one o'clock
There was a little city , and few men within it ; And there came a great king against it , and besieged it , And built great bulwarks against it ; Now there was found in it a Poor Wise Man , And he by his wisdom delivered the city . -- Ecclesiastes IX : 14 , 15 . The general strike occurred two days later , at mid-day . During the interval a joint committee representing the workers , the employers and the public had held a protracted sitting , but without result , and by one o'clock the city was in the throes of a complete tie-up . Laundry and delivery wagons were abandoned where they stood . Some of the street cars had been returned to the barns , but others stood in the street where the crews had deserted them . There was no disorder , however , and the city took its difficulties with a quiet patience and a certain sense of humor .