The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-29
s1.OO to $500.
STRIKE AGAINST MACHINES.
The Brockton Labor Trouble Spread to
Other Cities,

Brookton, Mass.,k September 8.-At
o'clock this morning, lasters at work on
the machines under the control of the
G. 81. NJ. & M. Co., all over the district
of southeastern Massachusetts,, quit work
on the machines in accordance with the
orders of the union.
This movement is well night universal
throughout the district, non union as we'll
as union men in many cases refusing
to longer remain on the machines. For
long time past the union has been pre-
pairing for just such contingency, and
the attitude of the lasters regarding the
interference of the machine company by
putting agents and instructors a work
on machines deserted byAmen on a strike,
had been ascertaine1. 1t wasadue to TIL
preparation that the response was SO
universal and so many Of the machines
now lie idle
Thet lasters Fof the district had been
thoroughly informed beforehand Of the
time at which this action On their part
vas expected, the decision being first ar
rived at by the conference committee of
the district which is made up of thu exc
cutive boards of this district, and being
promulgated by the local unions In differ
emit sections. The unions embraced In this
movement are situated at Brocktop,
Whitman. Rookland, Randolph, Hol-
brook, Stoughton. East Weymouth, Mid
(ileboro, New Bedford, and every shop in
this section Of Massachusetts in which the
unions have control. is affected. 1t Is
the most general and united strike OF
shoe Iasters that has been known for
many years, and the fact that should this
not win the day against the machine
company, the strike will be extended to
every shop in the state, and possibly to
every shop In the country operating ma
chimes controlled by the consolidated COM
paniss, making it one of the gravest stu
ations which has been faced by the shoe
industry and those dependent upon it.
\ The strike affects the shops In this CITY
which have settled their differences with
the local union in the present strike in
Brookton, the same as all others, but the
union has provided for the relief of the
manufacturers in these cases and in
others where the strike does not exist
present for a new wage schedule, by In
struoting the men to commence on hand
lasting in all such factories where the
manufacturers may desire.
In anticipation of the movement, which
has taken place, many of the firms made
arrangements for putting their men at
work after O'Clock today, lasting by
hand, and these shops are running as
usual with little interruption.
The fact that hy working in crews Of
operator and ''Puller-on" as one machine
work, the lasters can by hand turn out
practically as many shoes as can be done
on the machines, making the significance
Of the strike against the machine COM
pany, AS far as Interference to business Is
concerned, somewhat immaberial.
The hand work will naturally be new
for time to some of the lasters but they
will soon be able to turn out the work
satisfactorily, say the union men, and
matters at the shops will progress as if
nothing out of the ordinary had hap
pened The machines, which are controlled
by the consolidated companies. are the
Chase, Consolidated, known familiarly
as the "Nigger," the Boston Tacker and
the Universal. Those used almost exclu-
sively in the district now affected are the
Chase and the Consolidated machines.
BY the strike of today 1850 men adj
ditional to those already On strike are
affected