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Show I ILL OMLR GIKENJpi Textile Workers Greet Company Com-pany Head, Who Is to Lead Fight on H. C. L. LAWREXCIQ, Mass., Dec. 17'. Lawrence Law-rence ytreel.3, in which were staged the textile strike riots oi 1912, were Lhe scene of a different demonstration today, when thousands of mill workers, left their spindles and looms to greet William M. Wood, president of the American Woolen com nan v. Masses of men. women and children, operatives from the four plants of the company here, welcomed the company's com-pany's head. President Wood came as an apostle of lower living costs. His visit was to hold a conference with the chamber of commerce com-merce in connection with his demand that the retail' prices of necessaries be reduced. re-duced. He had announced that unless such a mark-down were made he would set up a large general store, at which American Woolen company employees could buy at cost all necessaries. The operatives who greeted him today are receiving the highest wages in the history of the textile industry and' in some cases their appearance showed corresponding corre-sponding improvement. The women, who predominated in. the crowds, included many wearing coats of fur. There were others who represented the pinched, thinly-dressed operative of other years and many who had come out of the mills in their working clothes, but most of them made tho occasion a holiday, wearing their best and cheering the company head.1 The mills of the company had opened as usual. An hour later the workers began be-gan to leave their looms, the word having hav-ing gone around for a day or two that President Wood was coming "to cut down living costs.'' Within a few minutes the exodus of operatives left the plants almost without help and the whirr of the machinery ma-chinery was stopped. Later, after a brief speech, Mr. Wood proceeded to the conference with the merchants, mer-chants, while the workers began to drift back to the mills. , The business men of the city protested at the conference against the charge that thy had been profiteering by advancing prices each time that wages were raised. President Wood, requesting ti-at all the statements which the merchants could make to prove their contentions he submitted sub-mitted to him In writing, said his information infor-mation that local prices were unreasonably unreason-ably high was "voluminous"' and was : specific as to places, prices and names. To the request of the chamber of commerce com-merce that Mr. Wood' make public his figures, he replied that he wished first to compare them, with the figures submitted sub-mitted by the merchants. It was 'agreed to draw up a statement in behalf of the business men which will be presented to President Wood. The conference was adjourned without Immediate result. .... |