, 1875-10-23
FALL RIVER.
n Contest l;etwr,n Labor and
Capital.
The Employers Wow Of the Recent
Strike Against n Reduction
Of Wnges.
Sketc1l Of The Rise ard Progress Of
t7reat Manufacturing 1'0wM.

| faLl' 4!fEHt h1AFs. oCl IT, 1uH ulAAbfGG
monts t'oI"oeu tho manufacturers hero and I'll
n,l.oporali,en, which began laat fall, and hAy.
now reached flnai settlement, lnyaIyo neari
all The points at lsaio bctwonn 1.nbor and Carl
| tal. Never before wero these two elomeut
brought more sharply iu opposition. A.o saIdo,
las any contest Assumed 60 many dincreu
| phaats.
! RISE AND anowru OF TIE MANUFACTURES,
In the first place, these m,lla arn owned by III,
managers themselves in a greater rroporsio1
tlian AIRY otlcr mi!ts In lilo country. The found
crs Of this great industry woro Holden horde,
| aud Bradford Dusioe; and tl,el, descendant
ha,o never diss.pa.ed the wealth thait sueestor
left to them. III 1918 was Luitt .h
first cotton factorr,-.ho Troy Cotton at.
Wooden Manufactory." with sag hp:,,dlop
but, for long time, tho growtt, waa ye:y grad
ual. From 1sfo to 1920 it was but 2os souls
and in 1870 fifty years later, thera wcro eikltoe1
Incorporated companies, with capital of sG,3lo
o0o and Cos, ,148 splnd!os. Tho population WIN
t1on 27,19l. But. ia 1879 alone, eteyou Isrre
mln werc erected; and nos, 1.-Two years later,
tlloro arc tLirty-fonr mills employing ,5,muJ
hands. nsftg 10000 ba1eB Of cotton yearly in
tic manufacture OF 33o,o00,0uo ynrds Of cIotl,,
and paying ont e3o0,0u0 monthly i'll wages, Tho
F0t"'-"eA ~ 3'0AL tDVuVs uG tHQ fuG1 mt u.
toned nbovo built tho first m.lls aud managed
item. Illcy paid 10 largo salartop. lived eco
nolnlcally, and turned their monoy over antl
over. lako tho single instance OF tic Fail
River 1Eon-Works. 1t was started in 1891. With
capital Of sle,000,-tI,e Company control-
ling tho whole wharf-frout OF the
Mills, which had hitherto teen
nm n H..
brcli built will! thor tnonoy, wcro Hot OF aa a
distinct corporation, md 1900 QUO in stock H.
sued. Later on, tho American Print Works wero
established by tile Iron Works Company. This
corporation outArow its accommodations, and
built ono Of The fneat mills iu tho country coat
lug about 81, 100000. Hoforo thoy lad insured
it, aud when it was almost completed, it was
burned. and tho loss waH almost total, for thu
mill lad to 10 built up from tho foundations,
After tllls. tho tias-Works and tho PROVIDENCE
Stcnmhoat Line. which wcro ofT1hoots Of the
Iton-Workg, were Eet or as diBtluct orppratiolH
aad ztock iBn,ea. The lron-WotkH themselves
noT employ GU0 men. aud pay out x3u, 900 iii
wages 1na.,th&y. They have el.000. UUH capital,
aud haTo paid out oror Sl.u0O 9u0 iii diylleu}s.
All tlis FROM *15.0u0, without penny Of asaoss-
m1ut.
fAMlLY-0wHERsN1p.
80 much TO Hllow tho origin Of tho Fall Ryer
Industries. 10. show Aow tho ownership Of
these mills has been kott in the family: Thom.
ah j. Borden ID tho lArgont ainEIv owner, anu in
Treasurer Of tic aEcchnnics Mills, Treasurer Of
tho Richard Borden manufacturing Company.
M4'ch IN Owned euttroly by bis family, and
Treasurer Of tie Troy Cotton and WooIeu AIau-
tltaotofv, which has but fourteen stoekhnIderB
Tho !asl annual meeting Of tho latter Company
lasted but ten minutes, darlng which time nil
tho ouslneaa was transacted. and the dividend
paid. Oio yenr dEing tho War 1t paid 100 por
cent dividend, md carried to surplus fund e15J,-
QUO. Col. Uordon ~ alao + Director In two OF tho
ba1ika hoEe the: Old Colony Railroad Company,
and tho Old Colony. Steamboat Company {FoIi
Il Treasurer of tho Aunamau,, Crescent, aui
aletacomot s1ills. Thcso arc also two
otAor lrothers, who ure partners In tho
tolllng-houEcs tn New York nnl pIsila-
ttolpha, Theso ,scnslomoa are not only
lrcas'lrers, but selling agents Rs we'll und they
Do for 55, QUO yonE III tho work for wh,ci,
aimiiar officers 1t Lowell or Lawrence mills
would receive s3o,000 to $1,000. II IL bo-
eyad that o. Pee cout Of all tho stock III these
III tho lnor!sot: and when new mills arc
itarted, the books arc seldom open for forty
hight hours. Of tho n'iilH recently orcctetl In
Ioro than ono case all tlo atock wRB aubscr.bel
or III lcEs than two hours.
THE MANurAcTuREna' yTpnY.
shall now proceed to give thu manufacturers
.t0ry OF tho lato difficulties:
Up to recent date thero had mover been any |
'orious trouble with tho opcratvos, aud tic ratio
# wasea ind boon very steady. But
he fapld growth OF tho manufacturing |
Enterprises, and tho constant intro6lucllon
II now capital. brought with them competition. |
80 longer could ono man raise his hand and stop
very loom IN Fall River aud, with now mi11a.
It every dividend tho halp began to fcaI their |
'owcr. Every new mill must layo operatives, |
nd skilled operatives. too. Thetoforo. tho nsc-
BsarY couael l1enceB followed. There was icol. |
usy botwcen tue mills, and tho now Companies |
I'lced tho holp away from tho old once. 'TLoro |
zero no Unions thon. The operatives had only |
nter. Agents We'd With each other to seo who |
honld best treat their operatives aud every
ew mill vas sure to erect better touemouts than
ha last Que.
Just about tl'tn timo, however, there was al,
rival Of Eugllsh workmen. who soon gained /
lltto an aacondaucy over tho help, and conf
iouoed ngitation agaiust tho employers. Tho
rst point at iAsuc wab tho Tcn-1Iour law. OF
ourse tho uian!lfacturors we're unwilling to adopt
n'lcss III enforoemont WAS universal. Noser-
lo'css they yieIded. and actually ran but ten
ours day for nearly year. willie all tho other
ILLS In tho country wore working eleven Or
"el'e. The great disadvantage at winch thoy
Gro working il oyidont, for thoir protltB wcro
inning one hour longer day. Thoy then CO.
pefated with tholr employees to Hecuro Tou-
our law aud In the Legislature tho singular
'eesacIe was witnessed OF tho enoruiou4
spltM or Fall lnver Working with tbb |
pptatiyeH against tho combined capital
Lawrence, Lowell. ana tho otier
Igo manufacturing centros. Tho Teu-lIour
~ onco parsed. prlcoH continued to Decline
ID dividends went down to nothing. Manufac.
lrers felt that wages must bh reduced, but how
} Do It. Tho mills hui boon WORKING no long
dopendoutly than combination seemed practi-
lily imposaibld Even in tho midst OF tho panic.
mic operatives who wero working Oh looms OF
eariier date. aud could not mako rs much ~
oss WIN Wers usng newer machinery, wanted
GRO pay. Tho manufacturers promised to mako
all right when tlmcs improved; but tle opera-
ses would not wait. The Union waH called ip.
10 looms wero stopped. and tho manufacturers
n,polled to yield aud pay tue advance There
~ 10 Union Of manufacturers and no sooner
d thoy concedo this point than the workers
tho now looms wanted ~ much AZ
ose WHO wero working on tho old. AnA tloy
It 1t, too. Ihese concessions auadc, tile next
~. of the Union Was 10 say to whom and 4ow
'odB could 10 sold. Prices kept on decilulug, |
ID at last tho m!Ila we're compelled to stup |
avoid serious loss, or else reduce WageH, Tie
teciied th1L thoy must combine
resist combinations. au4 they ior,ncd Doard
Trade.
STRIKES.
Tho result WAS. that tic Union ordered utr!ke |
tha N6ATGfB in thr0n tut1lA and loptaA ~ tn+ |