The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-05-08
WAGE CUTS AND THE UNIONS
How Mill Operatives Have &C.
cspted the New Schedules.
A Total OF 40, 900 Hands Affected IN
New acknowledgement That
There Will Be No Resistance.

Providence, r. 1.-The reduction
Of ten per cent, in wages of cotton mill
operatives has now become effective
in all of the mills of New England,
except at Fall River, and it is becom-
ing apparent that there will be no re-
sistance by the labor unions. At
New Bedford, where the cut went
into effect last week, affecting 22,G %
hands, the union leaders, after sc lie
agitation and fruitless urging of pl9ls
for more extensive curtailment of
production as an alternative to u
ting the wage scale, advised the weav-
ers to continue at their looms under
the lower rate of pay. The unions
all voted to accept the reduction OK
cept the union machinists, who voted
to apply to the officials of the nation
al union at Washington for autho: ity
to strike, the manufacturers having
failed to reply to request for con-
ference. They voted, however, to re-
main at work under the reduced scale
until authority to strike is given by
the national union officials. A strike
by the machinists, comprising small
proportion of the workers in mill,
would be exceedingly unfortunate at
this time for the thousands of weav-
ers, spinners and other classes OF
workers. 1t is not probable that the
mill owners would yield, especially at
this time, when idleness of looms
would undoubtedly be a good thing
for the trade.
There was little strike of weavers
in the Manvlle Company's mills, in
Rhode Island, based on a claim that
the change in the wage scale amount
ed to a reduction of more than ten
per cent. But the strikers returned
to their looms after a couple of days
of idleness.
Forty thousand operators were af-
fected by the reduction of wages put
into effect at New Bedford, Lawrence
and Methuen, Mass, making total
of 100000 hands affected in New
England since the beginning of the
movement to lower the cost of pro-
duction. The movement has now been
extended to yarn and thread mills, as
well as cloth producing concerns.
Twenty-Five hundred workers in the
mills of the Coats Thread Company,
at Pawtucket, R. l., were affected by
a reduction of ten per cent, which
has just been put into effect.
In Fall River the sliding scale
agreement will expire on Monday,
May %, and manufacturers and op-
eratives are looking forward to that
date with concern. Mill men and
labor leaders want the agreement re-
newed. AT the monthly meeting of
the Textile Council, held at Fall Riv-
er, the report made by President Tan
sey showed that the average margin
for 1913 working days of the present
six months period is S4.S64. Since
the last report cotton has ranged in
price from 11.05 cents per pound to
ten cents. The price of standard
print goods has fallen from S1h to
81 cents, and the price of 3S11a inch
goods from Az to Az cents. Cot
ton is quoted at ten cents per pound,
standard prints at 3 Il cents per yard,
and 3S " inch goods at u cents The
margin now is 63.4S37. The highest
daily margin since the last report
was 70.9S62, and the lowest 59.4S37.
If the above margin is maintained
until the last Monday of May, the
average margin for the six months
would be 1924, and this would
mean reduction of wages under the
terms of the sliding scale of 1857
per cent.