BELGIAN STRIKES

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1936, Page 7

BELGIAN STRIKES

200,000 MEN STILL OUT

fBY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

(Recd. June 20, 8 a.m.) BRUSSELS, June 19

Despite the Vcrviers strike leaders counselling a mass meeting to accept the principle of the tentative agreement, the position gradually got worse, under the efforts of foreign agitators, who officials say, are not necessarily from Moscow. Attempts to bring out the tramwaymen in the capital failed, but the ranks of strikers steadily increased at Liege and Verviors. The- Ministry of Labour estimates that, there were 350,000 strikers last night, including coalminers, steelworkers, bakers and building workers. This morning’s estimate is two hundred thousand on strfke, but Brussels is not seriously involved. Strikers, late at night, barricaded the streets in the outer suburbs. The police charged repeatedly, and drove off a mob, and demolished the barricades. FRENCH SEAMEN. ( Received June 20. 10.30 a.m.) BARIS, June 19. The Seamen’s Union called a general strike in Marseilles, and ordered seamen to take possession of ships, if the claims arc not accepted by Monday. U.S.A. MEN USE GUNS.

KENT (Ohio), June 18

Having lasted two months, a labour dispute in a local tool factory over wages turned into open gun warfare between pickets and strike-breakers to-day, seven men from each side being seriously wounded and gassed. The strikers erected a barricade across a street from the factory. They then poured high-power rifle fire into the factory buildings, until forty of the beleaguered strike-breakers begged for permission to leave the building. This permission Whs finally granted when the Sheriff succeeded in arranging a truce. The battle was continued for hours, the- pickets refusing to permit any doctors to enter the factory in order to treat dying' men. It is expected that the National Guard may be ordered out to handle the situation.