The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-18
New England Manufacturers Unable
TO Compete with the South ana
It's Cheaper Labor.
COAL MINERS AND OPERATORS
JOINT CONVENTION FOR PURPOSE of
ARRANGING A SCALE.


ployer and employe in the New England
cotton mills is on, and what it will lead up
to cannot be foretold. The great corpora
tions in New Bedford are silent and thou
sands of operatives are idle. Here and there
discomfort cropped out all day, the most
serious being at Biddeford, Me-, where $500
persons refused to work. thus closing two
mills, and at Lewiston, where one mill was
crippled by 400 weavers staying out. The
general wage reduction is estimated TO
affect 1250O0 persons in about $50 mills, al
though these mills have previously adopted
the new schedule, and several others have
given notice of immediate reductions Here
and there dissatisfaction was brought to
the notice of agents and overseers over
minor grievances, and in most cases these
were either remedied or an inquiry prom
ised.
Tonight finds the textile operatives every
where intently interested in the New Bed
ford struggle, for here the test of strength
and endurance will come, and on the out
come will depend the question of an indus
trial battle the entire length and breadth
of the New England STATES. The chief point
in this battle will be discipline, and the
first command of organized labor brought
well nigh perfect obedience. The day passed
quite peacefully but one incident is in some
quarters feared as forerunner Of the odds
the strikers will take if driven to despera-
ton.
From the point of view of the millowner
the New Bedford situation is now a lockout
Intervention by the State Board of Arbitra-
ton this week is hardly likely to be al
lowed, and. no overt act on the part of the
strikers and no attempt to open mill is
expected for number of days. The New
Bedford strikers will receive strike money
from operatives elsewhere, but the sum to-
tai will be reserved until protracted battle
brings want and hardship which the unions
will then try to relieve. All the New Bed
ford mills opened at bell time as usual
When no help came in, lights went out,
speed stopped, overseers and second hands
prepared to make everything snug and mill
gates were closed indefinitely. The labor
unions did little work to-day except to carry
out plans of campaign, which will be devel-
oped only as faint-hearted weavers seek to
return to work.
OF the other strikes little has developed in
them as yet to forecast the future. The La
coma and Pepperell mill workers, in Biddc-
ford, struck because they were anxious to,
while the weavers in the Androscoggan MILL
at Lewiston simply took matters into their
own hands, regardless of other departments.
These two strikes while on identical issues,
will serve only as minor fights along the
line, unless the strike fever. grows and they
become the nucleus of a general fight in
Maine cities One other minor fight now on
is that at Burlington, VT, where the Queen
City mills shut down indefinitely because
the operatives refused point blank to accept
the reduction. This trouble, however, be-
gan number of days ago, but reached the
acute stage to-day. Taking the days
events throughout New England, it may
conservatively be said that things came TO
pass just as expected. 1t is the immediate
future which awakens apprehensions.
On Jan. the reduction took effect in
mills employing about 1000 hands. The re-
duction to-day affected the cotton mills of
Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, the mills
Of New Bedford, Lowell and large number
Of smaller places in this State and New
Hampshire. The Atlantic and Pacifice cor
poration, of Lawrence, and probably the
other cotton mills there and in one or two
places elsewhere will make cut next Mon
day. The cut amounts to about 10 per cent.
in many places, but in several centers it is
II 1-9 per cent. and even higher while in
few small mills it is only about 5 per cent.
The New Bedford strikers will be sup
ported financially by the operatives in other
centers and it is said they are prepared to
hold out until spring. The national organi-
zation of textile unions has also voted to
support the New Bedford strike.
1t is estimated that the reduction means
a loss of between $4,000 and SS5, 600 a week
to the wage earners in the six States and
the additional loss to strikers in the various
centers if they remain idle even for short
time will swell this amount to much
larger figure