OCR Text |
Show POSTAL STRIKE IS GAINING NO GROUND STRIKE LEADERS ARE DISCOURAGED DISCOUR-AGED WITH UNIONS. Itflners' Congress at Lens Failed to Vote Sympathetic Strike, - Paris, May 12. The first day of the postal strike passed peacefully. No disturbances were reported and the movement appears to have gained no ground. Tho service in Paris and throughout the provinces tonight with the exception of that of the railway mall clerks, Is normal and as a remilt there has been no need to take advantage ad-vantage of the preparations made by the various business organizations and commercial bodies to carry on a private pri-vate letter service. The cabinet tonight summarily dismissed dis-missed 22S men under the decree Issued Is-sued on March IS, which authorizes the discharge of strikers from the state service, and made other provisions provi-sions for dealing with recalcitrants. The ministers are confident that the removal of tho principal fomentcrs of the agitation will crush the movement. The strike leaders experienced another an-other discouragement in the fellure of the miners' congress at Lens, to vote a sympathetic slriko, and thus fa.r none of the trades unions have made a sign of joining the movement. At the same time the government Is hurrying the preparation of its prom Ised bill regulating the status of state employes, which will be pre6nted to a committee of the chamber of deputies dep-uties today. Official figures place the number of strikers In Paris at 4C5 out of 11,000. Owing to the defection of a majority of the mail clerks the outgoing out-going mails are more or less stranded. strand-ed. The hotbed of the previous revolt, the central telegraph buieau, is quiet, the night shift reporting for duty as usual. Reports from the provinces show that the movement has not made much headway except at Havre, wh'ero a special service arranged by tlie chamber cham-ber of commerce will be inaugurated. At Bordeaux, Lille and Chart res conditions con-ditions are normal. In some cities, notably Lyons and Chamboy, the postal post-al employees have openly expressed their disapproval c f the strike. There Is some anxiety at the Paris hotels, where numerous Amei leans are expecting ex-pecting letters containing bank drafts. A mass meeting of postal employes tonight was not so well attended a9 that of last night The meeting, however, how-ever, adopted a resolution to continue the strike with lgor. It was announced that the number of strikers was growing rapidly both in Paris and the provinces, an instance being given of the mail clerks on the Lyons mall, who had quit ou tho road. During a long ppeech. M. i-auren, declared that violence or destruction of property by the strikers would not be tolerated. 'Ho said the men would finish the tasks on which they were now engaged. Two detachments of naval mechanics summoned from Brest by the minis-are minis-are now stationed in the roachlno rooms of the central postoffice and the central telegraph bureau. The hotel ho-tel keepers' union has arranged to take tho mall of foreign guests to Brussels whence it will be sent abroad. They aro aluo devising a scheme to deliver incoming mall. |