The Daily Texarkanian. [volume] (Texarkana, Ark.) 1894-1906, 1894-08-27
ANOTHER BIG STRIKE.
Over 10000 Cotton Factory Employees
Go Out at Fall River, Mass.

On account of a slight reduction
in wages of Cotton factory employees
at Fall River Mass, this country is
again witnessing another monster
strike.
Fall River is the largest cotton
mill town in America. 1t has sew
enty five factories, representing a
capital stock and a probable invest
ment of $45, 100000. In these mills
are 2,546, 6S8 spindles, nearly 16 per
cent of the total for the whole I'm
tied States, or twice as many as are
found in any other city; more than
in any other state except Massa-
chusetts, and outside of New En-
gland more than in all the other
states combined The principal
business is the manufacture of
print cloths and dyeing of cotton
goods and the making of cotton
thread and yarn. There are a few
wooden mills also and some factories
in which hats and other wearing
apparel are made, and there are
several manufacturers of patented
machinery, such as is used in the
mills, but cotton prints are the
best staple and this city furnishes
two thirds of all that are usedin the
United States.
When all the mills are in full OPP
GRAFTON their looms and spindles de-
mand the attention of upward of
10000 employees. The last time a
count was made, not many weeks
ago, there were 25,92O, and today
over %, coo are idle because of the
strike.
The weekly pay roll is 1868,
which gives a very low average per
capita, about $6.G5, but the MAORI
ty of the hands are women and boys
and girls over IA, for that is the age
limit of labor in the state of Massa-
chusetts. The men and some of
the women who are weavers and
spinners are paid by the piece, SO
that the more skillful get the better
wages. The girls and boys are paid
by the week earning from So to So.
The adult women make from So to
$3.50 and some as high as $40 while
the men make from $40 to $16 or 500
according to their skill, with an av-
erage of perhaps $3.50. Nine
hours is a days labor in ordinary
times, but when large orders are in
and business rushing the mills may
run longer, but the wages are in
creased in proportion,
The present strike was caused by
a notice posted in nearly all the
mills last week that on and after
Monday last, Aug. 20, there would
be a reduction of 10 per cent in the
rates paid for most of the work and
6 per cent in the remainder. The
same reduction was made in all of
the mills in the neighboring city of
New Bedford, and as a matter of
course the managers Of the mills in
the latter place took the initiative
and the strike occurred there first.
The reason given by the mill own
ers for cutting down wages was the
sharp decline in the market price
for cotton goods and particularly
for prints, which are now lower
than they ever were before, and
are quoted at 81 cents a yard. 1t
costs about cent yard to manu-
facture cotton prints, for the labor
alone, not including raw material,
machinery, repairs, interest, insur-
ance and other fixed charges which
represent the rest Of the value in
the goods and which the manufac-
turers say cannot be reduced The
managers of one of the biggest
mills said eve voted to reduce
wages 10 per cent because we
couldn't make prints for what we
were paying and sell them at %
cents a yard. That is all there is
about it, 1t would be folly for most
of the mills to restore the old sche-
dulles under any conditions so long
as prices remain as low as they are.
They see no justification in the
strike. They say that if the men
had been left to follow their own in
clination they would have accepted
the new schedule, but they were de-
ceived and misled by the labor agi-
tators and the dissatisfied element
that can always be found in every
factory town.
+ --latest reports say that there is a
general air of cheerfulness and eX-
pectancy among the tradesmen
about the town. They do not think
the lockout is going to last long,
and say that as soon as the pleas
ant weather is over the mill hands