Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-09-22
is That liearly 'tc's.y foreman and SUBJ

~>~~~~~@
boss is foreigner.
Reports said that wages had been ad-
vanced 10 per cent. at the Hawthorn
mills, at Glenville, Conn. These mills
employ $40 or 215-about 175 in the
wooden department, where suitings,
cheviots, etc., are made, and thirty or
forty in the felt department, where pol
ishing felts are produced. Some of the
employees interviewed had not heard Of
the campaign wage advance report.
When shown it they were quick to de-
nounce it as lie, and began to tell Of
the numerous reductions Of the last
year. One employee said, eff had
known you were going to be here I
could have prepared list Of reductions
yard long"
In the wooden department about eighty
men-all Hungarians, Poles, Russian
Jews, Swedes and Danes, except six or
eight Germans--had their wages re-
duced in June, 1892, from 81 and q. l5
per day to 90 cents and 81. In the dye
room ten men-all POles--were reduced
from 81 to 90 cents, and Manager Hunt
has since told the boss dyer not to pay
over 80 cents per day. The men at first
refused to accept these wages, but are
now back at work. In the felt depart
ment all are men and foreigners Same
class as aboye). During Cleveland's adj
ministration they got $1.15 day; they
have for over three years been receiving
but 81 per day.
In the wtaveroom sixty-five weavers
(mostly womcn) make about $3.50 day
when they do not have to wait for fill
ing, warp, etc., but their average for the
year is only about 81. Last fall, when
nearly half of the looms (sixty-seven in
ally were running on certain class of
goods, the manager announced that he
would have to reduce the price Of weav-
ing from SO cents per yard to 41S cents
or he could not compete with another
mill making this same class of goods.
The reduction was made.
In the finishing room about fifteen
women and girls "burl" and 'speck"
cloth for 80 cents day of ten hours. In
the weaveroom there were five loom re-
pairers last fall; now four do the work
and have received no advance in wages.
A boss gigger left the factory Aug. 10,
1899, when told that his wages would be
reduced from $3.50 to 81. He came from
Broadbrook short time before, where
he had once earned $3.50 day.
Hunt told the employees in 1883 that
if Cleveland were elected wages would
have to come down. The men think he
intended this for an excuse for con-
templated reduction. But Harrison's
election did not interfere with Hunts
plans, for the reductions began at once
after the election. Herman Lieb, a carder,
voted for Harrison, and had his wages
cut from $1.E0 to $1.25 the next week. It
may be mentioned here that there are
only twenty voters in the whole factory.
This company violates the weekly pay
ment law by paying only once in two
weeks-after withholding two weeks
pay. 1t has company store;" it owns
and rents houses to its employees; It's
treatment of employees and tenants is
said to be particularly harsh, and it ex-
hibits many other symptoms of well
protected industry. M 10 u
uc6O xClOA W CAuOA GSO OLA VI bAC wv CA4-
ty-seven cases of '.wage advances" at
tributed to McKinlcyism. It is now the
intention Of the Reform club to investi-
gate and report on all. fthere has been
case in a protected industry where wages
have bean advanced and the advance
is not due to the demands Of q strong
labor union, or where the members of
the firm are not in politics and are not
writing articles for Republican maya
zines or papers, the club will not hest
tate to give full credit to the firm that
does business upon such philanthropic
principles, and the protectionists will
then have some genuine campaign ma
terial, which apparently is very scarce
at present, or they would not be COM
PEELED to establish the Mckinley indus
try" of manufacturing "wage advances
out of wage reductions"