The Indianapolis journal., 1886-04-20

Matters Of Interest to Employers and En-
piOyed-K. of L. Notes.

+ Philadelphia Record, Sunday.
| The textile manufacturers of New England,
| especially those of cotton goods, have pooled
| their issues, and have effected combination by
| which mutual protection can be extended in case
| of strikes. "A number of mills row lying idle In
| New England without any explanation to the
| workpeople are drawing support from the gem
| eral fund to recompense the owners for the
| silence of their machinery. The hosiery manu-
| facturers of central New York have effected
| similar combination, but the boot and
| shoe manufacturers of Massachusetts and
Maine. while anxious for some such combina-
tion, have gone little too far in the way OF con-
cesslon. There are comparatively few strikes
now throughout New England. With all the
/ dullness, great deal of new machinery is going
| in The remodeling OF mills and the putting in
1 great confidence among textile manufacturers
| generally. In the hosiery branch the gains
effected by the inventions of the year will add
| to per cent to any possible production of the
machinery heretofore in use There are new
/ looms weaving $50 picks to the minute on narrow
goods in this city, turning out piece of l25
yards of extra super ingram carpet in twenty
two hours.
| There is project on foot on the part OF
number of German textile manufacturers to fit
/ out two large ocean steamers each to be fur
nlshed with assortment of samples of every
kind of textile goods manufactured, and to visit
transcontnental countries A French syndicate
| Is nnaertaklng precisely the same thing Ger
urlng country; her cotton products have in
creased since 1880 in the propagation of 30 to 36;
| her wool products from l3 to 81 fax from to
IL, while her imports of textiles have greatly de-
clined. Some American manufacturers have
been studying the probabilities of German i'm
portatlon of textile goods into the United States
| IN competition with English goods.
Railway managers, especially on some of the
trunk lines, are considering the advisability of
| relaying portion of their track with eighty
and ninety pound rails rather than ffty7six to
sixty-pound rails. because of the increasing
loads OF freight cars and the increasing weight
| of locomotives. il.makers can easily adapt
| their machinery to the making of heavier rails,
| but the increased cost of such rails will likely
| prevent any Sudden or great demand for them.
shoe manufacturer, in talking of the
present situation. says 1t is not only disagreea-
| BILE. but deplorable. Labor is extremely high
running from $l2 to 1924 per week fop men, and
$3 to $lo per week for women.
In Connecticut the employment of children
under thirteen years Of age in factories has
| been prohibited: also in mercantile establish
ments. The bill for weekly payments and for q
tenhour law failed to pass.
Belgian employers have recently regretted the
absence of unionsm among their workmen, and
say that if their workmen had been organized on
the English system the worst that. could have
happened would have been a financial struggle;
but not being organized, they have resorted to
the revolver and to incendiarism. and
have ftaken as their model the RED
wages OF miners is $500 for men and
$3 10 for women at Brussels, bricklayers
sons, shoemakers and boiler-makers earn more
than So 81. Weavers average 81 "a. Plumbers,
blacksmiths and moders average Sc. 10. British
critics. who have reason to fear Belgian compe
tion on account of its extremely cheap labor.
have reported that the Belgian labor system is
radically .unsound and requires amendment Its
weak point is the extent Lowhich females are en-
ployedin nearly every branch of industry. Even
in tine coarsest and heaviest kinds of work women
stand on an equality with men, and are allotted
tasks that they are physically untitled for and
the execution of which must have degrading
effect English employers are grat6ed at the
evidences of resistance among the Belgian work
ingmeu and trust that their agitations for bet
ter wages and better conditions genenslly will be
continued until there is a radical and permanent
Improvement
The Scotch iron makers are beyond doubt face
to face with the serions problem of overproduc-
tion. the oversupply now reaches 600 900
tons of iron. The only remedy suggested is a
severe cut in the rate OF wages to all biast-fur
mace and mining labor.
There are 233 coke making firms in this coun-
try. having 20.l16 ovens. and turning out coke
worth 81, ,628Il8
About $500 operatives are on strike or shut
outin New England against Z. 750 three weeks
ago. and 8,500a month ago. hundred of these
are in the boot and shoe trade, 1850 among the
cotton goods mills and $50 among the WOODEN
mills. Among those who recently returned to
work were 1000 boot and shoe operatives at
Beverly, Mass, and 800 hosiery-miIl hands at
New Britain Conn. There are 400 locked out
men and strikers in Chicago; at Pittsburg, be-
tween 500 and 600; at Cincinnati, 300 at Milwau-
kee 800 cigar-makerS are idle
The latest war-cry uttered by the Knights of
Labor is that all striking and ooycotting be stop
ped and that all energies be concentrated against
what is termed tho Gould tyranny The Knights
expect to increase their membership to 1000 900
within the next twelve months. The executive
committee is not large enough to meet all the
demands upon 1t. Two members are in ST.
Louis; one is travelling over the couptry settling
disputes; one is at headquarters here at Phila-
delphia and the s'old man" himself is at Scran-
ton. Over one hundred Assem- blies have already
sent checks for the Southwestern strikers. and
money is likely to roll in at the rate of $4,000
week. The New York printers met last week
and set aside rs per cent of their assistance fund.-
and telegraphed to st. Louis that they would
honor any calls made upon them. twenty-five
assemblies are to be organized in Baltimore
within few days Nine thousand dollars has
been raised in Trenton N. j., for hall. and it is
intended to have $25. 900 by August
A cooperative tocacco company has been
ganized at Raleigh N. c.. with $40, 900 capital
in shares of $3.50 each. The factory is in full
trim. and the management is competent. The
assemblies propose to patronize their own COM
pany.
The Knights of Industry is the name of new
so-called labor organization which is trying to
bob up It's head in Boston. 1t has no room. It's
platIorin feauS nice, OUT, IKE patIorms, means
very little. It Ia opposed to the 482 railroad
presidents, and thinks one and one-third cents
per mile would be all that would be charged on
railroads If that organization had control. The
notion underly ing this organization on paper is
that government control can do everything.
Additional complaints are coming from Cali
| fornia concerning Chinese labor The woods
| there are filling up with Chinese choppers They
| are renting stock ranches. One company has
| dairy with one hundred cows. Manufacturers
md farn rntrs
| encouragement. They are cursed because they
| send away little money to China, but not
| word is said about the millions and millions that
are sent away by the English, Irish and Ger
mans of the Atlantic States to their friends
abroad
There will be an immense eight hour demon
station in Baltimore on May L Out of the sew
la hills hafora INLAND