Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-08-29
THOUSANDS NEAR
STARVATION B Y
OWNERS STRIKE
Mill Owners Strike
Brings Them to Star
walton
BY E. c. RODGERS

LAWRENCE, Mass, Aug. 28-
Thousands of families here are near
the starvation point because of the
great wool strike. They have exhaus-
ted their savings in the weeks of en-
forced idleness. Their credit has
evaporated. Some of them have gone
to other cities to seek work. Some
have gone back to Europe. Others
walk the streets here hoping that
each day will bring the end of the
strike.
This isn't their strike. They didn't
vote to strike. They wanted to work.
They wanted to produce cloth for
clothes.
This strike was called by the Am
erican Woolen Co. The leader of the
strike is William M. Woods president
of the company.
This, the largest wooden cloth
manufacturing center in America,
manufacturing cente lin America,
has had many strikes. Two may be
compared, both lasting for several
weeks, and both costing workers
and the public lot of hard earned
money.
The other noted wool strike hap
pened in 1912. On Jan. IL, 1912,
about $4,000 woolen mills workers
struck. The immediate cause of that
strike was reduction in wages, due
to the state law reducing working
hours of women and children work
ers. That strike was engineered by
the l. w. W. 1t resulted in an in
crease in wages of from 5 per cent
for the skilled workers to 25 per
cent for the unskilled.
The woolen workers strike in 1912
was the first big |. W. W. outburst
in America. The wool strike of 1920
is the largest wholesale lockout ever
pulled off in the wooden industry.
The I. W. W. struck against wage
reductions. Then the average wage
for all wooden operatives here was
less than $11 a week.
Owners Strike Now
Now it is the W. M. w. striking
against a reduction of profits. Last
year the profits were I 5,513, Ala.
The American Woolen G. lpany in
creased it's net income 316 per cent
for 1918 over 1914. The net increase
in common stock earnings was 53l
per cent. In 1918 the earnings per
share of common stock were $13.86;
in the year ending Dec. 81, 1919,
these earnings were $39 .86. This is
after allowance has been made for
preferred dividends.
"This has been a good year"
Wood told his stockholders, "and
1920 ought to be as prosperous for
US"
Then Wood made a mistake. He
sought to get the governments ap-
proval of his profit-making program.
"We are earning IL 1-2 per cent
above cost" Wood claimed. Govern
ment accountants set to work on the
company's books. They found many
things. Among them was the evidence
that the wooden trust garnered 35
per cent profit above cost. They also
learned that this profit was made de-
spite the enormous salaries and COM
missions paid Wood and his associ-
ates. Woods commissions alone in
1919 amounted to S515,492.
The governments case was hand
led by Assistant Attorney Fl. C.
Smithe.
Smythe said, "The American Wool
en- Co., dominates the trade in this
country. The department feels that
it has unearthed one of the most i'm
portant cases of profiteering known
since the amendment to the Lever
act went into effect ~
Smythe gave the evidence his in
vestigators had found Here are a
few instances:
(Contir ued on Page ~