THE COAL TROUBLE.

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 1 October 1920, Page 4

THE COAL TROUBLE.

PLIGHT OP THE POOR. PEELING AGAINST STRIKERS. Some interesting sidelights of tin. plight of poor in Auckland on aceoun; of the shortage of fuel were presenter to a reporter a couple of days ago Ip one whose work lies amongst sue): people. Particularly is the preseni crisis pressing upon the old folk, uianx of whom live in one room, he said. These poor people usually procure wlrv little firing they can ntford in tin shape of empty fruit cases, for whirl lliev pay a few pence, hut lately eve. , l'lifs source of supply has failed. O' i instance related was that ot an -er | sick woman, in constant need of a he--1 water bottle, which was now only pr . I curable through the kindness of friend alio gave her a. tew sticks of wo l ', from their own scanty store. In othe. ' cases, old folk who do all their cookin', on a register grate have been reducer

to. two meals a day on account of t’m high cost of food and practical im possibility of securing food to cook il The case of these old folks is most p'ti ful in times, like the present, and b was not surprising to learn that in la opinion of the worker mentioned '■ stron"' feeling of indignation is grow ing among them against the action tithe men who are bringing such hard ship and suffering upon them in then

old age. “J think the tram strike, the sugat strike, and the recent coal strikes have

turned the feeling of the people the poorer classes against the strikers more than is generally known, tin.l more than Ims even been the ease b.‘ fore,*'* he remarked. ‘‘lt has brough home to hundreds of homes the fae that it is the women and children ol the uorkets aho suffer more than any one eb e. Those people have never an opportunity of building up reserves so sugar and coal ami other things, people better off can do. They can 'linv in \cry small quantities only at a time, amt are the very first to suffer Tliev are coining now to see the in justice and -lie folly of these strikes particularly in these days when titer are so many other hardships to In borne, and nowhere does one hear now allays those expressions of sympathy with the strikers that were to lie heart' in the strikes of other days. Thi seems to me one of the most striking points in regard to recent strikes tt Auckland. ” --