Connecticut western news., 1879-06-04
FALL RIVER MULE SINNERS.
WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY THEY ARE
 NOW ABOUT TO STRIKE.

A letter from Fall River, Mass says {: The strike of the spinners has been deferred for the present, but it will cer- tainly take place before the end of the coming month unless compromise is made.
 It is generally admitted that the pres- ent movement is better organized and more shrewdly conducted than any pre-. vious one of similar character. The Mule Spinners' Association, to which the agitation has so far been confined, is now compact and thoroughly or ganized body. The regularly employed "mule spinners of the city, with few exceptions, are members of the union. The moderation and intelligence of their leaders is acknowledged. Their meet ings are strictly private, and the secrecy of their " executive sessions " is not 8 farce. They know that their associa- tion is obnoxious to the mill owners, and spinner who talked too freely in an open meeting would certainly be dis charged on some pretext or other. They trust implicitly in the discretion of their Committee, and will strike or work as the Committee shall advise.
 On May 20 secret ballot was cast at a special meeting of the association to determine whether the spinners, as a last resort, would strike. The ballots were put in charge of the Committee with instructions to count and report the result on the following Saturday. The Committee alone know how the vote stands, for by permission of the associa- tion last Saturday evening they have been allowed to postpone their report until the 14th of June next. The Com mittee, of course, will not publish the result openly, but in the course of pri- vate talk with some leading members, after the adjournment of the meeting, the decision of the association was indi. rect ly but clearly stated.
 l was admitted to an ante-chamber, ol committeeman connected with the hall where the association meets. It was g little, dark room, with few rough wooden tables standing stiffiy on the bare floor. The Committed were seated uncomfortably on the edges of these tables, and there was an absence of for mality and chairs.
 Robert Howard, the Secretary of the Committee and the principal spokesman, looks like sturdy, English country man.
 "What do you want ?" asked.
 Four-eighths of a cent per hundred hanks more" was the definite reply.
 "What do you get now?"
 "Two and even-eighths cents pc hundred hanks for filling, and three an' a half cents per hundred hanks fo warp.
 A hank, ;t may be worth while to ez plain, is skein of cotton yarn. Tn |" filling" is the wool. The warp r composed of the heaviest and coarses yarn, and the wool of the lighter an finer cotton. A hundred hanks of war cotton weigh about three and a hal P pounds. A hundred hanks of wool cot ] ton weigh about three pounds. An ad vance of four-eighths of @ cent per hu1 dred hanks would be equivalent to a
 additional payment to the spinners C z about one sixth of cent for every poun a of yarn manufactured.
 3 "How does your pay compare wit ? that given in other mill cities for tn : same work?"
 "Well, replied Howard, frankly "nominally, we get trifle more, br practically, we get less, as I will explain f Each spinner runs pair of mules ( , spinning machines, A boy assists hin