The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-11-14
SILK MILL STILL RUNNING.
Manager Frieder Says the Hands Are
Well Paid and Produces October
PAYROLL to Prove It.

The strike at the silk mill still con-
, tinues. neither the management nor the
strikers having vet yielded. Yesterday
the mill was still runMiig. finishing up,
with the aid of the workers who still
remained loyal to the firm, the stock on
hand. Early in the afternoon Manager
l'rieder called The Tribune office up on
the telephone and said that the state
ments published therein yesterday
morning, referring to the wages paid
by the company. were not correct. AS
an evidence that The TribuneS in
formant was misinfor1ned, Manager
Frieder invited The Tribune to send u
reporter to the mill and inspect the
payroll and the plant to see the con-
ditions.
The Klots silk Throwing company is
a brick structure located at the eX-
l,eme end of Belmont avenue, In a
portion of the city called Simpson. The
building is about 4O0X150. well lighted
and scrupulousy clean inside, neces-
sarily so on account of the delicate
fabric spun there. 1t is all on one floor,
except the boiler room and machine
shops of which there are two, one for
new machinery and one for repairs. In
side the main room. or where the silk
is reeled, spun and finished, there is
working space for from 470 to 500 oper
atives. Thirty thousand spindles are
set up in long rows, divided by wide
nisles. The shafting is all beneath the
Iioors, doing away with the possibility
of accident. Overhead is a mammoth
sheet-iron blower which furnishes
hot air in winter and cold In summer
and is operated by a separate engine.
Hence there is always plenty of fresh
air. and about thirty arc lights furnish
ample light for the night hands. The
company have their own dynamo for
lights. OF late the hands employed have
numbered about 800, of whom about
sixty are boys on the night shift On
account of lack of business lately the
mill has had a system of working each
shift only half a day each. so as to
avoid any wholesale discharges, and all
seemingly went well until the boys got
to agitating for a raise in wages. This,
Manager Frieder says. was not war;
ranted, for under the system now en-
ployed each boy is guaranteed Il cer-
tain wage and a premium for all work
done over certain minimum. Man.
ager Frieder showed the pay-rolls for
all departments. Except the foreladies
who are on a fixed salary. all employees
are on this system of extra compen-
sation except the boys on the second
time" night shift. These boys all get
80 cents night. no matter what num-
her of hours they work. and they are
nearly all under sixteen years old.
In the day shift the wages for Octo-
Der ran all the way from s13.7S for
twentyfour half days work to $3.50
for fourteen hours work. This four
teen hours work was done in seven
different days during the month. OF
course, some girls are much more en-
pert than others. In the night shift,
first time" and third time" boys
averaged from GO to 65 cents n night
Yesterday morning while some Of the
girls who continue to work were on
their way to the mill they We're saluted
ny shower of stones from boys near
the mill Manager Frieder says that
yesterday he had more applications for
work than would enable him to run the
mill to its full capacity. He will keep
ii going with the hands he has until
the stock is used up and will then close
down. 1t is hardly likely to remain
closed more than two weeks. however
lie says that the majority of those who
struck are already anxious to come to
work.