The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-07-02
FALL RIVERS. STAGNATION.
the RUN THAT WAS WROU6HT By a
MILLIONAIRE DkFdUL1ER.

FALL RIVER, Mass, June W-Since tne
first cotton mill was built In this city in 1919
there has been no such trouble in tho homes Of
workingmcn and no such apprehension In tho
minds Of the authorities as exist here to-day
The nerv heat OF blazing sun beats upon the
shingled roof Of many distressed household
and tho aching feet OF hundreds OF children are
sore and weary with trotting to and from the
Relief Board in tho City Hall. There arc forty
throo mills In Fail River-grnat, substantial
solid stone buildngs-with 30.577 looms and
1884, 701 spindrs, with n weekly. capacity OF
nearly 10000 pieces Of printed cloth.
The mills are there witlr loom and spindle.
and the city swarms with mon, women. and
children ready to work.
Why. then. trouble at home. and why appre-
hension ia the City Hall?
There arc three causes-AnRier Chace late
Treasurer and manpulator of the great Union
Mills. who to-day is sitting in solitary conGno-
mcnt in tho Bay State prison; Hathaway. his
employee, protege and friend who awaits his
trial postponed to September. and a lack Of de-
mand for the products OF the mills.
II has long been the boast Of Fall River
that industry was the characteristic Of its
people. and that dleness and hunger were
rarely seen. Such was tho unchallenged
fact and when Angler Chace. having been
graduated from the pursers berth he had
the town by marrying tho comely daughter OF
Durfee. the great millionaire. and began At
once To put II in the power ~ the workpeople 10
own mill stock in shares. sold IA low as 800
each, n new era OF prosperity dawned, and the
workmsn felt themselves as good as those who
hired them.
The purchase OF mill stock became a fashion.
The fashion became contagion.
II a man. working in a mill. had smart wife
and four children also Mt work in the mill. he
was in 9 fair way to become well of.
A fair average in good times" was six looms
lsome men managed eight to each worker.
" cut is toriy-nve yards Of printed cloth per
cents.
Z
In other words a family of six persons. in
flush times. when business wns constant and
| y. pay wgs good, had weekly income OF
especially when the MANN for purchasing mill
| shares seized them all and the Inducements To-
save were shnre-ownership and rise in the
Little 10y little prices fell. From thirty cents
| Il WINS reduced 10 twenty-one. and now it's down
| 20 eighteen cents per cut. The average now
| made IL six cuts per loom per week. and this. in
the case Of the family Of six ne above given.
would give n gross income Of t37.0s, which
would not be bad but, unfortunately. the mills
that are nt work give half time only and that
reduc.s me wesky income 20 sls24' II would
| over ten years Of age and all well and NJ work.
10 get along on that sum but again unfortun-
|
hundreds OF families Of six, there are but very
| few where they are all able TO work In many
| OF them the children ara like the steps Of the
| ladder from the baby week old. up through
the brothers and sisters q two. three. Ave,
words. hundreds Of families where there is no
| work for the father even. and hundreds ~
others where the industrious father considers
himself fortunate II he can take home n full
week. work. or sc cuts at lS cents. s6.lS. I'm
der .prcsent circumstances there is no such
| good fortune. Half time means half work. and
| half work means half pay. and half pay means
1893 for those lucky dogs who get anything,
Now II must be remembered that this terrible
prostration comes upon the men and women of
rall River At peculiarly nniortunnte time,
| happily many years living frugally and saving
constantly
What for1 To buy mill shares. Where are
In other words. the houses they built in
pleasant weather are fiat upon the sand, and the
| Heres sun BEATS upon their unprotected heads
and burns their little ones.
No wonder. then. that Il was considered safer
| a. send Angler Chase To State prison quick lest
| the people should send him somewhere else
first
the rrGsSey sst IL m9 n perfns sn9w kae
has waited ON two generntiunr, and. like Can't.
| simmons in tho pinot house and Mr. Smith in
| the Office IA part and parcel Of the boat itself
| Well. Katie Il one of the sufferers too. She and
| thousands ike her worked long and well saved
carefully trusted blindly. invested confidently.
| and lost her share ia III" general catastrophe.
the night when the Lord smote all the ilrsi born
| IN the and from the first horn of Pharaoh that
| sat on his throne. unto the frSt born OF the cap
| two that WAS in the dungeon"
| How In thatg
Because from the millionaire in his castle 20
! the humbr-t weaver In the works the people
mourn to-day their conf lence in what has
proved a broken reed. The fall and disgrace
| OF Chace led 10 the fall and disgrace 81 potent
social connection. II ~ father-in-law. Durfer,
! was enormously rich. hut the f0rek owledge ~
Impending disaster broke his heart aud he
rests beneath the sod. The pecuniary loss
alone cannot easily De- est mated. even where II
| embraces amounts above slOOOoO. SO that when
al tab ia
| amounts ranging from 500 to - 900 are made
] factors. the problem becomes extended and un-
manageable Had hard times como alone.
| these poor people might have borrowed on their
! shares, and at the last might have sold them
| but win hard times came Angler Chnrr hnd To
him aud his associates the poor attribute their
Still worse-even the LITTLE that is earned is
| not promptly paid. one Of the great corpora.
tons is bchindhaud over two months pay. and
! others are 10y no means rs business like as they
But. said I. inSusirr IL my eucr-s thcS~co
| pie surely left something in the savings banks
Certainly they did. and unless investigation
! shows il has been stolen there il yet remains
They say" that the bank is solvent but for
prudential reasons It ayails itself VI the delay
| clause
In other words. just at tho time the deposit
oTs need their money, they cannot have il.
This Is all well enough. perhaps. from the
bank standpoint. aud l use 1t simply as one OF
the reasons for the universal trouble and de-
spondenry in this always beautiful and once
What was needed here when the banks sus-
pended the mills shut down. the Chare inla-
| mics were found ont. and indignation fired the
heart Of fifteen thousand Operatives. swlndlrd;
robbed. and deserted, WAS the one need Of all
time; That need was man, and the need was
| filed.
teorRe Gunton is an English weaver per
haps 30 years of nRe. quick -wiitcd. Zealous.
fun Of enthusiasm. and a good speaker. He
was weaver in one of the great mills NJ the
time Of the ong vacation "a prolonged stop
page ~ work-nnd by his speeches to his fellow
workmen incurred the dspleasure Of the
DOsSrS, ana WINS NlgtlmlHed.
A "viNlu." IN mill pnrlance, Is q man or
woman who. having displrased the boss has
his name pat on black list, which ia known in
common Wy the mill Dsople. This procudrs
further employment. Well, Gunton was we
tim, and ~ his case appeared rnther hard.
Ben Butter. Wendell Phillips, and uthers pro-
cured him common laboror's position in the
Boston Custom House. | emphasize this hcrHu-e
has been charged that he secured IA lucrative
position through political aid. Altcr awhile he
returned 10 Fdll River to assist In proparln
lSedreD'S LABOR journal. since when he has been
prominent in all labor movements. and has
done much toward keeping the angry masses
patient under their wrongs. Gunton is an agi
tator. but he HRitates with q political purpose.
Ho irowns On violence, but believes In making
u grcnt show al the polls. He did much toward
ri Tan-hpnr luNN for MassaenuS