The Portland daily press., 1886-02-18
SETTLING DOWN FOR a SIEGE.
The Amoskeag Mills in Manchester
Preparing for Long sdIeness-
Possibility of General Lockout at
Manchester.
The Trouble in Lewiston No Nearer
a Settlement.
Bath shipbuiIders Want Their Wages
Increased.

that Agent Pratt's orders were to resist to
the end any and all propositions which have
as a condition Mr.. Dalton's return-also that
he declined to have further conferences up
on the subject of Mr. Dalton. Mr.. Pratt an
nouneed to the employees that the wages
would be advanced in the Bates 10 per cent.
The board then submitted the following pro-
position to Mr.. Pratt ''Would you discharge
Mr.. Thompson if the striking fiXers with
drew their demand for Mr.. Dalton's rein
statement" Mr.. Pratt declined to agree to
this The committee informed the assembly
that Mr. Pratt was ready to start up the mills
if they accepted the advance. The locked
out help voted unanimously to stand by the
striking loom fixers, and not go to work to-
day
j. w. Kittredge, chairman of the district
executive board, took the train for his home
at Rockland this morning, and will not re-
turn again unless summoned by the Knights
or Agent Pratt.
Mr.. Thompson, mentioned above, is over
seer Of the weave room in which the difficult
ty occurred, and they claim that he is spec
tally obnoxious to them on account of his &C
tions toward the help since they have refus-
the morning and one at noon.
Want More Pay in the Shipyards.
BATH, Feb. 17.-Sagadahoc Assembly,
Knights of Labor, of this city, made de-
mand today upon the shipbuilders of Bath
for an increase of wages of employees of all
branches from fifty to seyenty-five cents per
day. The New England Shipbuilding Com
pany have contracts at low prices which will
require forty thousand days of laber. That
firm has been intending to increase the wages
of its employees, but it is considered doubt
full if they can accede to the demand made
without incurring most serious loss. The
notice issued by the Knights calls for the in
crease to take place March first, and to cover
but two months.
At the Manchester Mills,
MANCHESTER, Feb. 17.-Large crowds of
strikers gathered at the mill gates this morn
ing and noon, but nothing Of a lawless char
acter has transpired. When the machine
shop hands entered the Amoskeag there was
/ some hooting but no attempt was made to
1oleSt them. There was a crowded. several
Thousand at the Amary mill entrance, but
they were well behaved and orderly. The
operatives were ordered in fifteen minutes
earlier than usual and,cn the Langdon all
were inside and the gates smut At 1890 the
streets were peopled with operatives, but the
crowd was very orderly. As regards selu-
tl0n of the difficulty the impression is gain
ing ground that a settlement will be reached
within a week, or a few days longer at the
least The back bone OF the strike rests
xxi IA 4lAo Gorsass,se rvlA freeent the best
ganlZatlon and present the most determined
front, but none are met with who believe the
corporations will yield point.
Both sides in the Amoskeag strike seem to
have cpfflpd down fOl. q oh
the other to weaken. The Amoskeag COM
pany has commenced covering and caring for
its machinery for a long season Of inactivity
and has generally accepted the situation
with every indication that it will never yield
to the demand of the strikers One hundred
cOnstables were sworn in today to be availa-
bic in case of necessity Mayor Stearns
says the corporation property will be pro-
tected at all events. Interest is now center
ing IN the Manchester mills, as this corpora
tion will tomorrow announce a schedule of
prices under the new increase The direc-
tors hold to their original plan, which is the
same as that adopted by the Amoskeag COM
pany and have not been sweryed from their
purpose by the events of this week. The
advance provides that the total increase Of
the pay roll will restore the wages to where
they were prior to the cut downs of Novem-
Der, 1884, and February, 1885, and that wages
will not be restored to where they were in
all cases, but the total amount of the pay
will be restored.
Trouble is apprehended, and in the event
Of strike it will be construed into q lock
out. Next to the Amoskeag the Manchester
is the most important corporation in the city
and has capital stock of S2,O00000. EN-
ploying 5000 operatives.
Special Dispatch to The Boston journal,
MANCHESTER, N. H., Feb. 1.-THE Agent
of the AmoSkeag Corporation is carrying out
an order received from Boston today to shut
down all the mills for an indefinite period.
This tbof ba hoc
pectation that their locked-out operatives
will return and that there is no necessity
now for discussing the question of reopening
the gates. The mills are being put into shape
1or a permanent i smut down as rapidly as pos
sible. All the betting is being removed, and
put into shape for packing away. The ex-
posed yarn and all other unused materials
are being gathered up for storage. The pay
roll for the help will be made out as soon as
possible. This will require some time, for
all the remaining fabrics in the mills will
have to be gathered up, measured and credit
given to each individual. The company's
agent has heard that some of the operatives
have threatened to go to the counting room
and demand the balance of their pay. The
agent says this would not amount to any
thing, for there is no money in Manchester
with which to pay off the help, the treasurer
residing in Boston. AS soon as the pay rolls
are completed public notice will be given,
and the help will be paid off room by room
in the City Hall.
The agents of all the factories in this city
are now i'll consultation, and it will not be
surprising If general lockout should be de-
clded upon, which will throw out of employ
ment, including Amoskeag help, nearly 49,,
600 persons, with weekly payroll of about
$4,000.
Although the vote in the weavers mass
meeting yesterday was practically unanimous
| not to return to work, yet it is believed that
a very large proportion of those locked out
would be glad to return to work if the or
portunity was allowed them and they could
resume labor without mourning the ill will
OF that portionsof the help who are determin-
ed to push the strike without regard to con-
sequences.
The merchants in Manchester who nave
extensive dealings with the Amoskeag oper-
atlVes arc much concerned over the situa-
ton. The amounts due traders are of course
small in individual cases, but the aggregate
would be large, and with continued strike
many business men will be unable to collect
what is now due them. Traders are already
refusing credit to some of the idle operatives.
A committee of business men went to Law
renee, Mass, this morning, to consult with
traders there to learn what course they
adopted when strike prevailed there.
Some OF the Amoskeag operatives are pre-
pairing to leave Manchester with the view of
obtaining labor in other places. There are
reports that idle operatives in Maine and
other localities have begun to arrive in
Manchester in the hope that the Amoskeag
corporation would resume work, but the
Station Master in this city says he has not
observed any such arrivals.
S. n. Bourne, agent of the Stark mills,
says that the Amoskeag shutdown will
cause the Stark company to suspend manu-
featuring yarn for the Amoskeag mills, but
the yarn help will not be discharged, but
will be given other work on the Stark cor
poration. The Stark mills have of late been
making twenty thousand pounds of yarn a
week for the Amoskeag Company.
A little before l o'clock this afternoon
crowd of over 1000 persons collected in the
streets in front of the Amory gates. There
We're fears that an attempt would be made to
intimidate the Amory help as they returned
from dinner. The entire police force was
soon on the spotan formed in lines on either
side the avenue leading to the gates, The
crowd generally was good natured although
lot of boy strikers would shout to the help
whenever they could do it and escape the
vigilance of the police. One intelligent ap-
pearing striker remarked quietly to those
near him that there was no need of interfer-
ing with the Amory help, for they would all
leave in a body next Monday,