After receipt of your telephonic communication this morning I called a joint meeting of the principal mill men of the City, with the Mayor¹, City attorney², Sheriff³ and myself present. I stated frankly and candidly your position in this matter to the effect that if the proper authorities of the City and County called upon you to do so you would send sufficient troops here to strictly enforce order and obedience to the law; but at the same time you would publish a statement to the people of North Carolina that it was your opinion that the conduct of the mill owners in refusing to allow union labor to work in their mills was indefensible; but, on the other hand, that in your opinion the labor had the right to organize for its protection just as capital did, and that should the mill owners win in this fight, their victory would be short lived and fruitless.

After hearing this statement it was the opinion of the City and County authorities that it would be unwise to call for troops under these circumstances, as the officials believed that your declaration, as above stated, would not only nullify the effect of sending troops here but would stimulate the strikers to renew acts of violence, and probably induce the troops to not only sympathize with the strikers, but connive at their violence. Of course, the authorities may have been wrong in this conclusion, but as they were all unanimous in expressing this view, they concluded to try to enforce order and obedience to the law with the meager police force, the sheriff and his deputies without asking for troops to assist them. Up to this time there has been great violence on the part of the strikers so that the conditions in certain mill sections is in a state of riot and insurrection and jeopardizes the life and limb of all people entering this prohibited zone who are not friends to the strikers, and it was this situation and this alone that prompted - the City and County authorities to take action with the sole view of enforcing obedience to the law, in order that every citizen in the County might be protected in the privacy of his home, and the liberty to go and come as he pleases. Neither the City nor County authorities have by any act or word taken the side of either of the contestants in this unfortunate situation, as they felt that to do so would weaken, if not destroy, their influence in preserving and enforcing the law.

The writer urged the mill representatives present to suggest to the leaders of the strikers an arbitration with a view of amicably settling the differences between them, if possible. This suggestion, while taken under consideration, was not, ancould not, be acted upon until the mill representatives submitted the matter to the board of directors. What the outcome will be is hard to foretell, but I greatly fear that the mill owners will stand firm in their position that they do not propose to be dictated to by a walking delegate from New Elgnald, which is the sum and substance of the demands of the operatives. They would not be averse, as we understand, to the mill operatives having their own local unions to be controlled exclusively by them, and not by outside influences, but they say, with a show of reason, that they do object to having their business controlled by irresponsible, non-tax paying foreigners, who are in the game simply for graft, and not for the good of the mill operatives. We confess that the situation to our minds is very grave as it is but a symptom of the general state of unrest and dissatisfaction pervading throughout the country among the wage earners, and that too at a time when it is claimed they have less cause to complain that they have ever had. We fully realize the gravity of the situation, and the great trouble and difficulty in coping with it.

We believe, however, that an arbitration of the differences here between the owners and the operatives, if left to the sound discretion of level headed men of backbone and integrity is the solution of the situation. However, in this we may be in error. I am very sorry not to be able to give you a more encouraging report, but it is much better to look the situation in the face than to dodge it.