Article describing the scope of the Great Textile Strike of 1934 in Rhode Island, in the midst of the Great Depression and the decline of the New England textile industry. The impact of the strike's upheavals on Rhode Island life in the 1930s. The role of the United Textile Workers (UTW) labor union in the nationwide strike, its organization in Rhode Island, and its impact on other labor unions - especially the National Textile Workers (NTW) and the Independent Textile Union of Woonsocket (ITU). Localized outbursts of Rhode Island violence and the context for their occurrence. The strike's implications for Rhode Island politics. Illustrated in black and white photographs.