The age-herald., 1897-11-13
WOMAN AS AN ARBITRATOR.
Miss Clara Fisher Succeeded in Settling Fac
 tory Trouble Where Men Had Failed.
From the Boston Globe.

From the Boston Globe.
 That Miss Clara J Fisher, of Milford, the first woman ever chosen to act as experB assistant to dhe State Board of Arbitration and Consolidation, was able in the recent difficulty between the B. H. Spaulding company, of Milford. and It's employees to fulfill her duties to the satisfaction of both sides testifies to her freedom from petty prejudices as well as to her large minded sense of justice.
 Miss Fisher Us a. pleasant-fac-d young woman, something over 30, who lives with her aged aunt i'm the pretty liatla manufacturing town of Milford, the pict- uresque name of which makes one hark back to the days when rushing stream rather than a roaring steam turned the wheels of the mills.
 Graduated from the town high school, Miss Fisher came out .nito the world With a pretty cleor no.ion that she wouf1 like to be a teacher, but the fact that just at that time a frfead was entering upon work at the Knowlton straw factory, in a nerghlboring town, decided her to enter miI life.
 ba a year or two her duty ito her aged aunt, for whom she nov tenderly cares,
 
 temporarily working in a village dry goo5ss store, she accepted the position or oye1seer in the straw factory or 5. Il. , Spaubiing. For nine years she accept sably filled the place, having in chorge a room in which sixty wom=n were em- ployed. During these nine years she be- came converSant with every detail OF the work Of making straw hats, and al though it is now two years and a haif since she left the work, no one could have more thoroughly understood the employees side of the question than she does.
 Miss Fisher is a young woman of far more than ordinary girl determina tion and ambition. During the latter part of her service as forewoman she stud td to fit herself ito become stenogra- pher and ultimately secured a good po- sbtion in Milford at this work, where upon she resigned at Spauldng'S.
 Mss Fisher had always been very pop ular with the girls working under her at Spauldings. and at the time of fh'e recent strike the employees call;d upon her repeatedly and asked her to serve them as assistant ito tlra board of ar bhtration. She at lenlgth accepted and promised to serve to the best od her ability.
 With the man appointed by the board at the suggestion of Slpaulding, the em- ployer Miss Fistsr visited, besides Spauldings factory, six other similar mills. computing the work and the con- ditions with those at the factory under consideration. At an the six the invest gators were received with courtesy, bl'y two out of the six refusing to giv7 infor- ma'tion. They withdrew as politely as possible.
 Miss Fisher found the surroundings in the factories inspected aGl that could be desired ard the relations between en- pgoyers and employed extremely pleas amt In no factory visited had there ever be:n strike difficulties having been settled quietly to the satisfaction of both parties.
 In two weeks the board of arbitration, with the assistance of Miss Fisher and the other exp;rt, settled the Spauliing difficulty satisfactorily, the sewing eff 10o yare,s of straw being tihe unit adopted for payment. For her services to the board Mss Fisher and her co-worl1er re- ceived $7 a day and expenses. Aa