The New York herald., 1922-03-27
MILL WORKERS VOTE
SOLIDLY TO STRIKE
Hold Mass Meeting at Law
renee and Decide to Resist
90 Per Cent. Wage Cut.

LAWRENCE, Mass, March 26.--A mass
meeting of mill workers on the Common
here to-day under the auspices OF the
favor OF a strike. Seven Lawrence mills
employing $4,000 operatives have an
nounced a wage reduction OF 20 per
cent. effective tomorrow, and some OF
the craft unions nave declared a strike.
The speakers. including Ben Legere.
head of the o. B. u; oliver Christian,
president of the Loom Fixers Union. and
Sam Bramhall, head of the 1919 strike
committee, urged the English speaking
workers to start the strike and declared
that the 0. B. u. would finish it.
Representatives OF the mills said to-
night they would open tomorrow as
usual. They would make no estimate as
to the probable number of men who
would go on strike.
About hundred machine printers in
the Pacific mills to-day accepted 10
per cent. wage reduction. 1t was stated
that these men were skilled workers
and that the cut brought their wages
down to what is known as the standard
scale
Seven Mills I'm Cut.
Seven mills here have announced a 20
per cent. wage reduction effective to-
morrow and some Of the operatives have
declared a strike. Another mill has an
nounced an indefinite shutdown begin
ming tomorrow, and the Lawrence Tex
tile Council has declared this to be in
the nature of a lockout. The big mills
of the American Woolen Company have
not Joined in the wage cutting.
The largest plant affected Is the
Pacific mills, employing some 10,000 OPP
eratives. The six others at which wages
are reduced employ total or about
5000. The wool sorters. affiliated with
the United Textile Workers of America
and first to declare a strike, are plan
ming to picket the Pacific and Everett
mills tomorrow
The declaration that the strike in New
| England mills will go TO the limit to sec
whether the stockholders, by refusing
! 10 cut fat dividends, can force workers
| to reduce their meaeer wages" was
made to-day by Thomas r. Mcmahon
president OF the United Textile Workers
OF America. Mr.. McMahon was in Bos-
ton on his way from Rhode Island TO
strike centers OF northern New England.
Quotes the Dividends.
Citing the case of the Pacific Mills. he
said: 1.-The strike against the Pacific
Mills. which begins tomorrow morning
would never have been called IL the COM
pany had treated its workers with a de-
gree Of justice which would stand com
parlson with the company's generosity
to its stockholders.
''In 1921. year OF depression. the
! Pacific Mills paid to its stockholders
enough to have given every one of its
/ 10000 employees n rs per cent. wage in
crease instead OF the % per cent cut
they are trying to force upon US.
This company paid out s2.400.000 In
| dividends In 1921 and continued the
same rate of dividends in the first quar-
ter of 1922. They are paying ~ per
| cent. year on their capitalization, In
spite OF the fact that the capitalization
was Increased In 1919 by $5,000.000 in
stock dividends--a 33 1-3 per cent. in
! crease.
They have a surplus OF over $14,-
| 600. .o00--enough to pay the entire wages
| OF their operatives for year without a
| penny of other income and at the. end
OF the year they would have a surplus
remaining equal to more than 25 per
cent. of their capitalization.
I'm 1921 the Pacific Mills made a
/ profit OF over eight cents on every dol
lar or their sales not much below their
average profit for the war years.
THE trouble with the textile industry
! or New England Is that It has capital
ICED its huge wa profits by stock dvi-
dends. Now with sales slack, the mills
determine TO increase the margin OF
profit on their products so that divi-
dends as big as in the war years can be
paid