Evening journal., 1889-03-12
AN UNEQUAL STRUGGLE.
The Great Strike of Fall River
Weavers.
WHAT THEY ARH FIGMTING FOR.

A Demand for > Restoration Of Old Prices
nleturprs Benefit by Every strike"-A
Disoouraging Outlook for the strikers.
PAIL RzvER, Mass, March 12 Tho great
est strike ever known IA this city was begun
yesterday morning. and by / O'Clock not
morcthan 100 weavors were working in the
whole Of the fifty-three cotton mills Nearly
lO,0O0 men, women, boys aad girls nre out
Il they remain out a week the mills must be
shut down, and another 100o9 will be added
70 the army Of the idla
The weavers demand restoration OF the
ITices paid in January. 1854 This demand
the manufacturers have ignored. If the
wages were restored the dividesids would be
decreased by 81, 500 a week or siss. 900 year.
The weavers in the King Philip, Osborn,
TeSnmseh and Bourne mills, in which fancy
cloth rs made went to work this morning,
but came out this afternoon
Sunday the executive committee announced
that a mass meeting would be held IN the
park yesterday morning Half an hour
before the time professions came In from
every quarter
AT the hour fixed about s,0OO people were
gathered around the stand 1t was a cosmo-
politan gathering, but intelligent and evil
derby determined There were young girls.
whose appearances betokened hard work and
poverty. Addressing one who seemed to bo
not over IA years old, whose face was pinched
and pale, whose eyes were sunlSen and their
sockets blackened, betokening exhaustion,
and ON whose head was a much worn woolen
hood, the reporter asked how old she was
Fifteen
How many frames do you operator
-Four
Chow much do you earnf
s'Sometimes S42{n
A mill treasurer afterwards said that
was excellent wages
There are others who don't do as much y
said the girl, innocently.
The treasurers claim that their help Is well
paid, and always speak Of women weavers.
They do not like 20 talk of the men weavers.
whose wages are no more than those Of the
women, yet half OF the 10000 weavers are
men, large percentage of whom have fam
lies depending on their earnings OF from 81
30 81 "A week The weaving was done at one
time almost wholly by women, but Of late
years the men have been driven 10 compete
with them, because nearly every other
branch OF the cotton industry Is monopolized
by women, and weaving Is all that is left,
and men must be contented with "wonsen'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 il
the truth, that the higher the speed the
\ greater tho physical and nervous force re.
! quired 70 attend 20 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 helpn
The hoard Of trade has not held meeting
TO consider what shall be done ia the present
difficulty In fact, it does not seem 10 be a
real difficulty 10 the treasurers They have
determined to wait until starvation over
comes the weavers and forces them back b
work As one said yesterday: "The manu-
facturers benefit by every strike There is
then demand for our goods and we got
more for them whether the operatives wages
are increased or not y
That the weavers win win under such con
ditions IS unlikely.