regularly went down by 20%. In the summer of 1914, $2.00 was promised but only $1.80 given, and in the autumn it went down 5c more, and it was at this lowest figure that it remained through the summer of 1915. In the lumber camps around Lake Vermilion, where some 3,000 men were employed, the monthly wages that winter averaged between $15 and $25, plus maintenance, instead of the normal $26 to $45. Some have stated that many men were even forced to work for $13 per month, and that even from that sum another dollar was still deducted for medical care, and that in fact some men did not receive more than $8 in cash per month for their work. Now and then there had been demands for higher pay, and occasionally it had been granted, but in general the demands were mere aspirations. After the mining strike, however, definite demands began to be made, and on 23 November 1916 the Sosialisti explained the situation in the following terms:

"Here at Camp 32 we were able to have our demands satisfied, due to a united front and good organization. We demanded the firing of our incompetent chef, who could not cook food fit to eat. The boss did not even listen at

first, but we nailed a declaration on the door, stating we would not go out to work until we got decent food. The result was that the food promptly got better, and a new cook was promised as soon as possible. All this began on the initiative of our IWW boys, and the rest of the workers joined in. We will certainly be able to have our other demands met as well, just so long as we all stick together. But remember, before that we must all join the same big

union. What has gone on in our camp proves this."

With examples such as this to lend encouragement, the first steps toward a strike proper were made in Virginia at the end of 1916. A mass meeting had been held, and the following demands were agreed upon: a raise in pay of 25c for every man; a complete end to all work on Sundays : cutting work down to 8 hours on Saturdays, to be ended by 5 P.M.; the changing of work shifts every week; the re-hiring of all workers who were union members.

The Teollisuustyöläinen (Industrial Worker) of 27 December 1916 stated that "these demands are not impossible to force through, and we can force them through more quickly if all the workers stand united, all for one and one for all."

A further meeting was held the day the above demands were published, and at that time it was decided to go on strike immediately if all the demands were not met. The day after that, management replied that the terms were unacceptable, and so the Virginia sawmills were on strike on the 29th. The strike proclamation was speeded to the lumber camps, and it met with a sympathetic response everywhere. The Teollisuustyöläinen, of

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