The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-12-21
OF INTEREST TO WORKERS

As men are not Obtainable, women
are to be employed by the London
county (England) council as car wash
erS
The British labor party voted to
withdraw it's members from the cabi-
net at the close of the present parlia-
ment.
Organized mattresses are working
for an eight-hour day, one day week
off, and wage scale of at least $50
per month.
British shipbuilding employers have
not vet agreed to the request of the
employees regarding the proposed
shorter working week after the war.
T. w. Crothers, Canadian federal
minister of labor, has resigned because
of i'll health and has been succeeded
by Senator Gideon Robertson of We'll
land, Ont.
In the chemical industries of the Bit
terfeld Germany district time wages
have increased by 20 to 80 per cent
and pieceworlz wages by 81 per cent
since the war started.
Bell telephone operators struck for
higher wages in st. Paul. Business in
the twin cities was seriously affected
by the walkout The girls demand a
40 per cent wage increase.
A general strike was begun in
Switzerland by order of the soldiers
and workers council at Often. The
federal authorities have ordered the
mobilization of a division of $4,000
troops, mostly FrenchSwiss, to restore
order The troops, however, have been
unable to reach their destinations be-
cause railroad service was interrupted.
Indignation against the Germans who
started the bolshevk movement in
Switzerland is increasing.
The Saskatchewan provincial tele-
phone department declines to recognize
that there is a labor strike on its sys-
tenn and claims that Of $4,000 tele-
phone users in the province, including
rural line subscribers, only STA are
without service There are 1874 tele-
phone centers in the province, of which
391 are said to be working as usual.
Employees affected by the new wage
schedule are 404, of whom Sc have
quit work rather than accept.
Announcement of another raise in
wages for the civilian employees at
the Watertown tMass.) arsenal was
made. The increase Is based upon the
report of the MICK board, made some
time ago in connection with employees
of the Emergency Fleet corporation, of
sliding scale with a maximum in
crease of Is per cent in some cases.
The granting of this award places the
employees at the arsenal upon the
same footing as those at the navy yard
at Charlestown in all branches.
A conference was held at Brooklyn
between representatives of the striking
deck hands and firemen on railroad
owned tugs entering New York harbor
and representatives of the United
States railroad administration in the
office in the Grand Central Terminal
of A. III. Smith, regional directrf
the Eastern railroads. At the
clusion of the conference it VIZ
that the leaders of the strikers AK! 1,
to use their efforts in having the
strikers return to work on the late
shift at night, or have the full force
return until their grievances are
taken up by the board of arbitration
and wage adjustment of the United
States railroad administration.
One of the occupations with which
experiments are being made in the st.
Charles School for Boys Is the making
of cloth hats for boys, an occupation
that may prove profitable to the state
not only in money but in correctional
effect on the inmates.
The British labor conference unani-
mously adopted resolution submitted
by james Ramsay Macdonald, chair
man Of the labor party, demanding
that labor be represented at the Off
clal peace conference. and that an In
ternational labor congress sit concur
rently. There We're cheers for inter-
national socialism and the bolshevists.