed parading the streets, adding to the confusion. Matters became uglier in tho afternoon, when ths police, in protecting peaceful citizens, frequently came into conflict with the strikers, who were attacking private motor-cars. All Buainesa Paralysed. Doctors were only able to travel by affixing the Red Cross sign to the radiators of their cars. Troops guarded the mail-rans. The electricity, water, and gas employees came out for 24 hours. Tomorrow theatres, cafes, and cinemas will be closed, and the newspapers are not expected to publish. It is generally felt that the situation is full of unpleasant possibilities, as the calling of the strike was without notice, and was tantamount to a revolutionary move.