The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1869-04-28
England The Strike of the Lancashire
Cotton Operatives.
LONDON, March 81.

are very greatly mistaken very serious
calamity is hanging over the countr,
nd is almost at our very doors. AS yor
will no doubt have seen in our news
papers, the operatives at Preston are
"on the strike" rs lts called aud al
ready some 5000 mill hands" are
without employment This OF itsel
would be bad enough, but the evil i;
increasing, aud before another fortnight
ia over at least 10000 men, women anc
children in and about the great centre:
Of cotton spinning will be idle, subsist.
ing upon the contributions Of their fel-
low laborers III other districts where tho
mill owners leve not tried to reduce the
wages Of their workmcn.
| AS it at present stands the dispute
between the mill owners and tho opera.
lives in and about Preston : and the
difficulty is extending all over Lanca.
~hire-may be briefly stated rs follows ::
The masters say, and say truly, that at
The present high price they pay for cot.
Ton, and the low price Of the markets for
cotton cloths, twist, prints and the like,
it does not pay them to work their mills,
aEd that they must reduce all wages by
ten per cent. The operatives, on the
other hnnd, say no. They declare, with
per(rct truth, that when trade was brisk.
the staple low priced, tho manufactured
goods high and demand for the latter
in every market, tho nill-owncrs (all
oI them made immense profits, and turn.
I'd over their capital again and again)
did not raise their wages penny apiece,
and that now they ought not to lower
them because tho market IS Tor the mo-
ment depressed. Moreover, they say,
and with perfect reason on their side,
that if their wages are now lowered ten
per cent the miilownrrs will never raise
them again, but that famine pay" will
be the rule hcnccforlh and forever
among them. They are quito willing
20 submit the question to arbitration,
lh" arbilrators to consist Of an equal
number of artisans AMI mill-owners, who
will among them select some well
known public man as . r"l..r:". Ru.
the masters will not hear OF This. With
that hull.headcd obstinacy which, l nm
sorry to say, so often distinguishes tho
Englislman when he has made his Tor
his bankers, they Will listen to nothing
"Takc what we offer Or leave it," is
lheir one s'ereotypcd reply, and thou
sands OF artisans have taken them Mt
their word and struck work. Mills are
shut up helpless women and children
are halt starved, and the whole state of
soc:;.'::s u,corganizcd in what generally
ara lie rIost ilourishing districts Of Eng.
land for the working class. Fortunate.
| ly, there are certain mill owners in the
north Of Lancashire and in Yorkshire
who are not so shurt.slghted--not so
grasping Their mills are not shnt be.
cause they have not sought to reduce
! wages. In these favored districts the
operatives who. arc in work are subscrb.
ing to maiutain those who are not. Th,
! friendly societies aud trades union also
help greatly. so that tho poor people do
not actually want bread and meat, or
rather Tor bread and tea--ior it is very
little m'at they ever see except on Sun.
day. But stillsit is an evil. a great
wrong is being done these people. Tie
fluids on which they ought to rely in
time Of sickness are now being eaten M
to afford them everyday food. And
all, | fear, for no nsr. Unfortunately
for us, capital always slarves labor into
submission in England. sny "unlor-
tmately," for ] fear we shall all suffer
some day from tho greed Of those who
own capital in this country. Men can
/ not and, what Is more, thcy will not
-snbmit and give in forever when they
tmnk--when they know--thcv have
right on their side. Tho day will como
i when labor in England will help himself
to a hundrcd-lold moro than capital
might,now content him with. Capital
in all civilized communities has its du-
ties as well, as its rights and if it neg
lec's those duties it will somc day have
/ to ieel be made to cl--that it has
dono wrong.
| All those operatives that are on strike
!; arc thcvery pick of our artisans. They
arc steady, Woodworking men, anxious
10 got fair days wages for a fair days
work, TO MAINTAIN their wiveaIn and little
ones in comfort to keep couple o( de,
cent rooms over their heads, and TO pnt
by q small nest egg which will keep
those dependent upon them from the
poor house when the head Of the family
is dead. They are in every sense of the
word decent respectable men, with no
small amount OF self'respect, ms witness
the prlyatlona they endured at the com-~
n,epcement OF the civil .war IN A America.
before the wealthy men Of England came
to ..heir, help. They would make good
citizens anywhere; but most Of all ME
they calculated to- flourish in tie United
States wherc,sno matter how humble
a man may be born, or how sliort his
purse;may be. lie feels that if he has a
trade orr a handicraft, and is honest, so
Der and well conducted, he must iiso in
the world. - ". ". Herald.
/ ra,N$-i 2-1E+G- ~ s---i------ q ff@
i A woman twitha Child entered pho
tograph gallery the other day, and pre-