Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1900-04-19

Milton that night As it was Mr.. Win
Ter received q scare from which il
took a long time TO recover. He dread
ed 10 90 out alone mt night lie kept
on guard a special Waterman and lived
I'm more or less terror even then. 1t
/ was satisfactorily proved in Il few
/ days that the man who had gone TO
see Mr.. Winter had never reached the
office door: but coming around the
4 corner Of the building whore the new
work was being done. he had fallen off
| the stonework, striking on a rock in
such a way as to produce a fatal
wound. This tempered the feeling Of
I the workmen toward Mr. Winter, but
/ a widespread unrest aud discomfort
had seized on every man employed in
the mills. and as the winter drew on
affairs reached a crisis.
The difference between the mills and
the men over the scale OF wages could
not be settled. The men began TO talk
about a strike. Philip heard Of it and
at once, with his usual frankness and
boldness, spoke with downright plain
ness TO the men against ii. That was
at the little hall a week after the at
tempt on Mr.. Winters life. Philips
part in that nights event had added TO
his reputation and his popularity with
the men. They admired his courage
and his grit Most Of them were
ashamed Of the whole affair, especially
after they had sObered down and it
had been proved that Mr.. Winter had
not touched the man. So Philip was
welcomed with applause as he came
out on the little platform and looked
over the crowded room, seeing many
faces there that had glared at him iu
the mob a week before. And yet his
heart told him he loved these men, and
his reason told him that it was the
sinner aud the uHconyerted that God
loved. Ii was a terrible responsibility
TO have such men count him popular
and he prayed that wisdom might be
given him i'm the approaching crisis, es-
pecially as he seemed to have some
real influence.
He had not spoken ten words when
some one by the door cried: Come out
side! Big crowd out here want to get
in" 1t was moonlight and not very
cold. so every one moved cut Of the
hall, and Philip mounted the steps Of a
near by and spoke TO a
crowd that filled up the street in front
and for a long distance right and left.
His speech was very brief, but it was
fortified with telling figures, and at the
close lie stood aud answered a perfect
torrent of questions. His main counsel |
was against a strike in the present sit |
aatlon. He had made himself familiar
with the facts on both sides. Strikes,
be argued, except in very rare cases, !
were acknowledgment unhealthy, dis !
istrous method of getting justice done. |
"Why, just look at that strike in
Preston, England, among the cotton |
spinners. There were only ego opera
lives. but that strike, before il ended, |
threw out Of employment over $500 |
weavers and other workmen who had /
nothing whatever to do with the quar- |
eel Of the ego men. In the recent strike |
n the cotton trade In Lancashire at |
he end of the first u weeks the opera
ives had lost in wages alone 81. 100000. |
Four strikes that occurred in England /
1870 and 1880 involved a loss /
n wages of more than S2J.O00,OO0 In |
1900 strikes investigated lately by |
he national bureau Of labor it is esti- /
mated that the employees lost about |
S51 100000 while the employers lost /
lnly $50 100000 out of 353 strikes in |
between 1870 and 1880 1a1 |
were lost by the strikers, II were |
gained and 81 compromised, but in the
strikes that were successful It took sew |
eral years to regain in wages the
amount lost by the enforced idleness
Of the men"
There We're enough hard thinking, |
sensible men in the audience that night /
to see the force Of his argument The
however, We're in favor Of a
general strike to gain their point in
regard to the scale of wages. When /
Philip went home, he carried with him |
the conviction that a general strike i'm |
the mills was pending. In spite of the
fact that it was the worst possible sea-
son of the year for such action and in |
spite of the fact that the difference de- |
by the men was a trifie COM
pared with their loss of wages the very |
first day of idleness, there was a deter
mination among the leaders that the
$1,000 men in the mills should all 90 |
out in the course of few days II the |
demands Of the men in the Ocean mill !
were not granted.
What was the surprise of every one |
In Milton. therefore, the very next day |
when it was announced that every mill |
In the great system had shut down |
and not a man Of the 1900 laborers |
who marched to the buildings i'm the |
early gray Of the winter morning found
entrance. Statements were posted up 1
on the doors that the mills We're shut |
down until further notice. The mill /
owners had stolen a march on the en-
ployees. and the big strike was on; but
It had been started by capital not by
labor and labor went TO It's tenement