The Portland daily press., 1898-01-14
NEW BEDFORD's LABOR TROUBLES
State Board Of Arbitration Trying to
Atone for Blunder
Everything Being Put in Readiness for
the strike-Weavers in Lewiston Mill
viii Go Out.

| the strilke-Weavers in a Lewiston Mill
viii Go Out.
| New Bedford, Mass, January 13.-The
most interesting incident of today in the
labor situation here was the attempt of
! the state board of arbitration to heal the
| breach5sgrowing out of 1.-THE exclusion of
all of the labor men except the spinners
representatives at the arbitration confer
ence Tuesday afternoon There has been
| feeling of soreness among the weayers
and other operatives ever since, which
was not appreciably lessened by the state
ment of the state board on Wednesday,
throwing the blame upon the manufact'
urers. This afternoon, Matthew Hart,
secretary of the cotton weavers protec-
tive association, received a dispatch from
Richard Z. Barry, the labor representa-
tive ON the state board of arbitration, ask
ing him to meet him at the Old Colony
| station on Friday morning at 1890 with
such other representatives of labor union
as he may get together.
This dispatch was brought up at the
meeting of the weayers' executive COM
mittee this evening, and it was voted to
send Mr.. Barry telegram saying it will
be impossible to make an appointment
with him for tomorrow. The weavers
state that their representatives lost SIT by
staying out of the mills Tuesday to at
tend conference from which they were
shut out, and if member of the state
board. desires to meet them, he can see
them next week when they are idle in
consequence Of the strike.
The weavers' committee perfected ar
rang sments for mass meetings to be held
in furtherance of the strike.
At a largely attended mass meeting OF
the card and picker room association at
the North End tonight, at which over
500 operatives were present, a speaker
stated that an attempt would probably
be made Monday by one No tn End and
one South End corporation to keep their
mills running on Monday, the first day
LOT the strike, by Offering fancy prices,
and he warned all opel atives to reject any
such offers and remain away. 1t was
unanimously voted to resist the cut down
and stand by the other unions. Score
taries Ross and Mills Of the National
Spinnars' and Textile workers unions
respectively, addressed the meeting. Sec.
Rotary Ross said that the 400 members of
the Spinners' Union would have contrj-
buttons OF $500 from the national body
to divide among them weekly during the
strike The loom fxers' and slasher ten
ders' unions tonight botn voted unani-
mously to strike on Monday. Both uD IONS
and elsewhere. Secretary O'Donnell Of
tho Fall River sp1nT err was in this city
today in consultation with national sec
rotary Ross in regard to the trouble at
| the King Philip mill in Fall River.
In the city council tonight Councilman
a. z. Smith introduced the following
order:
Ordered. that joint special committee
| of the two branches OF the city council
to consist of the mayor and president of
the common council with power to en-
| large the committee as they deem expedi-
| emit, be appointed TO consider the matter
| of the impending trouble regarding the
mill situation and to cooperate with a
view to making some arrangements
which will avert SO serious matter as a
strike.
The order was adopted and the commit
| toe appointed.
Secretary Samuel Ross of the Spinners'
| Union stated tonight that the proposit-
| ion which he made TO the manufacturers
| at Tuesday g conference when the state
board of arbitration was present, was to
| UQS Gu6CU lLlttU uAo SGllh0 COQ1tt NO dfOEbCN
| BY the taking down of the notices of
reduction, and thus transferring the scene
| of the resistance to the cut down to Fall
River. This proposition was as before
| indicated, rejected.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST CUT.
| Boston, January 13.-The Globe tomor-
row will say that the cutting down of
wages will not solve the difficulty with
which the textile manufacturers now find
| themselves confronted, according to the
| opinions of men who are regarded es au-
| thorities in textile manufacture, and who,
having been brought up in the cotton
business, have made it life time study.
| Reductions in wages, they claim, tend to
| decrease the demand for the product of
the mills and affects cotton as we'll rs
other industries.
| In support of this the Globe quotes
Hon. Robert Howard, so long identified
with the cotton industry at Fall River,
in which he says among other things,
that it 10 not wise to reduce wages now
unless the price of cloth is reduced in pro-
portion.
| When asked how it was possible for
manufacturers in this country to make
their goods cheaper, he said
| "The situation in England In many OF
the mills is somewhat similar to that in
| viz NOuOus Liz CPS1's. 'SA' N--
looms in England and in the South,
while in Fall River and other New Eng
land cities they run six to eight on the
same class of work.
Take mill like the Halfway in New
Bedford, of about III GOO spindles. You
will find that to run pair of mules in
England it takes a spinner, tender and
| a backboy, while in the Halfway mill
less than two persons per pair Of mules
are employed The mills In England are
making money in spite of this, even
| though working but five days week. ="
TO HELP OUT STRIKERS.
| Fall River, January 13.-At the meet
! ing of the Weavers' union this evening
the best method of raising the money for
the New Bedford strikers was discussed
| The matter was, however, left over until
| next week, when the amount to be raised
will he decided upon. All the money
| from the Weavers' union in this city will
be collected by regular members and au-
| thorized collectors. and there will
probably be house to house canvass,
| The wesyers of the Lonsdale company at
Pawtucket and other parts of Rhode
Island sent request tonight for organ
izers and two men were assigned to the
duty. They will go to Pawtucket tomor-