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Newspaper Page Text
TWENTY THOUSAND LAUNDRY WORKERS PREPARE TO STARV EIN FIGHT TO BETTER CONDITIONS New York, Jan. 2. Twenty thonsand women and girls, work ers in the hand and steam laun dries of New York, quit work today. 'W Between 13,000 and 15,000 ad ditional workers will go out to night. Eighty per cent of the hand and steam laundries of New York already have been closed by the strikers, and there is every likeli hood that every such laundry will be closed before tomorrow night Scenes are expected that will rival those that marked the strike of the shirtwaist workers when thousands of young women and girls faced hunger and death rather than submit to the fright ful conditions under which they were forced 'to work. For the laundrymen, it is said, have immense financial backing from Western financiers who were about to merge the large New York laundries into a "laun dry trust." And the workers say they no longer will bear the horrible con ditions that have been imposed upon them. They say that they, too, can suffer and hunger and die, as did ) the shirtwaist workers. Conditions under which the laundry workers are employed are said by the workers them selves to have heen in some re spects worse even than those de scribed by Upton Sinclair in his terrible expose oi the Chicago stockyards. The vast majority of the work ers are women and girls. They demand a ten-hour day, with an average increase of 15 per cent. At present they are' forced to work 12 hours from 7 to 7 every day, whatever overtime may be demanded by their employers. OF INTEREST TO LABOR Muscatine, la., Jan. 2. No ar rests today by the Muscatine cotm'ty authorities following the return of 30 hills, by grand jury. Considered certain that a number of qnionists active in button workers' strike are involyed. Gadjllac, Mich., Jan. 2. Post office department at Washington has ruled that Michigan law which forbids employment of wo men more than 54 hours a week or more than 10 hours in any one day nms,t be obeyed by postmast ers in this state. Pyiadejphia, Jan. 2. Wages of moormen and conductors on street cars increased one cent an hour. Danville, IJ., Jap. 2. Labor leaders summoned to appeat be fore Judge Wright tomorrow and show cause why injunction se cured by Illinois Central against strikers shall npt be made perma nent. Hearing will probably be postponed on application of union The can-opener is the perfect altrust. It does the work and takes none of the soup.