The Jones County News

Out of Employment for Several Weeks, Workers Are Needy; Being Ousted from Houses; Aid Coming from Other Cities, Condition

An affair exciting considerable attention in other cities, but seemingly little noticed at home, is the condition of the cotton mill at Laurel west end. The dead-lock between the management of the mill and the working people has existed for two or three months, causing their supply of subsistence for the workers to become completely depleted, yet the people of this immediate vicinity have been informed but little as to the true condition of affairs.

The controversy between the management of the mills and the workmen started after repeated reductions in wages, but the difficulty took on a different aspect when the main question between them resolved itself into a matter of whether the mill would employ people affiliated with the unions or not.

Early in the spring the first reduction of wages was inaugurated, and two or three successive reductions followed until the wage scale came downward from $28.80 and $26.50 to $18.80 and $16.60 per week for the various positions, or seemingly a total reduction of about fifty per cent.

WORKERS ORGANIZE

The cotton mill workers, feeling that they could not subsist under further reductions, which they say were promised them, organized themselves, and sought negotiations with the management of the mills with reference to a living wage scale.

Immediately following the organization, so reports go, the management of the mill announced that the union must be disbanded and that no member of the union would be permitted to stay in his position at the mill. The workers would not agree to this, so the mill was shut down for time, it is said.

The one condition upon which the working people would be taken back, they say they were informed, was that they would sign the following oath:

"I hereby certify that I renounce my allegiance to the American Federation of Labor, or any division of the same, or any other union, and that in the future I will not be a member of any of the above so long as I may be in the employ of the Laurel Mills. I further certify that the above is done of my own free will and accord and that I will stand by same under all conditions, so help me God."

The management finally reconsidered, however, and permitted the mills to reopen, promising them, so they say, that no discrimination would be made against the union folks. But soon after work was begun, the reports say, the management became suspicious that agitation was being carried on and proceeded to fire those whom he thought to be responsible for it.

About this time, it is reported that the management secured a large amount of strike benefit insurance, and, the workers say, began to lay off the men who were defending the union most freely.

CARDS MUST BE TORN UP

Following this, a conference with the leaders of the union the management is reported to have said that he had gone back on his original proposition that all those who worked in the mills must tear up their union cards in his presence. This report among the union people of course angered them all the more, and widened the breach between them and the management.

SUSPECTED SPY SYSTEM

About the same time, the president of the cotton mill union and another member are reported to have been interviewed by two men who represented themselves as International Union organizers, and who, as reports go, suggested to the president and his associate that strikes had been won by killing people and blowing up buildings, that they were not advising these men to do that, but such a course would bring the mill management to their senses, or something to that effect.

ORGANIZER ARRESTED

Upon this, the president of the union and the other man became suspicious and had one of the men who represented himself to be an organizer arrested. After arrest, this organizer secured the same attorney that represents the mill interest and made bond. This seemed to give the mill the impression that he was all the time only spying on them and was only working in this case to incriminate some of the leaders. This man is said to be out on bond now and his case will come up before the September term of court at Laurel.

FOREMEN ARMED

About this stage of affairs, there was an occurrence which set the mill workers on fire and came near causing serious trouble, according to reports. The mill management seemingly fearing trouble, it is said had in some way secured permission from the city authorities to arm some of his foremen. This he did and it is said that they worked men, women and children under armed foremen.

The leaders of the union forces resented this bitterly and say that they asked the Mayor and Chief of Police of Laurel to disarm these foremen which, the workers say, the officers refused to do, although it turned out later that they were armed by the authority of these officials, the report goes. It is said, too that these armed guards were not bonded, and that they would punch the fellows in the ribs with their guns for any sort of trivial offences even out on the ball grounds away from the mill.

The refusal of the officers to disarm these foremen resulted in a group of mill workers arming themselves, it is said, and proceeding to disarm them themselves. The officers seeing then that the men meant serious business agreed to disarm the foremen.

Following this, several of these foremen were charged with carrying concealed weapons, etc., and arrested. One was tried and convicted, appealing his case to circuit court along with all the others. Before the group of workers was formed to disarm the foremen, it is said that affidavits were made out against them and that the city officers refused to serve the warrants for their arrest, saying that the cotton mill could take care of its own affairs, although, as said above, these foremen were armed by authority from the city officials, the working people say.

MILLS CLOSE INDEFINITELY

A day or two before the Fourth of July notices were posted about the mill property, it is said, stating that the mill would be shut down indefinitely because of lack of demand for its products and the shortage of fuel.

OUSTER PROCEEDINGS

Another "fly in the ointment" of situation is the ouster proceedings which have been brought against the working people by the management of the mills. Several have been put out of the houses in which they lived, and cases are pending against nearly a score more.

Ugly charges and suspicions are voiced in the nature of these proceedings. In the first place, it is said that the management of the mills had stated his side of the case to the Rotary Club of Laurel and had secured from them a vote of confidence.

Later in these ouster cases in which the management of the mills would put the working people out of their houses, these Rotarians who had previously voted their confidence in his side of the controversy, were called in as jurymen, it is charged.

It is charged, too, by the defense in these cases, that justice of the peace under whom the cases were tried did not select a jury in the regular way, but made out a list of people whom he wanted on the jury and sent it out by the constable. On this list, it is said, were the names of Rotarians who had previously voted their confidence to the management of the mills.

DEFENDANTS WALK OUT

In the court of this justice a few days ago, the attorney for the defense filed a motion to have the cases transferred to the court of another justice. In his motion he gave the above and many other startling reasons for wanting the cases transferred.

The motion for this change was promptly over-ruled, and then the attorney and his clients filed out of the court in a body, refusing to go to trial, preferring to accept the verdict that they expected in that court and take an appeal to circuit court.

HELP IS COMING IN

It is a very recent occurrence that the public has known anything about true conditions among the workers in the cotton mill section. Some of the union leaders at Meridian got the information in some way and took the matter up with the mayor of Meridian.

The mayor of Meridian called the mayor of Laurel, regarding the situation and was informed that there was no suffering and that if Laurel needed Meridian's help she would call for it.

But this did not satisfy the Meridian folks, who got busy and raised money for relief work at Laurel, and last Sunday sent down something over $500.00 worth it is said.

CONDITIONS
Laurel, there can be no doubt if one will but investigate for himself. Some of these have been without work for three months. While they worked it took each week's wages to pay that week's rent. They had nothing saved up. They have in many cases had sickness. Widows have been idle from two to three months and during that time there has been more than one case of fever in the house at once.

Men, women and children are bare-footed. One grown young woman said she couldn't muster a pair of shoes.

Men by the dozen told the writer that there were sixty families, or more, that could not go but a day or two without help. There are over three hundred of these people, it is said.

Winter is coming and they are facing ouster proceedings. They say they cannot find other work and anyone knows it is hard to do. They say they cannot find other houses to live in, and couldn't pay the rent if they could. No wood and no coal in sight.

These people are "bone of our bone and blood of our blood". They are not transients or riff-raff. They are in a majority of cases native citizens of Jones and adjacent counties. Some of them have lived there 15 years, coming up there with the cotton mill industry.

They say they have never struck and are only out of work in defense of the principles of liberty for which

There is downright want in West Jones. County men are known to fight.