The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-29
FALL RIVER STRIKE
TwENTY.sIx THOUSAND MEN AND
 sSy,O0O,Ooo CAPITAL.
Families Deserting the Town sna tAe Merchants Feel the Effects or tne
 Struggle--suffering Among
 the Working People.

Faii River, Mass, Oct 2s.-(speciaL) This is the fourteenth week or the great Fall River strike. It Is without parallel in the history or textiie workers in this country. twenty six thousand mill laborers are contest, ing with s37.0oo.0oo of invested mil capital Both sides are standing ao- solutely firm. Both sides are suner- ing extremely. There is not much comfort for the stand pat preacher here.
 Some of the features of this situa- tfon are of purely local concern. Otn- CTS have a national significance. It IS not necessary to judge the merits or either side of this extraordinary con flict to reach the conclusion that something is wrong here for which neither side is entirely to blame. For then part, the mill owners claim that they have been operating for the past year at net loss. They state that the only way by which they could continue to do business was to order the cut in wages of 12 1-2 per cent. which was to have gone into effect on July 26, had all the operatives not refused to work on and after that date.
 It is impossible to ascertain to tuN what extent this strike is injuring these maufacturers. They have a tre- mendous responsibility to bear. They are undoubtedly suffering the loss of all profit upon millions of dollars of b. ;iness. There Is no question but that their business will be permantly curtailed by the opportunity which Is being offered to mills in other places to gain foothold in the trade. These owners are. also perfectly aware of the distress which this strike is bringing to the great army of working people who have lived here for long time. They see evidences of disaster from which it Is possible that Fall River will never recover. There must be some fundamental reason of a most extraordinary character, therefore, which would impel them to continue warfare so unrelenting as this. General Effects of the Strike. Evidences of the battle which is be- ing fought out here are apparent on every hand. When the strike began the population of Fall River was about 120.000. But an exodus of working people has continued for many weeks Furniture movers report moving ten and fifteen families day to the rail road station or out of town. Most of the families going away are French. Some go to Canada, and others to man. ufacturinR centers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut. Maine. New Hampshire. and even New York State It Is estimated that between 10000 and 25,00o people. all told. have moved away for good since the strike be- gan.
 Another sinister effect of this con- flict is upon the retail stores. Many concerns have failed. The most con. spicuous of these failures was that of Fournier Sons Company, the largest retail dealers in pork products in the State Dozens of small dealers are being forced out of business, and some thirty actual failures have been re- ported since the strike began.
 Landlords have suffered extremely through the non-payment of rents. This fact is reflected in the delay in the payment of taxes now due. Even the city government Is being forced into extra economy, the municipal of- ficials having voted to postpone indefi- nitely the celebration of the two hun dred and fiftiethi anniversay of the in- corporation of the city. The money which had been appropriated for this purpose has been turned back into the Contingent Fund where the poor fund might call upon 1t should occasion re- quire
 Suffering Among Working People. Losses In wages to the operatives of
 the cotton mills since the strike began approximate $1,750,000. This does not
 take into account the losses the work ing people have suffered from having
 to spend their small accumulations in
 the savings and cooperative banks. At this time last year the pay-rolls of the various mills located here amounted to | about $243,000 per week. That figure
 was cut 10 per cent in the autumn. but even in July 1t was $220.000. Since July 26, however, these 26.o00 people have lived upon never more than. $50, 900 a week, supplied by labor unions and other contributors from all parts | of the country.
 At the present time, the actual suffer | ing has reached the stage where the
 very best efforts of charitable societies | and labor organizations are not suffi- | cient to prevent abject want. Ensign Squarebriggs of the Salvation Army, said to your correspondents:
 We are feeding about 1,500 people a
 day at our soup houses. We find the children very hungry and destitute of shoes and other necessary wearing ap- parel. We are unable to help many who appeal to us. Even with all that has been supplied, we still find 1t ip-
 adequate to the. crying needs of a large | number of people. The workingmen | have used up their savings, and their ! many tales of poverty are heart-rend- . ing. If this strike does not end before the cold of winter sets in, the suffer- ing will be intense."
 The average wage of the cotton mill operative. prior to the strike, was | about $6.75 a week. The cut to 12 E per cent, such as was decided upon
 last summer would have made this amount less than $6.
 Instances might be indefinitely multi piled of hardship and distress from the very low wages which have been paid
 here. An undersized man, with the un :. mistakable pallor of the weaver. Is standing by tenement house gate, ten derly handling his sick baby. His wife tells you this father went to work in the mills in England when he was ' years old Prior to the melancholy July 26 he said he was earning $s.75 a week. Pride in their earning capacity,
 too. makes many of these people say