The Portland daily press., 1895-04-25

little or no room for profit and on SOM
grades OF goods mean positive ioss
Beside the general business depression
plush manufacturers are just now fesiso
Ing determined effort on the par5 oi
the English mills, to capture the Amefl'
can marked and shut up our factories.
Today, the owners of the mills were
looking about for new help, although
they expected an early settlement OF the
strike by the return of the young Wom-
en- to their frames. they also nave re-
ceived an offer from Massachusetts fac-
tory to do all their spinning. Many
spinning factories in England are run
altogether on this plan. They are called
commission factories and spin the yarn
which other concerns want to make in
to the fEished product. The present
trouble at Sanford is confined entirely
to the plush mill. Work in the spinning
rooms of the Goodall Worsted mill is
going OH as usual. Rev. Father Haley
has advised the Roman Catholics among
the strikers to return to work. While
this strike OF the young women is some
what of novelty, the tune, when the
kids, went on a strike" calls smile
when referred to here.
One of the most interesting OF the
many interesting processes used in
the plush mills, is the printing
of the designs upon the plush.
People who when riding throw over
their knees one of the warm carriage
robes made in Sanford, seldom ask how
the handsome designs were printed in SO
manyscolors upon the cloth. 1t is done in
this way. After the plush has been
made and dyed, it is taken in pieces
many feet in length and spread. upon
long tables. Then the printers, 20 to work
and they labor in printing on plush
much as Gutten berg labored in print
ing his big movable types. Only the
movable types in this case are blocks on
which are. cut parts OF the figures which
when printed on thesspiush will make the
complete design. There are thousands
of these blocks stored in fre-proot
building here and artists and engravers
are constantly making new, ones. Well,
the workman dips his block into the
fluid coloring matter contained in a
small tank which is slid around on the
floor by a boy a little taller than the
tank is nigh. Then the printer lays his
block on the, cloth and hits it several
times with maui which is less than a
foot in length and literally as heavy as
lead, weighing apouta 10 pounds The
printer moves the table, placing and re-
placing his block as he repeats the pat
tern over and over again. Close at his
heels comes the small boy and the tank.
There are good many tanks and SO a
good many small boys. Last week the
youngsters got up strike. One of them
was asked what they were striking for
and replied: "Oh, we'll, we're jist a.
striking"
"But what are you doing?" was asked.
Raising help came the reply, and af-
ter raising hell for an hour the youngs-
tiers concluded that strike WASH It
much fun after all and contentedly re-
turned to work. This is referred to as
the strike of the kids.
Quite number of young women came
to the same conclusion this noon, and
it Is believed thesothers will soon see it
the same way. Tomorrow being holi-
day, the mills will be closed and the
strikers will then perhaps, after talking
with other employees, determine Fjust
what to do. There is SO far no Indication
of anv extension of the trouble.
LATER-The strikers at Sanford met
tonight and came to no definite conclusion
regarding going in. They hold another
meeting tomorrow, at which they will,
proba bly, vote to go back. The managers
have engaged $50 spinners and twisters
from Lewiston to take the places of ssthe
old help.