The Detroit times., 1913-01-28
GOES ON PICKET DUTY TO
REPORT GARMENT STRIKE
1Continued from Page one)


have always been the poorest paid
OF all our women workers. The girls
now out are young and physically Inn
mature. but old in industry.
Chlldlike In appearance or gaunt
from the chronic overstra'n that gives
no time to make flesh. these girls,
most Of them only two or three years
In this country, have learned that
they cannot live on the wage to earn
which they have given, are giving
their youth.
For one maker Of under-musllns
who earns sic a week. ! find that zoe
receive SO, 500 receive SO and 400
from SO TO 81. And this In a city
where Investigation proves SO to be
the minimum wage for decent ilvlngl
White goods workers have laid
down their needles TO sing labor
songs. They march through the
streets martialed by nelf-sacrifcing
and farseeing women like Leonor
0'Reilly, secretary OF the Women's
Trade Union league; the dreamer OF
socialist dreams, Josephine Casey,
the clear.headed organizer. secretary
OF the international Garment Work
cls' union, and Maggie Henchey,
laundry worker. veteran picket OF un-
numbered strikes.
Two high school teachers have Of
fered their older girl students as
parade organizers, while girl pickets
battered by the police for lawful
demonstration, lie in hospital beds
thinking up notices for the process,
sional banners.
| Win or lose, this white goods
workers strike is going to serve 10
awaken society and the American wo-
men now sleeping, wearing clothes
made for starvation wages.
Trade unlonlsm, ! now see more
clearly than ever, Is an Insurance OF
society for the safety Of the rest OF
TIE community. Trade unionists pay
from their slender wage the salary
of men who do the collective bar
gaining that protects the rest Of the
community.
| This social service is the united
effort OF girl workers. Jewish and
Italian, feeling themselves strangers
in a strange land foreign born, pitt
| fully young, thousands OF them here
without relatives; girls whom pitiless
bosses have driven TO realize that
after ALL the workhouse Is not so bad
! who wants to work for bread and
butter? We can get bread and butter
doing nothing on Blackwell island =
cried one girl at tcday's strike meet.
| ing
Picket duty Is recognized as the
first strike duty, the girl workers way
Of teaching their sisters that intoler-
Iable conditions have precipitated this
| Industrial revolt and have made OF
them minute-men OF industry.
! This morning at $50 o'clock.
went on actual picket duty with Miss
IL. l.. Duck. outside OF Schesher's up
town garment factory. Owner Sches-
/ her himself and his corps OF private
detectives filed the ornate doorway.
A crowd OF slouching toughs, said TO
be hired for IS a day, escorted groups
OF strikebreakers from the Second
and Sixth-ave. 81" trains Across the
way 200 men loafed, silently waiting
for any excitement.
Miss Duck and ! picketed amid a
Sabbath calm. Suddenly an employ
Crs' detective, circling the curious
idlers, paused near group OF gang
sters-then returned. Another min
nie, and the street was filled from
curb to curb with wildly excited men.
-Schesher lied PROBATIONARY from his
point OF vantage. while the employers
private detectives bored into the
crowd, brandlshing threatening clubs
After four minutes delay the police
OF precinct 43 arrested a perfectly
innocent man.
One Roberts, nephew and depart
nent manager for Abe Schesher
watched the outcome from the factory
door.
Il told those detectives to hammer
the crowd" he protested
That word explained. "Told?" cried
Miss Duck, picket for the Womens
Trade Union league. Then 1t was