Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-06-13
BIC STRIKE At
BELLOWS FALLS
Eight Hundred Paper Makers De-
mand Work in Three
i.a.. Shifts. ..ss,.I,aa,
REFUSE TO DO IT
Oner on Increase of 10 per Cent. IN
Wages and to Consider Other
Changes in Jnnuary-WcekIy
Pay Roll of $1,000
Cut OF.
J.tnAStb..:g

Pay Roll of $1,000
| - .Jrn LstS.a
Bellows Falls, June 11-Bellows Falls.
the second paper making town in the
country Is In the clutches Of one OF the
largest strikes in ite history by which 500
men are out of employment. The trouble
mas oeen brewing for about month end
came 10 climax this morning when
oVV or more employees of the International
faper Co.. Joined the 200 workers who
nave been out from the other paper mills
SINCE last Saturday. The strike is caused
| oy the refusal of the mill owners to adopt
| the three-tour system rs It is called
| several months ago the International
| Paper CO.. announced that as soon as
II could b" arranged the mills controlled
py the firm would be under the three
tour system. BY this arrangement three
separate gangs are employed each
working eight hours apiece. At
present the tour workers are
employed from II to 10 hours. the
night gangs working longer hours and
the day and night gangs alternating
each week. and giving all the same
| number of hours work The chanra
or course Increases the number of mon
employed and the wages will be in
| creased 80 Ia per cent
Ihis system has been adopted in all
OF the mills the company expect those
at bellows Falls. Turner's Falls and
rankin rails In the two latter places
the company has agreed to take IN the
matter August ! and the men are still
working. In Bellows Falls. the COM
pany has offered TO take I'D the mat
Ter for consideration by January 1.
OFFERED 10 PER CENT. RAISE.
several weeks ago the officials an
nounced that they could not see tbe,-
way 10 adopt the new arrangement here
now owing to the greater cost of run
ming rhese mills, but compromise Of
Ter was made and was to the effect the
men remain on the present two-tour sys
tenn working as outlined above with an
increase In wages OF ten per cent. which
would total the additional amount which
would have to be paid for three-tour
work
The employees Of the other mills To-
Gated here with the exception of John
Robertson e. Son, who make tissue
paper, all asked their employers 70
adopt the new system. but the owners
refused to grant the change President
Cary OF the National Paper Makers I'm
Ion was on from New York to investi-
gate the situation here and for the past
three weeks just what would be done
has been In the air.
Many conferences between union mon
and the employers have been held and
all of the owners made their hands var,-
Gus propositions TO take the place Of the
three-tour system which II was decided
could not be adopted here for a number of
rea sons. The officials of several of the
companies offered to give the number of
men employed under the two-tour system
the same salary they would have to nav
for the new arrangement and other equal
ly advantageous offers.
Everything was done to avoid a strike
but last week the employees of several of
the smaller mills gave written notice that
unless the owners would agree to adopt
the three-tour system by Tuesday morn
ing the hands would strike
THE MEN LOCKED OUT.
The heads of the firms of the Robert
son Paper Co. the Moore and the Thomp-
son Co. and the Blake & Higgins Co,
took immediate action and Saturday .
morning notified their men that they |
might draw their pay for the weeks |
work at the office that night and CON |
slider themselves discharged for they
would not adopt the new system. That
night the 200 or more employees OF these
firms left, the owners thus in way
a lbck out. This morning at the
close of the nights work, the entire force
of the International Paper company mills
joined the others making fully 500 men
OUT OF employment here at the present
time Tho mills of John T. Moore &
Son and Wyman. Flint & Sons are still
the owners agreeing to adopt
the three-tour system as soon as the
does
The outlook for settlement Is not very
bright for both sides say they will not
Yield. The owners are especially firm in
heir statement, one of the firms has
three months repairing to do and Is per-
'ectly willing to shut down now and do
what repairing is needed. The Interna-
onal people are willing to shut down
'or a while but 1t is generally the opin-
on that II the strike lasts long they
will import men from other places and
It hire back the old hands even II the
lnons do give in THIS is based on the
advertisements OF the International Co.
n Canada for two weeks for non-union
men.
UNIONS THREATEN TROUBLE
In this case the union men ray there
will be further trouble, Tho unionized
, hrtn 10, L..
o touch the product OF scab labor.
Furthermore sympathetic strike in
III of the 40 odd mills of the company
nay result At present the strike is
lp independent one and consequently