Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-12
AN UNEQUAL STRUGGLE.
The Great Strike of Fall River
 WeaverS.
WHAT THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR.

A Demand for Restoration of Old Prices
 Which Has Been ISnorcd-"The Manu-
 lecturers Benefit by Every strike''-A
 Discourasing Outlook for the Strikers.
 FALL RIVER, Mass, March 12--The great est strike ever known in this city was begun yesterday morning, and by l o'clock not more than 100 weavcrs were working in the whole of the fiftytlrce cotton mills Nearly 10000 mon, women, boys and girls are out. If they remain out a week the mills must be shut down, an,i another. 10,Oy0 will be added to the army of the idle.
 The weavers demand a restoration of the prices paid in January. 1884. This demand the manufacturers have ignored. If the wages were restored the dividends would be decreased by 8, 800 week or SlS2, 900 year.
 The weavers in the King Philip, Osborn, Tecumseh and Bourne mills, in which fancy cloth Is made, went to work this morning, but came out this afternoon.
 Sunday the executive committee announced that mass meeting would be held ill the park yesterday morning. Half an hour before the time processions came in from every quarter
 At the hour fixed about 1, 900 people were gathered around the stand. It was cosmo- politan gathering, but intelligent and evi- dently determined. There wore young girls, whose appearances betokened hard work and poverty Addressing one who seemed to be not over 14 years old, whose face was pinched and pale, whose eyes were sunken and their sockets blackenel, betokening exhaustion, and on whose head was much worn woolen hood, the reporter asked how old she was "Flfteen.n
 'How many frames do you operatef' "Fourn
 "How much do you earn!" ''SometimeS S4. 23.
 \ mill treasurer afterwards said that was excellent wages
 "There are others who don't do as muchn n | said the girl, innocently. The trea sureIS claim that their help is well | paid, and always speak of 'women' weavers | They do not like to talk of the men weavers, I whose wages are no moro than those of the l women, yet half of the 10000 weavers are | men, large percentage of whom have fam lilies depending their earnings of from S7 to So Q week. The weaving was done at one | time almost wholly by women, but of late years the men have been driven to compete with them, because nearly every other | branch of the cotton industry is monopoized l by women, and weaving Is all that is left, and men must be contented with "women's wages"
 The treasurers claim, too, that their hands can make as high wages now as they could four years ago, despite the lower rates, be cause of the higher speed of the machinery. They ignore what every operative asserts is the truth, that the higher the speed the greater the physical aud nervous force re- quired to attend to the looms. Because of this wear and tear on the system, and the absolute necessity of resting frequently, there are around every mill from twenty five to fifty ''sick help"
 The board of trade has not held meeting to consider what shall be done in the present difficulty. In fact it does not seem to be a real difficulty to the treasurers. They have determined to wait until starvation over comes the weavers and forces them back te work. As one said yesterday: ''The manu lecturers benefit by every strike. There is then a demand for our goods, and We get more for them whether the operatives wages are increased or not"
 That the weavers will win under such con ditions is unlikely.