The strike situation yesterday. at! first appeared much more promising, for although overnight four big silk filatures had closed down, putting 2,400 hands out of employ: ment, it was stated that satisfactory: arrangements had been made and that all would resume work. It war stated that this strike was the direct result of labour organizations endeavouring to enforce a levy to which the workers were nct agreeable.
However, early in the morning, a serious state of affairs developed at the No. 4 Nagai Wata Kaisha Mill, chang Road, in the unhappy Pootoo Road district. The cause of the trouble seems to have been the appointment of a woman, native of Anhuei, to the position of assistant forewoman in the carding room of the No. 4 Mill, where the majority, of the workers are natives of Kompo. As a result the cay shift of employees, numbering about 900 workers struck yesterday morning. Had they stopped at that, there! would not have been much harm done, but they proceeded to do much damage to the mill property, even setting fire to the cotton on the machines and, as this flared up like inder, a call was sent to Pootoo Road.' Police Station and the emergency squad at Gordon Road depot were called out,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.