The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-02-22
THE COTTON MILL PROBLEM.

Nr. p. J. Moran Of the Atlanta Con
stitution has been in New EnSlanl
studying the cotton mill proolenl' a.
intelligent female operative sad: IheSt
Massachusetts men denounced slavery
in the South, but they are trying 10 last
rnon lis white slavery She says
that the operatives are tlned 1or ha"s
in Goods and that the filming system :
nrocticcd so as to rob the operatives Oh
The higher wages they are supposed 10
.,at She gave a description of the nm
inc" which, if correct, II robbery.
Mr. Moran SAYS that. though the hours
are shorter in New England mills, the
tension IS 50 great that it is harder on
tho oneratives than the longer hours
where those i'll the mills can say a Woru
+, 4 fellow worker without beng DOCK
cd. Mr.. Moran says:
with the shorter hours demanded
and obtained by the men, came rhe
concurrent determination OF the mlll
men to compel their help TO gave that
increased service which had been
promised them in return. Inns
vigilance has been denounced by the
operatives as cruelty. but it was not
Intended as Such-it was but the
acceptance of Il situation which had
been forced upon them. There was
cruelty TO weak men and boys IN II;
there was barbarism toward the Wo-
men in it. bat the blow came from
their strong and lusty comrades who,
full of animal spirits and masculine
". took little heed of the weakness
of minors or the functional derange-
ments of women. AS neither class
could vote. they did not count for
much. 1t was in speaking with these
women that was heard the most pitt
full stories of enforced application
to work which reeled the brain and
exhausted the system. These
speeches cannot be made in public
ly told i'll private, but they point
union meetings.. nor are they Wiling
ont the necessary corollary of short
hours-and that is, an ~eNlaustlng
application to work and strain on the
mind. the evil consequences of which
can readily be surmised.
Take the nerve-wrecked and worn
Mrs. Pickering, for instance, with
her short hours. and compare her
WITH ilSt Sltttlui NIlltt"Doliii''t th
girl. with her long hours, as she
quits her days work, and the CON
trast will be seen at once"
1t is also shown that the recent re,
auctions in many mills means starvation
wages.
Discussing the proposition Of the Ark.
wright Tub to have Congress pass q
- -. 49, -. l H. State,
Mr.. Moran says hat the main purpose
of this is ito throw sand in the eyes OF
w~orkingmcn Of Massachusetts, and turn
them away from their effort to have
their wages elualized with 16 per cen-
dividends and $4,000 a year salaries t'
such sons of mill presidents as act az
t~reasurers of big corporations"
After showing the futility of Fedora
legislation for longer hours, Mr.. Moran
says:
But even if congress should be
induced to do so foolish a thing as
to adopt Mr.. Coverings idea, and
two-thirds of the States should unite
to give it effect, it would still fall far
short of the purpose aimed at. The
Raleigh News and Observer we'll re-
marks on this point that if Congress
had the right to regulate the work
ing hours in factories. and if it
should exercise that right. Mr.. o
cring would have to secure a few
more laws before he could destroy
the advantage the South enjoys. In
the first place. he would have to
move the equator nearer to Massa-
chuSette. drive out the native labor
of the South, destroy the magnificcnt
water power Of the South. make it
as cheap to live in Massachusetts
as in North Carolina. and change
the soil and climate of New Eng
land so that it would grow cotton.
Until these things are done. Mr..
Lowering may expect to sec the South
go forward, and New England fall
behind"
Mr.. Moran's observations throw
Hood of fight upon the mill question
and the labor problems of New England
and point to the fact that Southwar
the star of cotton manufacturing take
its way.