The daily gazette., 1878-07-03
Fall Rivers Stagnation.
The Ruin that was Wrought by
millionaire Dc f;auiter.
THE MILLS AND OPERATIVES OF A ONCE
PROSPEROUS CIrY-FEELING OF
THE PEOPLE - THEIR PECU-
LIAR NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
CHACE : GAME.

CHACE GAME.
FALL RIVER, Mass, June 29-Since
the first co ton mill was built in this city
III 1913. there has be n no such trouble in
the homes of workinginen and no such
apprehension in tie minds of the autliori-
ties as exist here to-day. The fiery heat
OF blazing sun beats on the shingled
ROOT of many dist essed household, and
the aching feet of hundreds of hildren
are sore and weary with trotting TO and
from the Relief Board in the City Hall.
There are torty-three mills in Fall River
-grear, substantial, solid stone bu ldings
with 81, ,517 looms and ,2S4, 751 spindies
with weekly calaci v OF nearly 100, 600
pieces OF printed cloth.
Why, then, trouble at home, and why
apprehension in tn" city Hall?
III e are three caIses-Angier Chace,
late treasurer ahu manipuiator of the
great Union Mills, who to-day is sitting
IN solitary confinement III the Bay
portege, and friend, who awaits his
trial postponed to September, and a
lack Of demand for the products of the
mills.
1t has long been the boast of Fall River
that industry was the characteristic of its
people. and that idleness and hunger
Were rarely seen Such was the uncllal-
lenged fact; and when Angler Chace,
having been graduated from the purser's
berth he had filled satisfactorily, becsm
one of the nobs ot the town by marrying
The comely daughter OF Durfee, the
great millionaire, and began at once to
put 1t in the power of The work people to
own mill stock in shares, sold as low as
Sl00 each, new era of prosperity
dawned, and the worlSmen felt them
selves as good rs those who hired them
la.. l.
fashion.
The fashion became contaglon.
Ii man, working in Il mill, had a
smart wife and four children, also al
work i'll the MILL lie was in Il fair way to
b. come well Oft.
How?
A fair average in "good times" was six
looms (some men managed eight 10
each worker Each loom could turn off,
say seven "cuts" "a "cut" is forty-tive
yards of printed cloth) per week, and the
price per cut, her, was thirty cents.
u looms al cuts each. ........ AZ cuts
AZ cut, at 30 cents each. ST. TO
6people at $3.50 each........ IS 60
In other words, a family of six persons,
in flush times, when business was con-
slant and the pay was good, had a week
ly income of 1880, of which from S25 to
S45 were put away, especially when the
them all AMI tue inducements to save
were share-ownership and rise in the
sot ial scale.
Little by little prices fell. From thirty
cents it was reduced to twenty-one, and
now It's down to eigAteen cents per cut
Tne average now made is six cuts per
loom per week, and this, in the case OF
the fam ly of six, as above given, would
give gross income of S37.0S, which
would not be bad; but, unfortunately, the
mills that are at work give half time only
and that reduces the weekly income to
1854. 1t would be quite possible, also,
for family of six, all over ten years of
age and all well and at work, to get al 1ng
on that sum; but again, unfortunately
the facts show that although there are
hundreds of families of six, there are but
very few where they are all able to work
In many of them the children are like
the steps of the ladder, from the baby a
week old, up through the brothers and
| sisters of two, three, five, seven, and
eight years Old. There are, in other
words, hundreds of families where there
is NJ work for the father even, and hun
dreds of Others where the industrious
father considers himself fortunate il he
can take home full weeks work or 3G
cuts at Is cents, S6.lS. Under present
circumstances there Is no such good for
tune. Half time means half work, and
half work means half pay, and half pay
means $500 for those lucky dogs who get
anything.
Now it must be remembered that this
ter ible prostration comes upon the men
and women of Fail River at peculiarly
ing industriou>ly and happily many years
living frugally aud saving constantly.
What tor? TO buy mill shares. Where
are The shares? Gone up!
In other words, the houses they built
in pleasant weather are fiat upon the
sand, and the fierce sun beat, upon their
unprotected heads and burns their little
ones.
No wonder, then, that it was consider
, ed safer to send Angler Chace TO State
prison quick lest the people should send
him somewhere else first.
Probably half a lion persons know
Katie, the stewardess of the steamer
Providence. She has waited on two gem
erations, and, like Capt. Simmons in the
pilot house aud Mr.. Smith in the office
is part and parcel of the boat itself. Wei
Katie is one ofthe sufferer. too. She and
thousands like her worked long and wei
saved carefully, trusted blindly, invested
confidently, and lost her share in the gen.
eral catastrophe.
Fall River society is hike the Egyptian
people tne night when ''the Lord smrte
all the nrSJ DOfn Ill tne lanu, from the
first born uf Pharaoh that sat on his
throne, unto the fist born of the captive
that was in the dungeon"
How Is u at?
Because from the millionaire in his
castle to The humblest weaver in the
works of the people mourn to-day their
confidence in what has proved broken
reed. The fall anu disgrace OF Chace led
to the fall and disgrace Of potent social
connection. His father-in-law, Durfee,
was enormously rich, but the foreknow,
ledge of impending disaster broke his
heart, and he tests beneath the sod. The
pecuniary loss alone cannot easily be es-
timated, even where it embraces amounts
at owe S100,0O0 so that when the MINOR
losers are taken into account, and amounts
ranging from 500 to $1,000 are made fac.
Tors, The problem becomes extended and
unmanageable. Had hard times come
alone, these poor people might have Dor.
rowtd on their shares, and at the last
might have sold them; but with hard
times came Angler Chance, and to him
and his associates the poor attribute theiI
trouble.
Still worse-even the little that is earn.
ed is not promptly paid. One of the great