New-York tribune., 1903-04-05
LOWEILS LABOR BOYCOTT OF COTTON MILLS.
MANY WHEELS STOPPED ON THE MERRLMAC- GREAT
STRIKE IN HANDS OF YOUTHFUL LEADERS.

teen thousand operatives are Idle; forty tnousahu
men. women and children are suddenly without
means oF s,,nnort Silence has settled over the
huge factories set beside intricate maze OF wind
ing canals. recalling some Dutch city The strike
has stopped the mill wheels. whose vibrations reg
istered the activity OF the community Inc oeIIS
that for so many years have summoned thousands
Of men and 10 their daily toll are also
silent. Up and down the streets. as idle ana as
useless the in the canals. now great uueS
OF humanity 4 look OF wonder ana apprehension
IS written on their faces; the new freedom they
have attained brings with il too many trouoies 10
cause pleasure. Determined to night once ana IoI
ali the great battle 10 secure higher wages-a battle
that has been impending for years-the operatives
following the guidance of their leaders and sup
ported by the national organizations above thenl'
have entered upon a great conflict 1hey dphol
violence. avoid even the semblance OF oennonsua-
ton. do not indulge in parades or mass meetings.
but in quiet orderly fashion have entered the bat
Tie. Only few Of them yet realize the misery ana
suffering that il entails they are confident or sue
cess but a little awed by the actual outbreak OF
the strike. They have presented their demands 10
the mill agents; that for a 10 per cent In
crease has been refused and now without bitter
ness they have entered fight OF principle not OF
personalities. It is great. passive orderly demon
stration Contrasted with the turbulence OF the
great coal strike in Pennsylvania IL Is the differ
enoe between battle and parade.
4 brief survey Of the field. however. is enough to
demonstrate that II is no mean contest that mas
completely prostrated this city and promises TO
bring financial ruin and actual starvation TO thou
sands Lowell claims a population Of eo.eS: OF THIS
number nearly 2o.eo0 work in the mills and over
17ooo employed in the great cotton mills
now shut down. The largest OF these mills employs
$40 hands the smallest 900: the combined weekly
payroll aggregates $4,000 making the average
wages s. 50. There are, however. many boys and
girls IN the mills. and the average wages Of the men
is somewhat above this figure The women out
number the men ratio OF 10 TO & OF this great
army over 200 are in the strike: about 1900
employees in mill are, with the consent Of the
strikers. still at work but there are evidences that
they will also be drawn into the strike before many
davs Back OF these 1900 operatives a0eol
women and children, their families dependent upon
their earnings for their food and their existence
Next in line are the boarding house keepers, no
small element in this city OF boarders Almost the
first result OF the strike Will be the decentralization
OF the boarding house Then come the stores, many
OF which exist solely by trade with operatives; all
Of them have outstanding accounts that cannot be
nQuidated now. Their trade has already contracted
10 q cash basis; credit gone. Department stores
have informed their clerks 10 prepare for a long,
enforced vacation il the strike continues Mer-
charts are countermanding their ORDERS and those
T no have purchased their spring stock estnat-
ing their loss already. The butcher. the baker the
caudlestick naker-al these direct beneficarfes
of the mill wage: all these must face a cessation
OF business; facing a prostration, which in
many cases Will mean ruin II long continued for
the margin Of profit in a mill town is narrow. In
& word at least sixty thousand persons read ruin.
some Of them actual starvation, in the shutdown
Of the mills summary OF the existing
situation was furnished the other day by three
little kindergarten girls. who were skipping down
street
Ny papa amt workin'." announced the first,
proudly. He's a striker"
Mine amt neither; he's in the strike. too He
amt coin nothin but stayin at home" declared
the second.
i don't care nothin' about the strike affirmed
the third placidly. My papa's working" This is
the division Of sentiment in the city to-day.
THE LEADERS YOUNG.
The first thought, in behOldng this great army
OF men and women engaged in d great struggle, is
naturally of their leaders. What manner OF men
are they who essaying to direct the fortunes
and the happiness OF $1,000 women and chill
dren. The first feeling meeting these leaders IS
astonishrnent a their youth. There many
Of them in their early twentes. these men who
are directing the great contest. IN the regular
army ,ney would command companies. at the most:
here they marshal thousands They show the buoy
ancy Of youth: they discuss methods without anXi-
ety. The commissariat Of an army corps would
be taxed 10 provide for great a mass Of help
less people: yet these young assemble discuss
ways and means gravely. but without apparent
fear. In the opening moments of the battle, when
the great definite step had been taken and the
strike on, there was no shrinking from the is
sue They seem scarcely 10 comprehend what the
suffering sure follow They refill their
pipes and 60 discuss phases. but they
show no sign OF staggering under the burden OF
their responsibilities. They not reckless in
manner, but one cannot fail 10 be impressed with
the youthfulness Of their appearance. They
natural ability. that is apparent: they born
lea of the thoughts least Of their comrades.
They evince keenness and shrewdness; many Of
them have oelyed into the socalistic doctrines
whIch have obtained such wide hearing in other
rranufa cturing cities of Massachusetts There are
women. too. grave faced delegates from wornens
unions who attend the meetings OF the Textile
Council the governing body Of the strikers They
ere less buoyant more vsibly worried by the strug-
gle.
But the youth Of the leaders is not so great
handicap as il might seem The battle is not local
n its issue If it is local in the hardest Of af
fictions. Lowell has become the battle-ground Of
al New England. There VIII be no sympathetic
strike IN Lawrence or Fail River but already 600
operatives those cities have pledged their sup
l,ort II the shape of s. week from their scanty
earnings help the Lowell strikers. For Lowell
is fighting the fight OF dozen cities For years it
has been the one blot the labor map OF New
England. Its operatives have accepted their wages,
however small and have prosDered. There has been
no great industrial struggle since 1875 and then IL
xss skf-rnish compared this battle. In the
ooinion OF the operatives Of other manufacturing
communities Lowell has been hopelessly passive
city Onions have been weak here. have attained
strength in only few lines When the operatives
OF Fail River. Lawrence Haverhill demanded
more WaSes their employers called TO their atten-
tion the fact that Lowell the premier cotton city
of the country paid its operatives less than they
receiving.
Raise the scale IN Lowell. and you viii raise
81 all along the line" been the cry and
no-s the Lowell operatives are calm in tho face OF
the great aght. for they know that other cities