On Strike, or, Where do the Girls come in? — John Shaqi
On Strike, or, Where do the Girls come in?Glenfield, Edric
General
On Strike, or, Where do the Girls come in?
Glenfield, Edric
Australia -- Fiction; Humorous stories; Short stories; Strikes and lockouts -- Fiction
The whole of the ladies employed in the different theatres gave their
services for nothing, and were commanded in the procession by Miss
Trueheart, who is an Australian, and is known to have the greatest
sympathy with all her poorer sisters in the Colony; they were all
beautifully dressed to represent different characters in history; the
banners, which were all specially painted for the occasion, exceeded
in beauty and design the magnificent ones which had been carried
through the street in the late strike amongst the men, and the best
girl musicians had been brought, regardless of expense, from all parts
of Australia, and formed into bands, which played at the head of each
company as they marched, such appropriate tunes as “Over the Garden
Wall,” “We won’t go home till Morning,” etc. The procession eventually
reached the Domain, where they halted, and speeches were made in favour
of Women’s Rights, Home Rule, etc.; they then broke up, and returned
to their homes. As time went on, one or two slight disturbances took
place amongst the strikers; some of them who were of Dutch extraction
had been arrested for ill-treating a very small free labourer, but on
the whole they behaved very well. Of course, by this time it was known
where the money was coming from to support the strike, and as the
capitalists saw it was useless to prolong it any further, they held a
meeting at the Exchange, and after an interview with the delegates
from the girls’ union, they decided that there was no use attempting
to hold out any longer, and so they yielded every point asked for
with as good a grace as possible; in fact, during the conference, one
of the capitalists was so struck with the beauty and good sense of
a girl delegate, that a wedding will soon take place, when we shall
see that desirable end obtained of Capital united to Labour. As soon
as the girls gained their point, of course, they returned to work,
and ceased to draw the strike money which our hero had allowed them.
The girl constabulary were disbanded, but not before the Government
had recognised their great services by giving them a splendid fancy
dress ball at the Centennial Hall, at which they all appeared in their
uniforms, and which was generally admitted was even a more brilliant
and successful affair than the great banquet given by the Government
to the gentlemen of the special constabulary at the Prince Alfred
Exhibition Building, on the termination of the great maritime strike a
short time previously. It is whispered amongst people who are generally
well posted in coming events that Reginald was so much struck with the
charms of one of the young lady troopers he met at the Constabulary
Ball, that it is possible there may be some happiness left for him yet,
though he will never forget the great sorrow of his early days, and can
never even now look upon an amateur photographer without shuddering.
THE END.
GIBBS, SHALLARD & CO., PRINTERS, 84A PITT STREET, SYDNEY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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