The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-10-20

woods denial of the charge of black
listing the strikers and added.
Il expressly told Mr.. Thomson the
superintendent of the Thos. NJ. Holt
Mill, that if any of our operatiyas
could get work elsewhere to let +ber,
go. Many of the strikers are alreodr
realizing their mistake and have a.
pressed a desire to return to work Int
they are afraid of the other members
of the union
In the mills at Burlington and Ora
ham | found the situation much the
same as at Haw River. though less
acute. Haw River is the storm centre
Here the strike began two weeks ago
the union operatives walking out be-
cause of the discharge of the Whitesell
girl. At the other mills in the county,
work continued until Monday, when
the non-union notice went into effect.
and all union operatives were shut out.
The mills that were unaffected by
the notice were the Windsor, Carolina,
Alamance, Belmont, SaXapahaw and
Mineola. Most of these are small
] mills and as they had few union oper-
atives in them, they are now running
with full force of hands.
The Lakeside Mill is the only one
that is completely shut down.
The Elmira, the Oneida and the Au-
rora are running about half their
looms.
The Ossipee has one-third of full
force at work, the f. NJ Holt Plaid
Mill has three-sevenths of it's force.
the Altamahaw two-fifths and the
Glencoe two-thirds.
The Virginia mills have all their
looms standing idle, but it is not due
to labor troubles, as no notice was
posted in this mill.
Altogether, am told, there are now
upwards of five thousand operatives in
Alamance county out of employment.
A vICToRY-AND WHO WINS IT?
| have now given both sides of the
controversy as l have been able to see
it.
As to the future, it does not look
bright for the strikers. They will lose,
because the strike was ill-advised with
out due cause and at the wrong time.
The winter is coming on and idle OPP
eratives must either vacate the houses
NDCOiA
cold and hunger will drive them back
to the loom and the spindle, and if
they do not go Others will be easy to
obtain from the country at this time
of the wear. Then again, having walk
ed out without real grievance, the
strikers will find it hard to get en-
ployment elsewhere or help from other
unions.
l1X-iI1 Int hni
victory will be short-lived. They are
trying to crush ont organized labor.
They will not succeed. 1t is in the
North, in the West-all over the world
and it will come in the South. He
| is a wise mill man who realizes this
and prepares to make the best of the
changed conditions.
The mill owners will not win in this
because they do not deserve to win.
No man has a right to dictate to his
fellow men. 1t is a God-glven pre-
negative for a free man to belong to
any organization that is lawful and
honorable. If it were else the en-
ploye would be the slave of the en-
ployer in body soul and mind.
A labor organization, properly con-
Quoted. uplifts labor and brings to the
employer better return. labor or
ganization improperly conducted be-
comes an engine of evil that destroys
even those it is meant to help.
IT being the dull season in cotton
milling, the owners of the mills seem
pretty well satisfied with the situation
and from day to day report few new
looms running and applications from
new operatives. On the other hand
the spirit of the union is already be-
ginning to show signs of weakening
| Though new members are taken IN
every night. still it must now be evl-
dent to all that it is simply a question
of time when the strikers will be COM
PEELED to submit and ask for terms.
FRED. L. MERRITT.