The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-12

a great labor strife?" is the question
uppermost in the minds of all tonight.
What the outcome will be is impossi-
Bile to tell as the employees of the FAC
tory almost to the individual are in
sympathy with the men who struck TO-
day. Their cause is adtudged the COM
mon cause and they have in most cases
the moral support of their fellow work.
men. However, employers and en-
ployees alike have a horror for trou-
BILE rendered pregnant by the great
Worcester county strike 'S7, from the
results of which the town was Just
about recovered and once more in po-
sition to enjoy an era of prosperity.
During the run just ended, the BUSH
ness done at the factory was something
immense. Upwards of 5000 and gener-
ally nearly 5000 pairs of brogan shoes
were turned out daily. OF late an av-
erage of about $50 cases, or approxi-
mately 5000 pairs of balls were being
made up daily, and the outlook was
never better. Some of the work now
at standstill was wanted at once, and
it is thought that these orders will be
lost If the bal business is stopped for
any length of time.
Superintendent of the factory Calvin
| w. Woods, in conversation with The
| Spy reporter this afternoon, said he was
| very sorry that there should be any
matter how small an increase was
| asked for, Mr. Woods said that it could
not be given, as a large amount had
been lost by the concern in the past
three years.
In his opinion, three-fourths of the
firms employees would grasp eagerly
at chance to earn the money the
strikers have been drawing, and he par
ticularly bewailed trouble at this time,
when the town was in a position to
once more enter a prosperous period.
He readily admitted that orders would
probably be lost by the trouble, but as
to the probable outcome, was as much
in the dark as any one else The SUI
perintendent added that cement and
ether materials used by the firm can
rot be obtained at the old prices, as the
demand is doubled and the supply the
same as ever.
When asked as to whether the shop
would be kept in operation for any
length of time simply for brogan work,
Superintendent Woods replied that he
did not know, as the Batchellers had
both gone to Boston, but he stated that
there is very little money for the firm
in brogan york, as fine work is given
the most attention.
The men who are striking have been
earning about $13 a week for the past
few weeks, or since they have been
working 10 hours per day. While work.
Ing but eight hours a day they have
been earning $11.30 to $11.90 a week.
Most of them are married men. They
claim that they are doing much more
work for the money than is being done
in other shops, and at the conference
this morning one man went so far as
to tell Mr.. Batcheller that if he could
find another shop in the world where
the edge trimmers were doing so much
for so little, they would return to work
There is no doubt that force of edge
trimmers could be obtained to fill the
strikers places. but Superintendent
Woods said today that the firm does
not wish to do this, as the right kind of
workmen are never obtained in this
manner. Then, too, as soon as an at
tempt is made to fill these places by
them, there is going to be trouble and
serious trouble.
1t will simply mean a general strike,
and neither employers nor employees
want that. Both have had it, and know
what 1t is to go through a strike. The
men who have worked with the strik-
ers say that no grangers can take the
places, as they will give them to under
stand in language more forcible than
polite that their room is better than
their company
Tonight the trouble at the factory is
the one topic of conversation. The few
hundreds of employees who have been
thrown out of work do not regard the
trouble very serious as yet, but are
fearful of what 1t may develop into.
There is unanimity on one point, and
that is the opinion that the big shop
will shut down altogether in few DAVIS
If the trouble is not settled, as it is not
thought that it will be operated for
broganS alone