The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-03-16
WILL NOT RETURN TO THEIR LOOMS.
Until the Manufacturers Give Them
Assurances Of an Advance.
The Sentiment of the Committee of
the Fall River Weavers.
Everybody Waiting TO See What Will
Happen after st. Patrlck's Day.i

FALL RIVER, March 15.-The 18th of
March comes this year on the 18th, If
Hibernicism on such an appropriate occa-
sion is permissible, and the feeling that
Monday will be big with the fate of the
strike is fast gaining ground. If after the
festivities of st. Patrick's day any number
of the weavers show up at the mills, then the
strike is up.
On the other hand, if Tuesday morning
passes finding the looms still silent, then
long and protracted siege will probably be
in order, and many will pull up stakes and
leave the city, and all the confusion of start
ing up with much new and unskilled help
will come to plague the superintendent.
The lot of the latter is not happy one by
any means. They occupy position between
the agents and the help, and while they are
better paid than the latter they have the
crack of the lash about their ears all the
time. The spirit of competition runs high,
ana II the production of one mill. conditions
being equal, makes a better showing than
another, the superintendent hears of it from
his agent. To save himself he must put the
spur into the operative. If at the end of the
week the production don't allow the rider to
be placed" then the chances are he will be
ordered out of the saddle and a new superin-
tendent will get on the scales. The demands
OF business in the matter of production are
as lmmutable as the laws of the Medes and
Perslans, and however good man the aver
age Fall River mill agent may be personally,
outside of running his mill, he knows in
business no attainment but success.
That Is what he means by better machinery
ana higher speed, and that is why he claims
Fall River weavers are making better wages
than Those elsewhere. 1t is also why, ac-
cordng to Secretary Rounseviles estimates.
that there is a surplus at all times of nearly
1000 weavers in this city. ''Sick" weavers
they are paradoxically called, not because
they are sick themselves, but because they
take the looms temporarily of those who
have got sick under the physical strain
which better yarn, improved Machinery
and higher speed" superinduce.
The State Board of Arbitration today
met the committee of the Board
OF Trade, who appeared to entertain
with some favor the propositions submitted
by the arbitrators, although they declined to
make any binding promise without calling a
special meeting of the board OF trade. They
were unwilling to entertain any proposition
that would involve recognition of the wea-
vers. union or agree to arbitrate until af-
ter the weavers returned to work. Chairman
Wolcott said after leaving the board
OF trade he had seen worse cases than this
and was encouraged to expect a satisfactory
settlement OF the trouble.
After dinner the arbitrators held long
conference with the weavers' executive com
mittee to whom they offered the proposition
that they return to work so as to make the
situation the same as when the board visited
the city on Friday. This proposition was
not fayorably received by the weayers'
committee who opposed going to
work without getting definite
promise of an an advance. The committee
finally agreed to consider the proposition and
put It before mass meeting of strikers to be
held in the park tomorrow, but it is not be-
lieved it will be accepted. The operatives
claim the mills on paying off are taking out
the rent of the tenements in advance. The
union proposes to test the legality of this ac-
tion.