The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-05
Strike-Wave Sweeps To.
ward Complete Tie-Up
in New England
HUNDREDS IN LINES
N.T.W.U. Leaflet Urges
Unity, Rank and
File Control "A.
BY Carl Reeve
Especial to the Daily Worker)

n E w BEDFORD. - Re-
ports coming here from every
textile center indicate that
the strike wave is sweeping
forward toward a complete
tie-up of the entire New Eng
land textile industry.
In Fall River, where the indie
pendent union officials opposed the
strike. for example, the strike is
now Is per cent solid. with a 100
per cent shutdown due tomorrow
morning.
The big PeppereH plsnt is cripG
pied.
New Bedford is solid with all 30
900 out In Rhode Island. 22.3OO:
eastern Massachusetts,. 1000 to TO-
900; $4,000 to $4,000 in Connecticut.
The New Bedford Textile indus
try was at a complete standstill
this morning, as every mill struck
solid. Beginning at $50 am. the
thousands of New Bedford textile
workers massed around the mill
gates and in all big mills not a
single worker went through the
gates.
A tour of the biggest mill sections
Of the North and South Ends be-
ginning at 5 o'clock this morning
showed that the workers have given
their unanimous decision on the
picket lines for strike.
At the South End hundreds Of
workers gathered before the great
Dartmouth mills and not man
went to work. The company made
futile effort to open the mill.
opening the gates and lighting up
the mill, But a half-hour after
working time the guards. seeing
that no one entered. locked up the
gates. I went to the gates Of the
large Kilbourne mill and here
crowds Of hundreds of workers
stood on every corner and before
the gates. The mill was shut solid.
No one working. The same story
was repeated at the big Hathaway
mill, the Page mill and others, not
man went to work in the face Of
the hundreds of pickets Every
mill in the South End. including
all cotton mills, is closed down tight
| today.
Tire Mills Picketed
The only mills in the South End
working are the Goodyear Fiske
Tire Fabric Mills. These mills were
somewhat affected but no real effort
was made to strike them today.
Some strikers in front of these tire
mills said, IF we'd had big picket
line here today even the tire mills
would have closed. They should
have had strong picket line here. >
Thousands of textile strikers
later began mass picketing the
Goodyear Fisk and Firestone plants
on both the South and North End,
concentrating their efforts to clos
ing the plants down by tonight. AS
some workers in these mills came
out for lunch, booeS and catcalls
went up Workers will mass picket
the plant until it closes. The closing
of these tire plants will make the
strike in New Bedford 100 per cent
effective
Fall River is reported out at least
rs per cent despite the opposition
to the strike of conservative inde-
pendent union leaders
Cotton Mills Closed Tight
In the North End where also
great cotton mills are located, the
strike was equally effective. The
big Waumsetta and Nashawena and
Nash Mills were shut down with
crowds of workers lining the side
walks in front of the mill gates.
These mills tried to work, but out of
the thousands only one or two in
some departments went to work.
Only the Firestone Tire Fabric plant
remained working today in the
North End. The entire cotton tex
tile industry of New Bedford is
closed tight as a drum. The New
Bedford Rayon plant in the North
End is also shut tight.
There were few police in evidence
this morning, only a half dozen be-
fore each mill. It IS obviously the
fCnnf9nued o,s Pace 0N