One time the electrical workers in Paris called a general strike. It had hardly begun when a child of one of the laborers became seriously ill. When the physician arrived, he told the mother that the little girl would need immediate surgery to save her life. There was no time to take her to the hospital, so the doctor quickly prepared the kitchen table for an emergency operation. Darkness was falling as the final sanitary precautions were completed. The doctor flipped on the light switch but there was no electricity. It was impossible to perform the surgery. Just then the father burst into the room and exclaimed, "Hurrah! The strike is complete. There isn't a light burning in Paris!"