The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-10-21
LABOR STATISTICS.
f.o'" Inc Adv.ncs Sheets af stats Labor
D"n"issionsr-some Istsrsstinx Facts
Obtained.

From The Advsnce Sheets of s.~.. r~.a
some Ist.r,s,,nx r.r,,
Obtained.
FROM advance sheets Of the repor-
OF State-Labor- or-Commissiouer J. Y
Hamrick forths current yeai some in.
terestinR facts are obtained. Hesa,,
this State is. .one of the leading cottor
manufacturing States of the Union
and no other State in the South car
show within BOG, 900 the number O.
spindles (save Georgia and Sou.l
Carolina). The mills, one-third o.
which run day and night, can spir
moro than the States product. tn,
aggregate horse power is $500, 900
capable OF running LAC, ,000, 600 spin
dies. Wages of cotton mill opera
tlves are much lower than those paid
North, and there are no laws regu
lating the hours Of mill labor, which
rests on the same basis as the labor
er on the farm, in the forest, and in
the mine. The cotton mills are il
forty-eight counties, and have "a.
62l looms and l, ,0lG, 147 spindles; be.
sides twenty. five hosiery mills, with
!,4lO knitting machines. and two
dyeing and finishing mills. In these
mills there are employed 26,2S7 per-
sons, of whom 8 448 ere men, I2.O7(
women, and 5 1863 children, and there
Is in use about 43, 900 horse power.
The average wages paid skilled
male operatives exclusive of ma.
chinists, engineers, firemen, and su'
perlntendents) are Sill per day; f,
unskilled, G6 cents; skilled wo.
men, 81 cents; unskilled, 46 cents
children, "a cents, the general aver.
age being IS cents a day for 1897
against 81 cents day for 1896. Oh
the smills reporting, 934 per cent
report an increase in wages, 3I1
a decrease, and the remainder nc
change; 81 per cent. charge employ.
ees house rent, while 4G per cent
make no charge. The hours of Ia
Dor average III. The mills were
in operation on an average last yeal
2SS days.
ABUNDANT HELP.
There appears to be an abundance
of mill labor in the State. There il
no antagonism between the employer
and the employed. The employee.
are better satisfied than any Other
class. The hours of labor are being
settle | by the persons interested,
and neither class favors legislation
for in answer to inquiries on this
point only 5 per cent, are in favor
of legislation. There are no strikes
favoritism, dissatisfaction, or un
just decisions. Ninety-four per cent
ofsthe mills report sufficient relig
ious advantages for employees. al
most all the mills haye churches fol
their employees, ard in a great many
cases officers AID stockholders o1
mills are tea ching operatives in Sun
day schools. The pastors Of suct
mill churches are better paid thar
those of country churches, or in some
cases, even better than thoss Of city
churches. AS to the financial con
dition of operatives only per cent.
of the reports say it is bad. The per.
centage of children employed in
mills who can read and write has in
creased from &c IL per cent. to 8s
per cent. this year.
There are newly-chartered mil a
Taylorsville, Concord, Cherryville
Gastonia, Lincolnton, Charlotte
Milledgeville, Spray, Waxhaw, ani
Huntsville-eleven in all. There
are mills heretofore unlisted at Mt
Pleasant, Prosperity, Staley, Ran
dleman, and Yadkin Falls. Their
are mills now in course of construc
ton or just completed at Taylors
vile, stubbs, Fayetteville, Troy
Hillsboro, Rutherfordton, Albemarl,
and Henderson nine in all.