Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
UNSOLVED LABOR PROB
LEM.

Although the new year opened with the
cheering prospect that the strike declared
during the closing days of the old year
by the cotton mill employees of Lancashire,
England-a vast army of men, women and
children-would terminate in a basis of
agreement between the strikers and their
employers. January was but half over
before wage reduction among the opera
tives in the cotton mills of Lawrence.
Mass. brought on serious Industrial trou-
Bile nearer home. The 25OOO employees,
chiefly men and women of foreign birth,
including foremen, overseers and Office
force. averaged only Sc a week, and when
an attempt was made to reduce wages
to still lower point the operatives quit
work. and demanded a ID per cent in
crease. After nine weeks Of idleness and
frequent riotfng, which compelled the gov
ernor to call out the militia and resulted
in great hardship among the strikers.
the employees of the American Woofen
Company at Lawrence returned to work
at a material advance in wages. This ad-
justment reached with the Lawrence tex
tile workers affected more than 125,OOO
persons throughout New England, who
obtained advances. The disorder at Law
renee during the strike. eliminating I'm
the Interference of the local police with
the rights Of strikers to send their chill
dren out of town during the trouble. led
to an investigation by the rules commit
tee of the national House. and an inquiry
into labor conditions in the factories by
the labor committee of the House.
British Coal Strike.
Before the mill operatives of Lawrence
had returned to their looms under the
new wage agreement a million coal min
ers of Great Britain were on strike. The
British government had foreseen the dis
astrous consequences of such strike
which had been threatened for several
months-and Mr.. Asqufth and his cabinet
had held several conferences with the
representatives of the miners i'm an at
tempt to avert the trouble. Nothing was
accomplished. and at midnight the last
day of February million mine workers
laid down their tools and refused to work
Within week three times that number
OF men, women and children had been
thrown out of work by the closing down
of mills and the stopping Of railroad and
steamboat traffic for want of fuel. The
price of food and clothing went to pro-
hibitive figures, and the poor began to
feel the sting Of hunger Even the states
men directing the foreign policies of the
empire began to see in the empty bunkers
of the British warships a peril to the
nations political safety.
All other means proving futile, the Brit
iSh premier introduced into the house Of
COLlIllOHS d UIll LOT d minimum
wage law throughout the country. and
March % King George affixed his sigma
ture to the measure and it became law.
Three days later the miners voted as to
whether the strike should be continued,
and, although there was a majority of
81, 600 in 445,O00 votes against returning
to work. the executive committee of the
Miners Federation decided to call the
strike off and the men returned to the
pits.
Dock Workers Strike.
During the latter part of April and
throughout May there was a decided SUBJ
sidence in labor agitation in this country.
convention of anthracite miners met at
Wilkes Barre and ratified the wage agree
ment The locomotive engineers of the
eastern railroads and the managers, who
had been at odds, accepted the mediation
Of Judge Martin A. Knapp. head of the
United States Commerce Court, and Com
missioner of Labor Charles p. Neill. This
respite, however, did not extend to E,I-
rope. May % a strike of all the trans
portation workers in Great Britain start