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Story Advice

Get advice from Seth Bancroft.

Although I am your overseer, I also am trying to look out for your best interests. I hear whispers that the girls are thinking of turning out - walking out of the factory in protest of lowered wages. Two things can happen to you and both are bad. A few years ago, about 70 girls at the Middlesex Mills turned out in protest. All were fired and all were immediately replaced by other girls looking for work. Let me show you a copy of a letter I have just received:

My Dear Sir.

Huldah J. Stone, a radical of the worst sort, intends to get a Boarding House and place in a mill in your city. I write this to warn you "to keep hands off of her." .

Yours most truly,.

Sam Lawrence.

I have entered her name on a blacklist circulated among the mills, so she will not be hired. This can happen to you if you joining the protest.

Copyright ©2003 Tsongas Industrial History Center, 400 Foot of John St., Lowell, MA 01852. E-Contact: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu.

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