Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / June 7, 1908, edition 2 / Page 4
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CHAELOTTE DAILY OBSERVER, JUNE 7, 1003. HE COTTON MUX SOUTH rr-n? yrrTJUTKy MTIli AST CHILD. tip. OoMjcmlth Take TC the Allegation cf OooKy and Indecent Conditions and Freaenu the tSlwalion as lie wr b9 Dwbt That Mill Village lire Up' Xot) Ideal, But It Is Growing Better tad That Mill Ow n er Are Actively Engaged in Jdak lug It Better is lisuPniesteble- The Absurd Stories of "Maimed Babies" and Xl&it Work The Ac tual Extent of tb Labor of QUI drcn About t.SOO Between 10 and Years of Age Do Work -tit tbe South Carolina MUla Why This la Allowed by law tome Paten. Kvlla In Present situation Bat In provemcnt to Seen Everrwhrsre. Ths printed -page has weight with moat people. Black letters stamped upon whits paper have compelling authorltatlveness particularly It they are vehicles lor the communication of . minus or i disagreeable atones. Probably average memories re more retentive of evil tjan or gooa repon, not from any Inherent malice in hu man nature, but because evil, being less common, shocks us, and tnui produces a profounder impression ' than rood. From the time I began to plan -my trip South until the pres nt moment no New England acqualn tanceof mine who has. expressed tome an opinion or made Inquiry concerning She Southern factory situation has Called to comment or interrogate re yarding- some painful phase of it. Wttlla In South Carolina a gentle- man in whose veracity I have conn dence, president of a leading cotton factory, told me that a national offi cial, given to Informing himself about i all the affairs of tne nation, sent one of his ohosen Investigators, a woman and a ptoysiolah, to that State to look Into the matter of abuses in connec tion With the cotton mills. Every thing was done, eaid my friend, to facilitate her undertaking. She made an extensive tour. On returning to the national capital she reported to the high official. Whereupon, so goes the story, be said, with his accustom , ad broad geniality, "Those smooth- talking Southerners hsve been bam booslln you." The report of her In estimations has neter been publish ed. CIVIO FEDERATION TESTIMONY. If. after reading these articles, any ne should doubt the fairness' of my presentation of the case l recom mend ls reading an article In the Rational Civic Federation Kevlew of Mew York for July-August, litO, en titled "Welfare Work and Child La bor In the Southern States," by Miss Gertrude Berks, secretary of the wel fare department of the National Civic Federation. Of her the editor of the Kevlew says. In an Introduction to the article: "Miss lieeks not only frankly criticises where the employ rs are at fault, but also tells of their remarkable beneficent efforts. The qualifications of Miss Beeks for un dertaking such an Investigation are unquestioned. Probably no other woman in this country has had as wide, practical experience in dealing with all phases of the problems con nected with the employment of la bor, and provision for Its well-being in stores, mills, factories, mines or railroads and. In fact, wherever la bor is employed." SECRECY IN MANAGEMENT. Some Investigators into the condl tlona of the Southern mills end their surroundings have complained of the unwillingness of the management to receive them, or grant them prfct freedom for the pursuit of their un dertaklng. Let me begin by saying that reticence and even suspicion on tne part of managers under such clr rumstances is only natural. Manu facturers have their own industrial secrets. They are usually willing to aamtt tne representatives of the gov ernment statisticians, but these are under bond of secrecy. Manufactur ers cannot tell what motive brings aeekers after Information. This care fulness on the part of manufacturer Is universal. I found it thf name in Philadelphia and New York. Here in ffew England-the premises of the fac tories are guarded with special care. Entrance into mills In refuged to all persons not properly Introduced. In addition to this natural prudence, a certain sensltlvenops has been devel oped among tho of the South on account of hostile, criticism which was the reward of their firxt oourtenlen extended to Inquirers. Bpcaklnjr from my recent experience there. I not only aay that I had not the Hllrhtest dif ficulty In entering any mill to which X was inclined to 5jo, but my belief Is that the president ttnd superin tendents of them will welmme any properly introduced person whon ability and fairness are guaranteed. Everywhere I wan met by cordial goodwill and the word, "We are glad to see you, and we shall try to show fou everything. Our conditions are not perfect, but we bellevp you know tiow they came about and will give us fair treatment." OVERWHELMING INDICTMENTS MADE. Here are some of the current opin ions Ss to the sanitary conditions of the mill villages: ' They live In h usg Hot fit for beasts." "The mill vil lage is a section to ho ununited like the plague." "Shantytow n. vile, dirty, downtrodden." "Tuberculosis i of frightful prevalence." "When an au topsy Is held, the lungs are found to be filled with, lint." "And this at mosphere he breathes and fairly eat until his lungs become diseased." "Over mc vermin ha run; I have killed them on my neck and arms." "One doctor told me he had ampu tated the fingers of more than a hun dred babies." The factory "early carries hundreds out of lite, dl.-att ? rots the remainder." . This looks like a serious, lndnrd, an almost overwhelming. Indic tment. Most of the statements, too, are fnm a woman, a society woman, as she herself tells us. and to prove it she Informs ns that she laid aside cloth ing that she had been wearing, to the sralue of 1147. to put on a 19.45 outfit kef6re beginning her experimental Work as a wage earner. Tha first sentences quoted above, : relating to mill villages and houses, refer to the leading mill at Columbia, S. C. I need no more than set over against these hysterical passages a Paragraph, taken from a report al ready quoted, 'Cotton Manufacturers In Massachusetts and the Southern etates, made by the representatives f the Massachusetts Bureau of Sta tistics of Labor, page 71. and alluding to this very factory, the largest cotton mill in the world: - A MASSACHUSETTS VERDICT. "The mill owners have provided for their operatives a little city. of thei own, with a large department store. SiospitaL schools and churches, and asy there is no need for them to leave the grounds. There are frpm 00 to 00 cottages owned by the company, and In close proximity to one of the mills. They rent for CO eents a month . for a room. One roaa la employed to attend exclusively to tne renting, ana all other duties which appertain to such a position. - The houses are all p'astered, but from outward appear ances are not very Inviting for living apartments, and would not in any may appeal to the taste of tha North era operatives, .. Besides the schools n-nd ehurchesv there are kindergartens far b children, a club-room and a 1 :.j:S'oora Zorthe ensnares use. sjl built and owned by the company. They have their own fire department; police department and militia, com pany, la the latter the officials taks great pride, and It is. according to their statement, superior to any In the States." - - . , ,- - Factory villages are not conspicu ously beautiful, according to my own views, based upon those which I have seen. : One would not select them as places of resort for pleasure. The houses are "built on one model; they are painted the same color through out any given village. The painting is ordinarily done once In three years. As-a rule, they are new. painfully new. for all connected with the mills Is usually of recent creation; the trees and shrubbery are young, the streets are unpaved, the red or yellow of tne clay or sand which constitutes their surface Is not agreeable to the eye, and in appearance they are generally cheap looking. All this goes without saying. How could it be otherwise, at the beginning of an industry? Ev erything was to he done, and done quickly and economically. It was cheaper to build after one moael than after a dozen. THEY DENOTE PROGRESS AFTER ALL, Without maintaining then, that these villages are as good ss they might be, or that they are the Ideal place of residence,, let any one visit a few score of them, let him note the difficulties of each situation, and let him observe what has beeji done to improve their appearance. Afterward let him go to the houses and sur rounding in which the inhabitants of these villages formerly lived, and then let him make comparison. Also let him consider the mill villages South Carolina, with their yards, gardens, broad streets, pastures, bal grounds, paras ana tneir various in stltutions, in comparison with th slums of our crowded cities of the North, or the five or six-story wood en tenements in which from ten to fifty families exist In some of our manufacturing centres here. It Is needless to state the Inevitable con elusion which will be reached. On this point Miss Beeks wrote: "It may be stated that generally the premises are extremely neat in th cotton mill villages, and that only I the homes of the new arrivals from the primitive districts are the Interiors of the coUajs unclean. MAKING LIFE MORE WHOLE SOME. The management of every mill which I visited Is engaged In render Ing the village more sightly, the con dittons of life more wholesome an agreeable, and the education of the people more general and thorough At one factory gardeners were en gag ed setting out 4.000 rods of privet hedge, at another trees were being set out, and the president of this mill told ii ic that he usually spent about 1500 a year on shade trees, Ji edges grass and flowers. The older nun vii lages are attractive to the eye. I re call three in particular which are su perlor In appearance to some of the ordinary country towns or tne coun try in which they are located. One of these has fine, thick hedges along the streets and between the cottages, lame maples and water . oaks for shade, and abundant shrubbery and flowers in the yards. Surface drainage is the rule, though a few of the corporations have recent ly put In sewers. The villages are lo cated on rolling ground, to mane the drainage more complete. Tne com panics clean the streets, an-a see to it that the premises' re kept free from rubbish and filth. A little instruction and the example of the older rest dents of the villages operate well on the recent comers. In many of th villages there ere one or more model cottages, occupied by the young wo men In charge of the y. w. C. A work, furnished simply and economl rally, as an operative's house might be, to which the women and children are Invited. The examp'es arroroea by such concrete Illustrations are not wasted. I visited many nouses, ana looked Into others through the open doors, for the weather was warm; and not only are they better kept, more conveniently end comfortably fur nished than I expected, but In a man ner which showed their owners ca pable of development. Schools of do mestic, science exist in connection with the Y. W. C A. establishments Girls and young women are taught to cook and sw. The evil of bad cook- nK. common enough among the peo nle of the mills In the old days, is thus belli corrected. The matter of dress will tske care of itse.li with education, fashion papers, money, electrlo cars to take the people where thev can see others, the American feminine mind will look out for tho rest. THE STATUS OF TUBERCULOSIS. As to the "frightful prevalence" of uberculosls, there seems to be no around whatever for believing that hero Is more disease or any Kind in the mills or mill villages than else where In the same localities, except that enidemics can be rapidly spread there because of the mingling of the people In the factories; but tnis can be said of ail manufactories every where and of every kind, that bring ieonle into proximity In the same buildings. ' The ntatement ns to lint filling and choking the lungs cannot be substantiated. If It could ine, u would not show that any particular ntti.n ml h are hurttui in mis re nect. but that aU are. If they had been o deally on this account, would not our philanthropists here In rew England lwive discovered tho evil In our own mills? A FACTORY IS A DIRTY PLACE. I found that the air in tho Southern mills was noi wore than that in thouc f New England with which I am ac quainted. Tlic wrap methods of manufacturing and ventilating are common to them all. There are thou sands of people within a few miles of Boston who spend some nity nours a weak In cotton mills; and who, so far as I am ab'e to ascertain, receive no rlous lniury from tneir . occupation. That work In a,ootton factory is con fining and tedious, that the atmos phere Is full of dust, that there la ceaseless noise, while the machinery Is running, particularly 1n the weave rooms, none will deny. A factory Is factory everywhere; no a drawing- room, nor a lawn party. I'eopie go there to work. They are paid to work. Many other occupation are disagreeable, some painful, some dangerous; but most people must work, and most of them engage In the sslest and most pleasant they can get and hold. Those who work In the cotton mills do so oecause they must, not because they like the career. nd they are Incapable of doing much else. Experience teaches that both heie and in the South the factories do not crush and destroy, but that they discipline and develop, and thst when the social, religious and Intellectual opportunities keep pace with Indus trial progress, the children of the first operatives frequently obtain et. where what to them seems better employ ment than the factory afforda Not many of ths Southern mills keep records of vital statist lea but sn editorial in The Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association for March. HOI. cotnmeotJng on one of the older mill villages of the piedmont belt, which contains little short of i, 000 Inhabitants, and which I had the pleasure of visiting, says that during the last four years ths average death rate has been fire persons per thou and, according to the statistics a th president. . In another large , village near this one, where statistics have been kept hy the management the rate has been six per thousand lor a number of years. , - ' -.; THE "AMPUTATION STORY. As to the "amputation of the fin gers of more than one hundred ba bies," already mentioned, I 'hardly know what to say. Does such a state ment need to be denied? Does any sane net-sen believe that babies work in ml Us? Does anv one who knows how carefully modern cotton mill ma chinery is constructed, how entirely all the parts of the mechanism are covered, with a view to insuring the safety of the employes, credit such a fUtementT I had such stories as this li mlnd during my weary-mil s of tramping through mllla . I looked out for the fingerless, armless, legless, generally mutilated and deformed boys and girls about" whom I bad r.nd so much. 1 kept my eyes open In the mills, I assure you, as well as in the eohools where l.ja. v p.tr.ty of children Old enough to to at work and on the streets and plar groucda In general I found the toll it a. .aiij,' menu of the factories in hud condition for lack of adequate ventlla- tu'n ai.d lanitor service, altb.i'acb -,n most cases there is ample pri'fion In i her rebDtCts. To remelr the present defects the unremitting car cf the management will be nec etrary, as the operatives thf.nf.Nes sr 1'icxcusably careless. Kltva'.irs are not provided for ths help. While .hey would be a great assirsLo.t the girls and women, the prjbr.hili tv Is that they would not be ex ten sively used, as all desire to wait until the last moment and enter the mills with a rush. In such numbers that even a reasonably adequate elevator service could not rake care of them. One common nuisance that ought to be abated Is that of the great steam whistles by which the operatives are aroused In the morning, and the work in the factories regulated. They ran be heard for from five to ten miles, At a painfully early hour In the morn Ing 4:10 at this season they blow, and some of them keep this up for a much as Ave minutes, until a perjon unused to the noise becomes fairly frantic at such useless and wanton laceration of human nerves, all of which Is needless and the result of mere custom. AS TO VERMIN. The statement as to vermin being present In the homes of operatives i doubtless true. .There are several species thst are familiar to the Inhab Itants of mill villages, especially to those situated In the lowlands, where the climate is warm and damp. Tnee peets are Ihevltable in warm climates among the uncleanly, whether in city. town or country houses. The manu facturers therefore are hardly to be considered responsible for their pres ence in the villages attached to the mills, though they could do much to Improve matters by carefully plaster Ing all cottages, keeping the walls sound, cleansing and disinfecting ev ery house as soon as vacated, and en couraging the people to use an abun dance of boiling water, soap and in sect powder, in a numner oi tne vu lages the walls of the houses are plae tered with a wood fiber composition that is entirely satisfactory., and which, because of Its hardness, msy be readily and repeatedly washed, I am convinced that the statements purporting to show that work in cot ton factories produce the so-called mill pallor, anaemia, general listless ness, and subsequent breakdown are wholly erroneous and contrary to tne facts. I go even further and assert that. In the main, those who come from many localities in South Carol! na. North Carolina, Georgia and Ala bama, to work in cotton mills and live in the villages attached to them, gain steadily in healtn and strength from the moment of taking up their sew occupation and life. THE HOOK WORM DISEASE. The one chief aflment from which Southern mill operatives. In common with many others of their compa triots, suffer has not received proper consideration hitherto. I allude to the distressing and destructive un cinariasis (hook worm disease), which probably creates greater havoc In the Southeastern States than all other dls fases combined. The government Is about to Issue an exhaustive bullet in on mis subject. An article from the journal of the Houth Carolln Medical Association, y William Wes ton, M. D., of Columbia, tf. C, a practitioner of standing and much ex perience, appears elsewhere in this ssue of the Transcript. Dr. Viestort says further. In re sponse to a communication addressed to frim on this subject: 1. The anaemia which I have ob served In the cotton mills and other manufacturing establlshmens Is al most Invariably due to uncinariasis (hook worm), and not to malaria, or to the Inhalation of lint, etc., as Is churned by many. 2. Even without specific treat ment. Infected persons seem to Im prove after removing .from the coun- ry districts to the mill villages, be cause the means of the further In fection is removed, the hygienic con ditions are better, tho food condi tions are better, and the homes are better In the mill villages than m the country. 3. I have not found any cases that appeared to have originated In the mill villages. '4. From an economic standpoint. he disease Is easily cured, and I be lieve It would pay the managers of manufacturing establishments, which he disease exists to have those suf fering from It treated at the expense of the establishments." A score or so of companies are now taking steps to carry out these ingestions, by building modern hos pitals, and employing pnyslclans and horoughly trained nurses for the free reatment and care of their opera tives. ':.".. LAIiOR OF WOMEN HARMFUL. Public attention has been centred upon the labor of children In cotton mil's to such a degree that the labor of women has been overlooked. In my opinion, cotton mill work is more harmful to married women and moth ers than It is to boys, or even girls, of twelve years and upward. It is true that to the latter constant labor n a cotton mill means possible loss of educational opportunity: tout to the former It frequently means loss 'of health, as well as curtailment of op portunities for domestic and material mlnlstratlona Thirty-seven per cent of South Carolina operatives in If 00 were women, according to the United States census taken that year. How ever lamentable this may be. It ought not cause us to lose sight of the fact that 41 per cent, of the operatives of Massachusetts were women la 10, according to The staiistlcaisf our State bureau. The percenters of wo men operatives . bad decreased In South Carolina with every advance In wages, while K seems' to be sbout stationary here In Masearhusetta We of New England nave just Cause to regret the fact that 41 per sent, of the cotton mill operatives of Massachusetts are women, because In many of our factories the machin ery Is aatlquated and lacking in those automatic devices which minimise the strain upon human muscles and serves. la this respect Soutk Cardu ra la far in advance- of us. Many oi our women work In the spinning room - The. most exacting machine la a cotton mill, I - am told, and looks the part, is the mu'e. Of mule spindles Massachusetts factories con tain about two million end a half out of about eight million of ftotn kinds la the State. South Carolina mills, on the other hand, have only about four thousand mule spindles, out of total of somewhat less than four mil lion In the State., , - As bearing on the hours of tabor, one writer uses the following pnrase "The nourishment provided for these thlrteen-hours-a-day laborers." THE : CO-HOUR , A .WEEK. ' LAW '- .-.' , .OWE ED. However Ion tne hours of labor in -cotton factories during tne pauu they have been reduced to ten hours a aay. -at be a week, in soutn laro una, Dy a law enacted in lul. and now operative. Entering into or en forclna- a contract tor lunger nours is a misdemeanor, nunlshaole by line of from tzi to liuv. or lmprla onment for not more tnan thirty uays. This does not Include mechanics, en clneera. firemen, watcnuien. team sters. vard eniDloves or therlcal force, but only operatives working in the manutacturina departments. Tne common practice throughout the State at this season is to run from a. in. until 12 m.. and from 1 p. m. un til 6.4s p. m., tor live days each week. ana from 8 a. m. until is m.. on oai urdays. ' All the mills distribute the 0 hours per week in such a man ner as to aive a Saturday half-holl day. Occasionally some of the auto matic looms ars permitted to run our ing the noon rest hour, as they stop of themselves If a thread breaks Since. this is piece work a few of the operatives ordinarily men. return to the mill to tend them after an absence of 20 or 10 minutes. This is doubt less the origin of the story that mills run during the noon hour. In answer to my Inquiry as to whether the CO-hour law is violated. was Informed tnat it is not. The violation of this law would be too ob vlous snd easily proven, and too en tlrely opposed to the will of the op erativea even if managers were in dined to break it. A South Carolina mill president who has spent more than 110.000 for the betterment of the people of his village said he thinks there is no mill in tne state wmcn would dare to violate this law, for the reasons which I have given. MILLS DO NOT RUN AT NIGHT. None of the mills that I saw. run at nljht. So far as I was able to learn, not above half a dosen South Carolina mills have ever attempted to run at night. Tne operatives oppose night wrtrk, and the manufacturers say that It does not pay as the night product is always interior, me ma thinerv needa rest, ana mere is tendency to neglect the care of the machinery when two different shifts have control of it. Thus falls to ground a whole family of misstate ments regarding the working of men, women and children at nignt. A well-known writer and publisher put out a pathetic Btory of a little child working through the entire night in a Southern mill, and needing to be forced back to the machines, it hap pened that one of the mills which visited was the scene of this sup nosed tragedy. I called the president' attention to It, and asked him what he had to say. He answered: "I have been' connected with this mill from the day in which the ground was broken for the erection of the first building, more than twenty years sgo. I am willing to make oath that no mill of my company has ever run a single night, and I can produce dos ens of operatives, now living in this village, who have been here since the beginning, and who would De glad to substantiate this statement o mine." THE STATUS OP CHILD LABOR. Probably 1,700 Children Between the Agsm of I J and it working in the 31111s of South Carolina The Diffi culties of the Situation. I am now prepared to take up the matter of child labor, the discussion of which has been postponed until this time with the thought that all the previous information which has been set forth regarding the mills. the villages, the origin and customs of the people, and hours of labor in general, would aid to a Detter under standing of the position of children In southern mills. I present a few of the random opinions which have been current for some years. Side by aide with them shall set forth what I believe to be the facts. Then' I shall proceed to present ths result of my own in vestlgatton: - 1. It is stated that the childron work at night, thus arises the neces sity of "throwing cold water Into the faces of the children to keep them awake." I have explained that only the very exceptional Southern cotton mm runs at nignt. Miss jseeics coin Cldes with this view. 2. "Do you know that In your mills In South Carolina to-night, as we sit here, little children are work ing at the looms and frames little children, some of wnom are not f years old?" As to "to-night," see above. While thinking over this paragraph 1 called up an officer In one of the Massachusetts mills and asked him as to what he thought about the statement that children of I years work at looms. He answered That is cieany a misstatement: it is Impossible." It should also be noted that s -year-old children cannot be profitably employed at the spin ning framea 1. "Children are naif starved. stunted and deformed." I saw no such children snd I examined some thousands of them, though they were to be found mainly in the schools, or on the streets or play grounds. As to being "half starved;- If they were so, their parents alone were blajn able. ' 4. "No child who has ever work ed In mills has ever learned to read and write. V Mr. Kohn, already mentioned in a previous article, who made a tour of the mills of South Car olina, carried a tablet and secured autographs of children in mills and their vl lieges. He says "about ths only children I found who could write their names, and In connection with some little sentence that I asked them to put on my pad. were those who had come Into South Carolina from neigh boring States. At every child I asked to writs on my tablet could do se. At aU that I asked could write with the exception of one little chap," He called the names of the mills In both these cases; but I prefer not to do so, as I am not mentioning any mills by name, J am acquainted wltn each of them- Miss Beeks entirely refutes the statement that mill children do not learn to read and writs, ' ' SCHOOL ENROLLMENT STATIS- TICS. .... As bearing on this point, the fol lowing fscts are Interesting. . More than one-half of the total spmdlage of South Carolina Is found In the ad jacent counties of Greenville; Spartan burr. Anderson and Union, situated In the piedmont belt. Ifithe children of the' mill people, who 'constitute so large a percentage of the population of these leading manufacturing coun ties, were so illiterate, the. State school census ought to exhibit the fact. Nevertheless, - although ths school enrollment : of the State was " '21. per cent,- ox - the total population In !(, the school enroll ment of Greenville county was 21.9, of Spartanburg. 25.1. of Anderson, 22.S, and of Union, 1 0.1, or an aver age for the four chief cotton mill counties of 25.7, as against an enroll ment of 1 40 in New York, 11-07 in Massachusetts and 1M4 in Michigan, Furthermore, to make the compari son complete, the school statistics ef four counties, with few or no cotton factories, ought -o be set aide by side with those of the four main cotton mill countiea Take, i for example, Orangeburg. Sumter, among the lead ing agricultural counties of the State: Colleton and Horry. Orangeburg has a school enrollment of 2t. percent. or ms population, Sumter Zl.l, Colle ton ll.t, and Horry 21.2 or an aver age for the four, counties of 21. , as against 25.7-per cent in the cotton mill counties. These statistics are taken from the South Carolina hand book for 1907, prepared by a State Officer. Who would have nn to juggle the figures so as to favor any community or Interest. 6. 'The cotton mill child can not oeveiop to the strong, normal work ing man or woman." Thousands of sirung. normal, working men and wo men who becan their ton mills as children are to-day Uvlns on..!n. farn,s ' the towns, and In the mm vuiages or South Carolina. Children kicked by overseers." Sometimes he takes the children Out Of (heir bads. ant Vrtnn back to the mills." These statements are not applicable to the general situation. There may be brutes em ployed as overseers; ut they are ex- kcptiunai. 7. 'A child in a mill never speaks to anyone." Naturally loquacity by employes Is dlscouraesd. A mill is not a sewing-bee. Vt the children whom I saw In the mills were ready to bow to me. and smile, or chat wnen t encouraged them to do so. uuiaiae tne mills they were some times uncomfortably demonstrative. 8. "Here and there tottera a utrlo child. Just learning to walk; It runs na craw is tne length of the mill I no allusion Is. to a , baby whose mother was at work In the snlnnins room. I have already spoken of the lamentableness of mothers working In mills. This case of a child of tender years plavlns In a cotton fae tory while Its mother worked may have been witnessed. If bo,-'it was distressing, but exceptional. I saw nothing of the kind. THE LAW AND ITS EXCEPTIONS An enactment of the General As sembly of South Carolina, which be came effective in Mav. 1908. stinu lates that "no child under the age oi n years snail ne emp'cyed in Buy xactory, mine, or textile establish ment of this State, save at herein after provided." If the law had omitted the v.-orJU of the exception. it would have been more effective though its rigid enforcement would perhaps have wvrked occasional hardship. The exceptions are In the cases of children under 12 years and over 10, whose widowed mothers or totally disabled fathers are depend ent upon their earnings for support, or of orphans who must live by their own exertions. This law. lame as it la has improved the situation to a marked degree. Still, there are prob ably as many as a thousand to 1,200 children, between 10 and 12 years of age, working In the cotton factories of South Carolina. This Is an est! mate only, based on the statistics of the State commissioner, but a fair one, I think. The managers claim that all those children have present ed certificates from magistrates, stat ing, upon the oaths of parents, guar a tans, or "persons, standing In loco parents that they come within the provisions, of the exceptions noted above. This may be true! I trust It la ' The difficulty, however, Is that the law Is weak, and that It takes up the matter In the wrong wsy. The only child labor law that would completely cover the case would make It a misdemeanor with penalty to admit any child to a mill, on any pretext whatsoever, who is not of 12 years or some other stipulated age. As If Is, parents msy take advantage of tha exceptions provided by the law, as likewise the managers, If they will. Again, young children whose names do not appear on the pay rolls may be found In mills helping the older members of their families, who, as they are paid by the piece or "side," receive the additional wages in their names. Besides, this law like all others similar to It takes up the-matter at the wr.mg end. Only by compulsory education and a child labor law can this matter be regu lated uniformly and fairly. A com pulsory education" law applies to all children, and operates among the farmers, miners and factory employes alike. South Carolina has not a com pulsory -education law, no inspection of factories and other manufacturing establishments that comes within the provisions of the law, no registration of births, and hence commonly no way of establishing the age of any person. MILL. OWNERS FAVOR OOMPUL- . SORT EDUCATION. It will be interesting to know In this connection that the Cotton Man ufacturers' Association of South Car olina is committed to (1) compul sory education; (2) the registration of births; (2) a marriage license and registration law, which does not ex ist to-dav' ft) and tha rslslnor of the age at which persons may marry. Many manufacturers are opposed to the employment of very young chil dren, certainly of those under 11, on economic as well as moral grounds; yet they find It difficult to accomplish any considerable result without a compulsory education law. Numerous cases exist where manag ers who refused the request of par ents to employ their children lost the services of the families, as they at once went to another mill. THE CHILDREN AT WORK. In my tour through those Southern cotton factories- which I visited. I saw children In every , mill usually employed In all the ' manufacturing epartmenta save the picking rooms. The girls were engaged In spinning. and the boys in the same occupation, or in sweeping, doffing or stitching. saw a few children who seemed to me to be under 12 years of age. In one spinning room I saw perhaps IS girls and boys who appeared to be between 12 and 14, and possibly a few under 12. In one or two mills I saw no children whom I Judged to be under 12. The great difficulty Is to ascertain the age of any child. .A parent who is willing to put a young child below the legal age to work In a factory, usually succeeds In over coming; any little refractoriness of conscience, and makes the child" 12 years old. no matter when It was born. This is equally true In Massa chusetts, if one may Judge by ap pearances,: since some very young looktnr children are employed In our cotton mills here. . . ' A few manarers keet vital statis tics of their mills, and will not em ploy children under age. ir they know It. I know of one rase where each , head of a family who comes Into the vtlisge to work signs a con tract to send the children to school until they reach the age of.lt. i FARMERS OPPOSE COMPULSORY - EDUCATION. That there have been abuses of child labor In South Carolina, I do not doubu That a considerable cum ber f children working In the mills there are under 12 ears of age is admitted. It is claimed, howeyer, that these are working accordinc to the previsions of the .law. owing to tneir neeay condition. - on the other hand, tne people , of the State are awake to the baleful possibilities of child labor. . Conditions are improv ing each-year. The necessary laws, to which I have alluded, are . being urgently demanded all over the State. The compulsory education bill has been opposed by the farmers repre sentatives, on the ground that It will take the white and the - negro chil dren alike out of the fields and put them in schools, and to the law pro viding for factory inspection, on the ground of expense. A birth registra tion law, which is sorely needed, will bear fruit only after some years; but one will doubtless be passed within a year or two.-..-:. . -.. ' . . The presence ef children in schools which will be fully exhlbrced In my next article on welfare work and pro hibition, will show still more fully how the condition of mill children In South Carolina Is.- being constantly Improved. : 4 '"..... McGRAW-YARBROUGH CO. (Incorporated) , ' ; . ' RICHMOND, VA. The Monroe Doctrine Guarantees the integ rity of the nation. The Monroe Rc difcped Roofing Tin guarantees you the best roof you can buy. Write for Prices- 'Architects Specify. . 9-11 S. Eighth Street X33 MM MRS.R0SA F. MONKISH.I.LD. rSTSlCUl AND SCKSBOS e4ato aa mntaW erMttelCltal C.lnriitr Oim, eanuai i aorl mem JnSnwr tat Wonm. Sarmsfl itnm ol)Ma4 BmriM. wTockicil0lta btUctli Mlt.Ma4Srt;rT. Atteateiaol! !l for Wm. Swllst SWfBUF. - 1 MS ruHisu, suasia, FASSIFERN Lincolnton, N. C, A preparatory home school for young girls. Principal, MISS KATE C. SHHP, Teacher's Diploma, Cambridge University, England. Address during summer . MRS. A. C. McBEE. Lincolnton, N. C. The Davis White Sulphur Springs HIDDEJiTTE,. N. O. New Hotel and "Annex." Newly Furnished; Electrlo Lights, Sewerage. Cold and Hot Baths. Fine Mineral Waters White Sul phur. Iron and others. On Southern Railroad from Charlotte to Taylorsvllle, CO miles northwest of Charlotte, IS miles west of Statesvllle. Two through trains dally from Charlotte, leaving Char lotte 7:15 a. m. and 5:11 p. m. Near foot of Brushy Mountains, ' about 1,100 feet above sea level. Healthy Location. Good Physi cian in Hotel. Bell 'phone connection direct. Board' for May, June and September, $18 to tl per month; IS to IT per week, and July and August, $S to per week, or $11 to $11 per month. Write for Illustrated Booklet- ( DAVIS BROS., Owners and Proprietors ; V - HIDDENTTE, If. C . ' A A ii mum All Good Giuiraatood Under Pur Food Law Wkv smtmI sear . Ms-oodawhmtottosssMtneneyroscaa straight article! Look toe tho Purs Poos' Ousrsntoo which J And An all mi, imk k -- aknrh to ireo. 1 direct VBoaroaerdsr tribute te the nmtMr. and fssrantee snttofactina, - or nnnar rvfnndad. rim i V. niiiin eWn. bmmU -1 m lino Iota. RmkUt- arannLnta liat ' Oalirt oiunod below we msito rood kmmm Watom Cheat the world ami, ft A a Baa raaa El ktsise (old core whbkejr) t0 ponsld Kennr Halt Whiskey (sMdldnal).. S.U BlooRMse (Vasooantain)..... 4.SS Huron Hirer Rye. extra fine Cbottled fat bond) ... .... 1.96 Dr. LeBarroB a Bach a Gin fanortirlnsl) .... ... J Kelly's Rorel Corn (the finest) Kelly's Copper Distilled (botued In bond) 12S KeUy's Medicinal Hart (bottled is bonii. ............ S- Mia Tempting CAjMet Mary )od rye)- 4.M On prepsM bottled list tnld foods k stripped ' at prices (looted. I talloa t-year-old Ken tacky 1 I ll I salloa S-rear-old North Carolina Cera... PUT TIP L sol too Holland Gin IN STONI I 1 rUo Extra Fhie gharry j uus. .11 r&iKm forta mea Kitm . . SAFELY 1 lamlloe Extra Good Port Wine.. PACKED 1 mlloo 4-year-old Maryhtnd Peach Brandy IN PLAIN 1 salloa S-rear-old Vinrfnla Apple Brandy CASE. I SPECIAL OFFU . . ALU I S rsiMB CM Norta Carolina CHARGES A rations Old Kentucky Bre FKXfAlD I talions Fine Gia N 1 nilons Apple or Peach Brandy. eiamUofiaaiaitaarahfm , BMd la Saectsl Offer ars eatfred ss On orders wart of the sfleslaalppt. add Km addttione for each 4 quarts. excaptKaTlr's Copper Instilled (bottled ia bond en which for order outside of Vsrainla, th Caralinae, Goorsri and Alabama. Maryland and Paftrtet oi Coiiimhia. add Be fag 4 quarts. 7e tot a snarta, aw iw tm a quarts. Sty WMstdea f f.w0,,"-?? I Osceola .'"too. on una caen l rMamond "".. . Am a. aaa.A. . . -r" -" Malar CfanTart.. Neither tor do we i Z. Cera Wkiskey SnSScMasainbreak Bceerkaav , . Old North Stats.. ...... Z.. Oat Valla . Settled im Bead Atoroa SUvea, t pts. 41 1 TEE FFX fi. KELLY C3., Inc. v HAIL CKD EES Leeal sad Lon 'ldlSLMsia CRSJH!j,I5 "stik: Tjrtjo stores CROWED WITH SUFFERERS. - ' Tot several weeks psst Jordan's and ether leading drug stores tn this elty have bees crowded with persons desiring a supply of poslam, the new cure for . enema. This is the drug which has -created such a stir throughout the coun try since Its discovery one year ago. t For the convenience of those who use .. , ' iwi riiu(titii, VIICKafiQI,' 9IUICI1C, red nose, acne, herpes and other minor uuuuin, ppociai su-ceni pm:a has been adopted, in addition to the sec ular two-dollar jar, which la now on sale at all leading drug stores. in ecsema cases, posiam stops tne itcn Ing with first application and proceeds to curing uinmio emm in iwu wmkb.. In minor skin troubles, results show af ter an overnight application. For a free , experimental sample, write direct to the Emergency - Laboratories, 12 West Twen- ty-nftnstreetNsw, York City. NEW AT,iSTERDlf.I HOTEL 4tk A. A aut &. i NewYerk Barepesa Pisa . . Booms wit sss of Bth n and ss. With nrV Tie luufc SS tot ess, SaM (or two sod spwanL, New Baths and Plumbing - th Cwmimt Uftion is Cur . Frois SM 8tr ranrasd fsrrlrs or from Arand :itnu ttnifni tsss ears ousoi is aoisn bo Special Katea Made'' DAY S and your era vine for liquor la i . gone If you take the NlcKonno Cure - There Is aone like It offered anywhere outside of McKanna'e. No Dangerous After Effects' Call or write THE McKANNA S-DAY LIQUOR CURE CO. Yhone 184, '- . JSsldsvllIe, N. O.'". and Drug Act. sioaer for eonmeadsd from na Woarowfcot isai Uoods Sntpnon ta Mat. ssmL - Write for SDOCH and full Ittformntioa msilsd OB MinM. ! braaajao. , ever)........ '.. wia ivia nun. ts.10 $8.at $ toe Wltk IH ante at 4.W lit T M T.6S CM T U W It OS 11.W 1160 10.00 lltS Se 10.16 Rye.... Ss ( s e see esjeeao ALL CHARGES ft2.nO REPAID tt-SS . Las F Hi I-r 1.0 Cora ..S5.00 ( 00 100 ta plain SEG8 WITHOUT . CASINO .... too slala cbhs, add t0esaa,asdtScoa4sl . - v pts. . plats eoai ISo an TU - 14a (to - -f u -- . - - 1 lot , is . Ue tSe 1 - at . kttan. . ,HL3Stlps,S4te SrS2?3 El ICCIS PSOWTLT TILLED Pwtanos Phone list Vs. J n rroett. Ill til J WW I'll
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 7, 1908, edition 2
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