St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-11-22
FALL RIVER LABOR QUESTION.

Fall River, Mass, Nov. 21.-The con-
ference between the manufacturers and
mill operatives ended shortly after
o'clock last evening and resulted in the
manufacturers making a proposition
for the adoption Of sliding scale, which
will be followed by an advance of per-
cent Monday Jan. l, IL accepted by the
mill operatives. The agreement as SUBJ
mitted by the manufacturers follows:
From and after this date, the wages
to be paid to the operatives In the mills
Of this city shall be governed by
schedule based upon the margin existing
between the price Of cotton and the
price Of 28-inch and 38h-inch, 64x64, cloth
made from the standard yarns required
to make rs weigh yards to the
pound.
THE standard by which wages shall
be figured from time to time shall be IS
cents per cut for weaving 2S-inch, 64x64,
and the margin shall be found by taxi
Ing the cost of pounds of cotton at
the price of New York middling up
lands, and As yards Of 2S-inch, 6ix64
print cloth, and 32.72 yards Of 3Sh inch,
64x64 cloth, at the market price aver
aged together.
1.-THE margin fixing the price of 18
cents per cut for weaving and the exist
ing scale of wages shall be rs cents.
If the margin shall increase to So
cents, the wages shall be increased S
percent above said standard. IL the
margin shall increase to 95 cents then
wages shall be increased 10 percent
above such standard. If the margin
shall increase to 1916 cents then wages
shall be increased to Is percent above
such standard.
If the margin shall decrease to 65
cents then wages shall be reduced S
percent below such standard. If the
margin shall decrease to So cents then
wages shall be reduced 10 percent below
such standard. No changes in wages
shall be made oftener than once in six
months.
IF, at the expiration of a six months
period, the margin for the previous 60
days has risen or fallen to either of the
standards fixed by the agreement, then.
at the beginning of the following six
months, the advance or reduction estab-
hshed by this agreement shall go into
effect. Said period Of six months shall
begin on the first Monday in January
and July of elch calendar year"
1t was further stipulated that the
offer of percent raise on the first
Monday in January be contingent upon
the acceptance Of the sliding scale. fol-
lowed by its introduction.
The Textile council received the offer
and agreed to consider it, and report
back to the manufacturers at their
earliest convenience. This action was
In no sense an acceptance.
Much debate characterized the meet
Ing, but mainly upon the details of the
manufacturers offer. There was little
disposition shown by the Textile council
to put the offer in favor of arbitra-
ton. The meeting was quite har-
! monious.
The offer is radical departure from
any previous local wage schedule. The
last has been based upon cotton and
the selling price of regulars, while the
new basis would be figured from cotton
and standard wide and standard narrow
goods, the production of which is
steadily increasing in this city, while the
opposite is true of the manufacture OF
regulars.
The manufacturers were represented
by Secretary c. C. Rounseville, Thomas
e. Brayton, Charles NJ. Shove, N. 3
Borden, James E. Osbc,a and President
S. B. Chase. The Textile council was
represented by the secretaries Of the
five local labor unions.