The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-12

NdiuC WllSAl buS DOlI0llOluS1S NS.A-S
the companies factories by fore
closure"
Mill Closes, Men Jobless.
When the "crash" came, ten or
eleven months ago, the Salts Mill
closed down. All of the workers
were layed off. They were told to
go and apply for jobs in Blumen-
thals Mills in Shelton, Conn, which
then suddenly became very busy.
Most of the workers, who were able
to go there, were hired, but for the
"Blumenthal scale of wages" which
was much lower than they had been
getting from the Salts Mill.
Six months later, however, when
the appetite of the few big sharks
to swallow the greater number of
the smaller fry reached it's zenith,
and the chance for such an act ar
rived, cry was raised to the effect
that the Salts Mills of Bridgeport
could not continue under the pre-
sent strained conditions. 1t must go
to the receiver. 1t went.
A great number of share holders,
among them workers from the mill,
who listened to the bosses bunk
about investing their savings in the
business, were made to sell their
holdings for a song. The result was
obvious. Very few, especially the
workers, were able to get anything
for their shares. Two months after
it went into the hands of the re-
ceiver, it was reopened again, but
on part time only, filling orders for
the Blumenthal Mills of Shelton,
Conn. After the first month, it be-
came obvious that the Blumenthal
Company IN conjunction with the big
share holders of the Salts Company
was in complete control of the latter
company, which besides the mill in
Bridgeport includes mills in Phila-
delphia, which were kept idle for a
long time for the same reason.
The Bridgeport local papers car
ried the following announcement:
latter a long time seeking to verify
the rumors that Sydney Blumenthal
and Company, Incorporated, whose
pile fabric plants in Shelton, Conn.
are operated under the name Shell
ton Looms, would become the pur-
chaser of the Salts Textile Company,
we are now able to announce that
contracts have been signed for the
immediate taking over of the plants
by the Shelton Looms"
The total results of the "strug-
gle" of these two sets of bandits
and the victory" of Blumenthal
over Salts are as follows:
l. Eliminated competition between
these two companies, which was an
obstacle for common action both
in regulating the prices of their
commodities and in their effort to
reduce the wages of the workers.
In place of two companies in the
field struggling for the control of
the markets, constantly in friction,
there arose single but powerful
monster.
2. 1t immensely reduced the own
ers of these mills to a very insight
ficant number, but made them many
times more powerful than they were
before.
8. Not only the wages of the work
ers formerly employed by the Salts
were reduced to the level of the
Blumenthal Mills in Shelton which
ranks among the very lowest in Tbs
entire country, but already there has
taken place wage cut in several
departments of the Shelton Looms;
most neck breaking speed up sys-
tenn has been introduced in all Of
the mills which will result in a most
miserable condition for the workers
generally.
Company Union CLUBS"
There are company unions in al
of the mills which function under
the names of workers clubs" socia
clubs, etc. In most cases these clubs
are genuine proletarian organiza.
tions in composition. With very lit.
tie effort on part of the workers
they could easily turn them into in.
struments for proletarian struggle
against the bosses. 1t is true, that
most of these clubs are composed Of
the most skilled workers in the
shops, the weavers and loom fixers
But the naturalization process
which is now evident in a mos
dynamic form, manifests itself in the
introduction of a most deadly speed
up system, by the application of the
most highly developed methods Of
production, replacing men by women
adults by children, etc. In other
words doing away with the skillful
ness Of the weavers as a skilled
group in the textile industry. Or
the other hand as a result of this
decentralization strong mass pres
sure is being exerted upon these
clubs to admit all of the workers
in them, thereby further changing
the nature and composition of these
associations, when it will become
easier for the workers to capture
and control them against the com
pany agents and tools.
A year ago, the weavers club Of
Bridgeport, in its annual election
Of officers, elected a rank and filt
slate of candidates. against the com
pany men. Whether this had any
| +ki.,c. L. IL. I..tth liz n,.a,,, nj.