The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-10-29

tnlS 1acG 1lndlng commission is that
, it is a propaganda move to discourage
the strikers and prepare the sell-out
by publishing fake figures.
The Wooden mills, along with Gov
ernor Ely and the United Textile
Workers, are preparing a Sell-out
through this new move. 1t is part Of
the scheme to drive the workers back
into the mills on the basis of "ar-
| bitration" on the basis of the "fact
finding commission" The material
that will be issued by this "fact
finding commission" will be prepared
to help put over the wage cut, and
is designed to make it easier for the
UTW to betray the strike and en-
sure the wage cut of rs per cent.
Actual Conditions
! LAWRENCE, Mass, Oct. 28-Here
are a few actual cases which show
why the Lawrence mill workers can
not accept the ten per cent wage cut,
against which $4,000 of them are now
on strike. -e-
A com bixer in a wooden mill has
a wife and eight children. After
doing this work for % years, with
occasional spells of comb minding
when the other work was slack, he
was being paid, just before the strike,
at the rate of $22.92 a week for five
stretches of IL hours each on the
night shift. Once in a while his
work was intensified by giving him
three combs to mind instead of two,
then he got $27 for a full week But
in 1881 he had only five full weeks.
Three weeks he was laid off alto
gether, and the rest of the time he
worked from two to four days a week.
In all, he made for the past IL
months $525. To make up the deficit
and feed his family, he borrowed
$3.50, and the city charity department
also had to step in to prevent out
right starvation. Even with the help
of this charity, he owes SIS for groc-
cries, s45 for last winters coal, So for
gas, ST for rent. and $12 for doctors
bills. The ten people in his family
are crowded into five rooms, for
which they pay $3.50 a week.
A IS year old man doing lacking
worked II hours night, five days
week. For full 60-hour week at
night work he would get $3.50, but dur
ing 1881 he never made full week,
and has gotten as low as So for a
weeks work. With family of eight
besides himself to support, he got in
tota wages for the last year $728.
This he eked out by selling radios
and furniture on the side, by which
he made s12o more, and by borrowing
5000. When the strike started, he
owed the grocer $25, the milk man $40
and the gas company $3.50, besides
$3.50 on furniture bought on the in
stallment plan.
A married woman and her hus-
band, with no children, are both
weavers in different mills. Two years
ago she got $50 for a weeks work on
two old style looms Now she runs
six automatic looms, produces three
times as much cloth day, and got
(before the strike) got $24 for an
average weeks work. Last year her
total wages we're $408 Her husbands
total earnings were $3.50, and the two
had 1868 to live on for twelve
months.
Speed-up Starvation
A wet finisher has wife and two
children under the age of IL to sup
port. A few years ago he worked on
an eight piece washer. First the
company puts new gears on the ma
chine to speed 1t up, then they put
him on new machine with double
capacity. From "a pieces day his
output capped to 90. On the old
washer he got 81. week. Just be-
fore the strike he was getting an
average of $14 a week, for four times
as much work as when he started.
He was laid off during the last year
enough weeks and parts of weeks to
total four months lost time, out Of
IL month.
A married man with wife and
four children has worked as filling
boy for three years. Before his eyes
went bad on him he was a weaver.
His pay as filling boy was $1s week,
but because Of the spending up Of the
looms, he carried one and a half
times as much filling as when he took
the Job. Being one Of the rare per-
sons who worked full time for the last
IL months, he received total Of
1896. Out Of that he paid $45
month for food, $l1.25 rent, $3.50 for
gas and electricity. Clothing for the
whole family Of six had to be held
down to $50 last year. His children
need more milk and fruit, and the
whole family is In need Of winter
clothes.
Refuse Common for Strikers
LAWRENCE, Mass, Oct. 28.-The
United Textile Workers has permit
to speak on Lawrence Common. The
Common is fine open park. with a
big bandstand to speak from, and
only five blocks from the heart Of the
mill section. But the real strike