STRIKES AND STRICTURES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 27, 26 October 1917, Page 2

STRIKES AND STRICTURES

INTER-VIEW WITH MISS FLORENCE YOUNG. "We've hail to lav off for six weeks," said Miss Florence Young, of the Boyal Comic Opera Company, yesterday to a Dominion reporter, "so you can imagino how devoted we all are to the strikers, who have prevented us from getting through."

"We wera in Melbourne when tha trouble broke out, and thero it was not only tho strike that kept things merry. Thero was a lady named Pankhurst, who was going about giving an imitation of a gas-shell .and causing no end of trouble. I give you my word that one day she led no fewer than about 3030 silly women along Elizabeth Street, all smashing tho windows of the bi£ shops as (hough they were all mad. I suppose they were for the time being hysterical or perhaps they were hypnotised by the Pankhurst woman (T womler the Government stood her as long, as they did!) This, if you please, was a. "protest against tho high cost of living. How the smashing of a lot. of tradesmen's windows (when no new plate-glass was in the rr-ar-ket) was going .to bring abpufc a drop in the cost of living, T could not explain, but Miss 'Pankhurst could explain l>jr the hour. And then in ths middle of it all she pops off and gets married. Funny—well, 1 should say so! To a seaman or fireman or something. One day when they had tried to take clinrgo of Parliamentary Buildings, I saw them coming like 0 flood down Bourke Street. They filled the whole si reel. They were not. all poor women, not by a lot ! Any amount of them had on their good fur roats. What they cost would keep the wolf from the door for many months, fn the middlo of it all we wore sent over io Sydney lo leave for ??ew Zealand. All our stuff was on board, and wo. were just about to get down to the boat, when the seamen and firemen walked ashore, and the striko was on. That was nearly six weeks ago. So we've been kicking our heels in Sydney ever since doing nothing but critic.is. ing other shows. The theatres were inoro affected by the strike in Melbourne than in Sydney. It was very bad in Melbourne, but in Sydney tho business of 'You're in Love' was not affected. It was so tunny lo see , all the old buses and motor-lorries and motor-cars looting for passengers after tho show—quite like old times. The streets nnd shops were badly lighted. For the. greater part of the lime the gas was only on from' 5 a.m. to S a.m., and then in the evening from 5 o'clock to 10. so that restaurants and shops were badly inconvenienced." Miss on rig said that, the tour of tho lioyal Comics in New Zealand was only to last three and a. hnif weeks, owing to the detention in Sydney, as tho company was duo back in Sydney at tho end of next month to rehearse "The Biug Boys" for the Christmas season at Sydney.