Rates of unemployment in Manchester’s industries were said to have trebled in the last week as firms laid off workers in response to the war.
The local corporations were discussing ways of employing these workers, one suggestion was the revival of a proposal to build a large lake near the river Mersey at Chorlton.
Other proposals on the table were the building of municipal housing in Newton Heath and Miles Plating and further civic works along Cross Street.
In Eccles plans were announced for public works including the building of sewage scheme in Clarendon Road
The first report of the official press bureau came out that day. This was the government’s attempts to squash rumour and panic.
It reported that a large German force was on the move through Luxembourg with advanced troops already at the Belgium frontier and added that around 8,000 German troops had been killed attacking Liege with the city still holding out.
The rumour mill was of talk of a lull before the storm with an engagement on a scale not yet witnessed about to take place between French and German troops in Belgium.
The Home Secretary announced a general amnesty for all women who had been convicted of suffragist activities and all persons convicted of offences during industrial disputes.
