Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-30
BR|TA|N'S TEXTILE
!; STRIKE CONTINUES
Both Sides Look l. INiss
I BondfieId for Wage Scale
/, Settlement.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
MANCHESTER, England July 30.--A
half million Lancashire textile strikers
entered the second day of their self
imposed idleness today as firm as ever
in their determination not to accept the
1915 per cent reduction in their wages
which the cotton mill owners imposed
last Saturday.
The mills were open, If the workers
wanted to come to work, and in some
few of the mills, where the wage reduc-
ton was not made Immediately effective.
a few thousand Spinners and weaverS
followed their usual routine, unaffected
by the strife which has developed else
where.
Contrary to the usual case in British
trade disputes Of such magnitude, Bit
terness of feeling has not yet developed,
and there was In many quarters firm
belief the dispute would be settled
amicably before it reached more seri-
Gus aspect, or the stoppage in wages
among the none-too-well-oh workers
began to be felt greatly.
Dole Provided.
OF the 100000 workers who have
struck all but 100000 are union men,
bers and provided for by an unemploy-
ment wage or dole having an American
equivalent of from $l92 week for
young girls to $3.50 a week for men in
the cardroomS: of from 81 GA to $6 for
spinning operatives with II cents extra
for every child in the family under l6,
and of from SO 60 to $720 for weaverS,
according to the grades of their work.
These scales apply only to unioniSts.
There are as many as 10000 workers
who are not union members and con-
ceivably will be compelled to seek relief
from the public authorities before many
days.
While the unionists under the FORE
going unemployment wages of their
guilds will be far from destitute, they
will be far short Of normal income,
which, although a complicated system
of piecework prevails, has been eSti-
mated at At ShillingS ($11.08) weekly
for men and 80 shillings ($7.20) for
women.
The reductions which the employers
proposed to make effective would have
reduced the averages to about II shil-
lings ($9.84) for men and ~ shillings
IS6.48) for women.
Look to Settlement.
There has been much talk since in
ception of the strike of negotiations be-
tween Iee employers and employees look
ing to a settlement of the difficulty, but
the divided condition of either camp
has proved a deterrent.
AS far as the operatives were con-
cerned, the spinners were said to be
quite ready to negotiate their differ
ences with the mill owners, the card
room workers were understood to be less
disposed and the weavers entirely OPP
posed to acceptance OF any reduction, or
negotiations to that end.
On the other side, it appeared the en-
ployerS were less we'll organized than
had been supposed, as indeed was shown
by the fact some of the mills stu
worked at the old rates and refused to
support the reduction, declaring the
stoppage of work would kill important
orders which they we're filling.
1t was held generally the present La
Dor government would be much more
likely to find way Of settling the dis
pute than would have government OF
another political complexion, and both
operators and operatives looked to Miss
Margaret Bondfield, minister Of labor,
for suggestions toward solution.