On Monday at Manchester the employers and men in the
cotton trade held the first sitting of their new joint conference. Originally the employers had asked the men to accept a reduction of 121 per cent. in wages and a return to the former working week of 52f hours. The men decisively rejected those proposals, but it is a strong proof of their patience and fairness that they have con- sented to a new conference to hear " without prejudice " what the employers may have to say in favour of a reduction in wages. The employers' proposal was that a reduction in wages should be coupled with a plan for giving full productive effect to the forty-eight hours' working week. This means that there would be a read- justment of " cleaning. time," by which the forty-eight hours' week was reduced to something less. It has been said on behalf of the men that apart from a new " cleaning time " arrangement they might even consider a reduction of wages if they could be guaranteed more continuous employment. The cotton trade is always true to its tradition of being slow to wrath ; but to outsiders it seems impossible that there shouli be a new era of pros- perity for this over-capitalized and disjointed industry unless it is reconstituted.
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