The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-12
Cotton Mills south and East.

the South. 1tS advantages ana ulSau-
vantages and prospects for the future,
but wish to say at the start that my
Investigations were not so thorough as
to detail as could be wished. Still, a
fair idea Of conditions was obtained
and the conclusions will be found. |
think, to be fairly correct.
[ reasoned before | started that the
main point to be considered was til c
efficiency of the Southern operative
Was he equal to the Northern op-
erative, or likely to develop equal
skill?
If he is not equal or incapable of
reaching the same degree of skill as
our operatives, then Southern compe-
tition does not amount to much, ex-
cept temporarily, but if the Southern
mill help is of as good material as our
help here, there is no reason why the
South snould not take up any line of
cotton manufacturing and make sue
cess Of it, and at a lower cost than
would be possible at the North.
Now, as far as my observation went.
the Southern operative was doing
about as much work as ours here, and
doing as good work. [ have seen no
better running mills anywhere than
some of those visited in the South.
And when got at in detail, it was
found they had no more help than
would be the case in a we'll regulated
mill here.
The speeds of the various machines
were fully as high as usual here.
In appearance they compared we'll
with our help in the North, except in
the case Of some of the older mills,
while [ found that the newer mills
we're getting the best of their help
aud compelling them to struggle along
with the poorest operatives | had ever
seen, either North or South.
| have examined mills where every
thing compared we'll with the North,
where the managers would claim that
Southern help was the best in the
world; and in the same town | have
visiteN mill where disorder rcigned.
and !. management was apparent.
and whe. | was told that the South
ern operative was lazy and shiftless,
and would never be any good.
But l Judged from all this that with
proper handling. the same results as
to skill and efficiency would be OBJ
tanned there, as with US here.
When it is argued that the Southern
operative will never equal the North
crn operative, it is proper to ask why
not?
The material we are getting in our
Northern mills at present embraces
nearly all nationalities, a large num-
bcr of which are ignorant of our Ian
guage and without any previous ex-
perience in a cotton mill. Now why
should they make better operatives
than the native Americans of the
South, the descendants of those spleE-
did fighters of the Confederate army?
think little reflection will satisfy
any one that they should be better
than the average material We get here
or are likely to get in the future.
The wages in the South are 20 to 30
per cent. below the average prices
paid in the North for the same amount
of work, but it is expected by many OF
us in the North that this is but tenn
porary, and within few years wages
will have reached the level Of New
England wages.
The conditions are against this
theory. To begin with, there is an
abundance of white labor subsisting
on farms where the income is very
small, to whom the present wages of Il
cotton mill seem large. They have to
labor in competition with the colored
race whom they dcspise. while in the
cotton mills they are free from their
competition and presence.
Their living expenses and wants are
small, as compared with the Northern
operatives, and the mild climate they
are in means Il saving in fuel and win
ter clothing, all Of which goes far to-
ward making thcirpresen wages salts
factory.
Again, they are too far apart for
any united action. The cotton
mills are scattered over vast eX
tent Of territory, many of them in
very isolated districts.
Communication is slow and difficult
except, of course, at the large towns
where several mills are located, but
the tendency is toward building the
mills out on the cotton fields rather
than in large centres, and the mills
usually own their own villages, SO the
chances for any strong organization is
very remote.
Newspapers arc scarce and expen-
sivc. and as education is very limited,
they do not circulate very extensively,
so that the operatives of one factory
are not apt to be very we'll informed
as to conditions in other places.
Next in value to low wages is the
advantage of long hours. The usual
week in the South is supposed to be
6G hours, though as matter of fact
they get in about IS hours.
Now 10 hours more per week than
Massachusetts, means about II per
cent. more tir.y in which machinery
is turning off finished product. This
means lower cost for manufacturing
and larger number Of pounds to get Il
profit from, and when you consider
that many of the mills are running
night and day you will see their OPP