KING AT TRADE UNION MEETING '

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 35, 10 August 1921, Page 2

KING AT TRADE UNION MEETING '

INTERRUPTERS ASKED TO, LEAVE

TOUR OF :A MODEL • CLUB.

A remarkablo' thing happened when 'the King and Queen visited the new big Social Club id Plaistow on the afternoon of 4th June^ For the first time in history (says the Manchester Guardian) the King .and Queen attended a trade unif-ii meeting, and there was a disturbance while they, were there. The programiLe of the, tour of the clubhouse included a call at the lodgeroom where the Plaistow branch bf the Amalgamated Engineers' Union was in session. , As soon as the King and Queen had been received at the entrance, and the Queen had received a bouquet from the small daughter of Mr.' 1 Jack Jones, the West Ham Socialist M.P. who makes such a stir in the House, they turned downstairs to the trade union meeting. These meetings are^ always vary jealously guarded from .intrusion by strangers. The doors of the roorii were locked, and, as is customary, there were both an outside and inside doorkeeper keeping watch. The-Mayor of West Ham, who was leading the party, knocked, at the door, and a small wicket was opened. "Who's there?"- "His Majesty lh> Iving," was the reply, and the doors opened wide. ~ ' '■ ■

The King- and Queen walked in and the doors were fastened behind them. In the room were a few score working men more formally attired than normally, but engaged in the ordinary fortnightly business of their union. The engineers all stood vi?, and their chairman (Mr. Thompson) suspended business. The Mayor then present* ed the chairman and scoretary of the branch to the King and Queen, and a friendly chat began. , Immediately - a ' young man in the middle of the meeting called out loudly, "What about the unemployed 7" He was cheered by about; half a dozen comrades sitting with him. This was obviously a planned attempt to disturb, the harmony of the occasion. Everyone ignored the interruption. The interrupter then lumped on hi« chair and shouted excitedly the odd introduction to a. speech:_ "Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker," and'his'friends shputed,encouragement. There would-certainly have been a very awkward disturbance i£ someone had not- been inspired to <«t«rfc singing "For he's a jolly good fellow." The noise of this' drowned the reiterated "Mr. Speaker" of the objector, who was happily inarticulate with excitement. Tlip singing wa6 followed by loyal cheering. The King and Queen took no notice whatever of the discordant note, but went on ■ calmly talking to_ the trade union pfficials. They were only in the room for a couple of minutes.. The King came out smiling genially. The incident, was not quite, over. After the King -had gone, the chairman of the branch went up to thd group-of young men, and, I think, asked them to leave. They left immediately. One stopped in the doorway and 6hou'ted to hie fellow-mem-bers in the room: "Never mind. The time will come when you. will, hear all about it. You would have done much better to have helped 1 the miners' children." An the six or eeven extremists went up the stairs they passed the imperturbable Mr. Will Thome, M.P., and s one called out: "You're a reactionary. Will." Mr. Thome replied, good-hum-ouredly, "All right. I'll meet you outside any time." "This is democracy," said one of the young men. "We have been turned out for expressing our opinions." 'Jhere wm much excitejT talk about , the incident, which 16, L. think, without precedent in the story of Royal wisite of ceremony. . ' The King and Queen proceeded on'their long and interesting inspection of the club, passing first to Uhe cooling, atmosphere of the swimming bath, where girls dived and raced for theii entertainment. They were (apart from the lodgeroom incident) received with the utmost respect by a company •■ predominantly. Labour. The West Ham Corporation, which svaa,prominent in.tlie_gathering,.Jt3.flrie of London's LaboHr"to\Vn, r'dbuncils. Plaistow is solidly working class. Before^they left it was understood, that the King and Queen asked to meet privately the East London' Labour M.B.s and the leading 'trade-'-union representatives, and^hada friendly talk with .them. The inopportune rudeness of the interrupters, was certainly _ strongly, resented by the "Labour politicians present. The Labour councillors were all introduced to the. visitors, who as usual were especially sympathetic in questioning men wearing war decorations. ' '.'.,. / . .'.'■"

A MODEL CLUB. : The Red Triangle Club, ' designed for 5000 members, is one of the finest social centre? in London.- The East End has nothing so .large or well-equipped. It '. has cost about £80,000. It".is as big and well lighted as a : fair-sized Lancashire cotton miU, and houses a most varied set of recreational .'and educational activities. Plaiatow's war memorial has taken this oxpellent_ shape. The money, has been raised jointly by employers and employed, as an expression of the new effort after industrial co-bperation. Th club, which open's free of debt as x a/gift to East London, will be administered by the ' V.M.C.A. Among V.M.C.A clubs it is the first to be'open to women as well as men, and it is hot restricted to youth. It is an interesting experiment which might well be copied '■«» other war memorials—a sort of clubhouse for meeting tlje needs of the whole of a big working community in tho education of body and mind. / > ; The whole of the first floor of the building is ah open house. ' West Ham folk will have tho unrestricted use of the restaurant, billiard hall, cinema, and thaetrc, lounge, reading-room, and library. These rooms constitute a model public-house for the district. :

The King and Queen went about everywhere, seeing something entertaining in every corner of 'the place.. They heard in the theatro part of .a concert arranged, by Misr Lena AshwellJ saw tho dne-htmd billiard champion making finj stroke^ and, in .the,spacious gymnasium, saw an exhibition of "physical jerks'" (peacetime' variety). Passing through the excellently equipped boys' and girls' oiub? on the floor above they applauded, the folk dancing of the girls, and saw throughout the normal club life in full swing. Thero is also a range of rooms for educational classes. ' ; ''■■-.•

Finally the King and Queen, climbed on the "roof, whence there was a wide view of the East London roofs, of the river crowded with shipping flying colours for the King's Birthday, and Greenwich Hill in the distance. Their Majesties looked down from the parapet on a mats of wildly cheering and waving children in the gaily decorafed recreation ground. Before the Royal party came there had been a dedication service in which the Bishop of Chelmsford and the secretary of the National Free Church Council had taken part, .and the club had been opened by Mr. 'Will Thorne in one of his robustly sensible-' speeches. On tho way tho King and queen drove through the deserted City of London H nd then through five or six miles of-East End street?.' Everywhere'there was .a crowd of poor folk nlong tho pavements. It was a great children's holiday The stops of churches and town halls were children's grandstands. ' It was tho hrst time that the King and Quoon had been through the whole of East London since tihe war.