New-York tribune., 1903-04-05
NEW ATHENS AND THE GREEK.


NEW ATHENS AND THE GREEK.
But across the canal through which the brown
water of the Merrimac, still at it's spring flood
chafes and frets uneasy at the inactivity, across
this boundary is a and different world-n truth
an ancient and wonderful world. In the shop WIN
dows are signs printed in ancient Hellenic charac-
ters in tie alphabet of Homer. The classic alpha-
bet adorns the tottering windows of a Merrimac
River mill town The New Athens Cafe Is In
stones throw from the French saloon, in which
they sing the merry "Chansons de Bois" of the old
Canadian voyageurs In the soft speech of the resi-
dents Of this quarter one may recognize words
strangely suggestive of others learned with dlf1-
Guilty in school vocabuaries. There are four thou-
50 nd of these Greeks in Lowell and the number Is
RAPIDLY increa They have already stamped their
individuality upon nondescript street tlampoyant
views of modern Athens, huge brilliant crayons of
Basileus George adorn the windows of the shops.
There are cafes filled with swarthy men, smoking,
gambling fighting. for the Greek, whether in Mace
donia or Lowell is not man of peace.
1t is from these selfsame Greeks that the first
trouble is expected in the present strike The Greek
lives better than the Frenchman, and saves less lie
is ignorant of the meaning of the sacred principles
of labor unonism and the fear is that when he gets
hungry he will either work or fight. At the outset
Of the strike he started a by hooting the en-
ployes of the hosiery mill on their way to work.
acting under the impression that they were taking
his place. When hunger follows idleness, as 1t Is
sure to- operative and mill agent are alike afraid
lest this Cirecian stranger resort to his ancient
weapons and his ancient century honored custom Of
the knife
Besides the French and the Greeks, there is the
polander who dominates quarter of his own. He
is distinguished primarily for his wedding festivals.
grand ceremonies at which the entire colony at
tends and the festivities in the end overflow into
the police court and the tale Of stabbng affray is
aired Then there is the Armenian and Syrian, scat
tered over the city little shops fewer but note
worthy Hundreds of Portuguese have selected
Lowell as a convenient home, and in former days
used to nonopolize the work in one mill The omni-
present Hebrew plies rag trade or does mill work
here England Ireland and Scotland have sturdy
representatives who. with few of the more intel
ligent French Canadians and the Yankees. the
leaders among the operatives There are other
races many of them but the important ones are
already named.
WOMEN IN THE STRIKE.
No glimpse of the conflict would be complete
without least passing reference TO the women
of the strike. There ten thousand of these
women in the number of the operatives, and they
have their own organizations. their leaders,
their own representatives in the governing body
of the strike. Theirs is not gentle life. and the
faces show The strain.
Eighteen years l have worked in mill and
IN one room" said one To-day 1 earn Sc a week;
I uve-that is about ALL" Many of these
are enjoying the first long holiday they have ever
known. Numbers of them can count years of ser
vice withoDt the loss of week, sometimes of
Y.
their faces are prematurely wrinkled and care
worn. They shoW< the evident traces Of their con-
tinual struggle for supremacy with the machine.
the struggle that always ends the way-the
machine goes On; the woman wears oct. Day after
day year after year, for ten hours day, they have
answered the movements OF the machine. Hun
dreds OF these women. now in the ranks Of the
strikers, are already out They nstless
or garruous active slow. but always and evil
dent,y weary The very freedom they are testing
81. 40 nntt tplarS nd ha or
They wander aimlessly just the do: meet
friends on the street, stop and chat. and then go
wandering
Such are a few gmpses Of the great industrial
conflict The operatives orderly. Determined
but without enthusiasm. they are acting me
chanically as they would answer the needs Of the
machine they have worked beside for so many
years. Their leaders young, buoyant, hopeful.
They lack experience. but are not unlntelligent
The great question Is they carry the burden OF
THE long siege" they pTophesy so confidently.
Tho various conflicting re~sa and Dationalities sS-