The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-11

awrence United Front Committee for
wage scale, which the workers COM
memorated with this outburst of pro-
test.
The united front committee is COM
posed of about thirty members rep
.resenting the Franco-Belgian Club "a
workers organization which functions
as a labor union), an Italian work
ers' group, Syrian workers group,
a French-Canadian workers group
and four branches Of Workers (Com-
munist) Party. This town, the scene
Of such heroic struggles of the past
twelve years, including the world-fam-
Gus strike. of 1912, that of 1919 and
that of 1922, is today practically with
out the slightest fragment of a union
organization.
Robert Minor, the principal speak
err, representing the Workers (Com-
munist) Party, appealed to the textile
workers to revive the old traditions of
Lawrence as stronghold of the fight
ing kind of working class. Pointing
out that 10000 workers in New Eng
land cotton mills had already been
struck by the wage cut. Minor said
that the plan of the employers consti-
tutes huge, united drive of all man
ufacturers acting as one man to low
er the whole living standard Of an
entire working class population. at
is called 10 per cent reduction"
said Minor, "but that is deceptive The
straight cut often runs as high as rs
per cent, and even that is not the
worst.
A Fifty Per Cent cutl
Down in Providence and in Natick
the B. B. & R. Knight Co. has cut the
weavers' piece work scale so per cent.
They have been using old machinery.
Now they have put in new maya
zine looms, and they are trying to
force the weavers to run twice as
many looms as before, speeding up
beyond human endurance.
But here in Lawrence it will be
worse STILL The Pacific Mills-that
giant corporation OF SAC. 100000 CAPT
ltalization, winch paid z62 per cent
dividends in the years. 1915-1920 and
watered its stock to three times the
Investments not satisfied in reduc-
Fling your pay 10 per cent. They are
now preparing to put in the 72-loom
system. One weaver is to take charge
not of 16 or 80 looms, but 70!
Double Work For Less Pay.
Il understand Furthermore that the
Pacific Mills here have begun to force
the spinners to take 1S-size spindles
instead of 9-size. All of this means
that they are determined to get, not
merely the same amount of produc-
ton for less pay, but double the
amount of production for less pay.
What "Going Slowly" Means.
"Now, what are you going to do
about it? There have been some plans
offered. Mr.. VIM. T. Mcmahon, pres
ident of the United Textile Workers,
is said to have made proposals as to
what to do about it. l hope / don't
do him an injustice, but he is quoted
as proposing an appeal to the United
States senate, to the general court
of Massachusetts and to the so-called
civic bodies of business men and
church ladies. The policy is also at
tributed to him of going slowly about
this matter.
Going Slowly Means Going to Defeat.
what does that going slowly
mean? I'll tell you what looks bad
about it. You know there is a popu-
lar belief that in the textile industry
IL a strike is put off thru January and
February, and then March, after that
there is no strike. l don't know what
there may be in the theory, but it is
the belief of this country based on
its past experience. Then what does
this advice to go slowly In February
with wages already cut-what does
this advice mean? II sounds as tho
Mr.. Mcmahon does not want any re-
sistence to be made to the cuts.
Whose friend is he? Is he organic
Ing civic bodies OF church ladies to
attend to your affairs? Why is there
no organization-rapi organization Of
textile workers going on? The church
ladies are too busy spending the divi-
dends of their husbands textile
stocks. You will have to depend on
yourselves.
"You will have to depend on your
selves in organizing yourselves. In
this crisis you cannot afford to make
any concessions to the petty ambi-
tions--or worse--of this or that labor
leader who has a job as head OF some
one of the dozen varieties Of labor I'M
ions which claim TO be the whole
show but which have only fragment
Of organiSation-and in this city no
organization whatever. l don't want
to attack any labor union, don't take
Continued on page p
)TTNCIT TAKES