The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-02-03
At Lawrence, Mass, Demand
ing 48-Hour Week at Old
54-Hour Week Pay.
LOCKOUT IN NEW JERSEY
Several Thousand Silk Work
ers Begin Wage Fight With
EMPLOYERS.

refused TO obey the strike call anu
went to work. -,
The strikers claim they will win by
peaceful picketing" methods. Hun
dreds of pickets formed a coroon
about the mill district and as the
operatives who refused TO QUIT ap-
preached they were greeted Win Lne
'fifty-four hours pay"
Every policeman in the city Is on
duty to prevent trouble.
10000 Out of Work.
Paterson. N. j., Feb. 3.-Severai
thousand silk workers were locked
o,,t of their shops today In the begin
ming of a fight between workers and
emnIoyers over the demand Of the
employees for a forty seven hour
week. It is possible that lockouts
and strikes will put 10000 persons
out of work before an agreement Is
reached. -.
workers out could be made TINS morn
ing. In accordance with their plan TO
institute the forty seven hour week,
a lorgeR number of the workers ap-
neared at their shops at 1880 O'Clock
instead of z o'clock, the usual re-
porting time.
MANY owners whose shops employ
$4,000 persons had announced the
workers would not be permitted to
90 to their machines if they did not
freport at the usual time. 1t was IN
these shops the workers were locked
out.
Not Backed by Federation.
Most of the strikers are foreign
epeaking. The strike was not
sponsored by the American Fedora
ton of Labor but by the United TEX
tile Workers of America, which asked
for n basic forty -eight-hour week.
This was granted by most OF the
mills here and in other mill centers
of New England with time and hai1
paw for overtime.
While .he city was quiet, the po-
lice were uneasy, as Lawrence was
flooded with bolshevik literatures.
Fearing trouble, the officials OF the
Rrightwood mill, North Andover,
closed the plant today and warned
their employees not to return TO work
until the end of the strike.
All of the Lawrence mills, with the
excap4tnfa or tiae eNS e6nf1 ainttk ana ile
Aver mill. were running today.
AT least, the strikers say, there are
enough employees at work to keep one
department running. Three thousand
strikers gathered before the Wood
mill at am, and watching the EN-
ployes entering. carrying out to each
one the strike slogan. When the last
employe had entered the mill, the
h,dv of 5000 strikers marched into
the mill where they Immediately
turned around and walked out again.
Strike leaders said the number of
will not be large enough to keep the
mills in operation.
Await Outcome of Meeting.
Later. hundreds of the strikers
crowded about Litzbu hall to await
She outcome of a meeting of the gen.
cral strike committee, composed OF
ninety five delegates from the va
rious textile workers unions.
Police Commissioner Carr today
said:
II do not wish at this time to make
any boasts as to what the police VIII
no. as / do not wish to incite violence.
If violence occurs, then we shall do
our duty"
Practically all the 600 loom -fixers,
who last week voted to stay at work,
reported at the mills today. The
mule-spinners reported at some mills,
while others did not, owing to the
fact that no definite action regarding
tie strike had been taken up by their
unions.
The Overs and finishers are not at
work today, having voted to remain
out one day to avoid trouble. In the
meantime, they will seek to get in
touch with their national officers and
General advisers.
A telegram from John Golden,
president of the United Textile Work.
ers of America, asking that strike
action be deferred was shown about
tcwn today by Irme Kaplan, secre-
tary of the general strike committee.
Let them challenge us in Law
renee and sec whom the working
man will support" Kapian told his
follow ers.
Police Sleep at Station.
Fifty cots from the influenza hos
pital have been brought into the main
police station for the use of police
officers. who will be compelled to
sleep always within call.
The strikers said today they were
financially well equipped to stand a
long strike and the mill owners or
their agents declared that the strike
could not have been better timed, as
business is at standstill.
With a majority of mills in other
sections of New England having
granted the basic -eight-hour
week, and with the proposition hav-
ing been accepted by the operatives,
no other strikes were reported.
Would Involve $4,000.
Providence, r. l., Feb. 3.-Opera-
tives in cotton mills of this state
which have refused to grant the basic
forty eight-hour week will walk out
at the end of eight hours work late
today, according to Vice President
Mcmahon, of the United Textile
Workers of America. He stated that
$4,000 of the $4,000 textile workers
in the state would be involved. The
real test. he added, would come to-
morrow when the operatives find out
whether or not the mill agents pro-
pose to close the mills.
Columbus and Chattanooga.
Charlotte. n. c.. Feb. 3.-No cotton
mills in the south except those at
columbus, Ga, and Chattanooga,
Tenn, will be affected by the pro-
,osed strike for shorter hours in
tner PARTS of the country, 1t was said
hay by officials at the headquar-
IS here of the American Cotton
knufacturers' association. II was
N there was no information here of
3est among operatives employed by
nnhers of the association