The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-06-07

"
I were to say that saw more filth,
more evidences Of poverty and desti-
tuition in Fall River and Biddeford
than I have ever seen in the whole
State of South Carolina. Fall River
has more than thirty thousand opera
tives in her ninety and more mills,
and to shelter this number of people
with their families requires considera-
BILE house room. For the most part
the houses are bad; built Of inferior
material and put up on cheap scale.
In most Of the tenements the passages
are narrow, the rooms are small, and
the people entirely too much crowded
for health or comfort. Cooking and
eating both done in small room, per-
haps ten by twelve feet, or less, and
washing done in the same room or III
the narrow halls. Houses destitute
Of window curtains, and in most cases
furnished with th, cheal est grade of
furniture. The people are crowded
and the houses are crowded. An In
sufficient amount of ground space
around the houses, and it oftentimes
covered over with ashes, tin cans and
many other kinds Of rubbish.
At Biddeford the houses and sur
roundings were still worse; ashes piled
up almost to the windows, back yards
muddy and filed up with all kinds Of
rubbish, what pretended to be side
walks and streets were shoe-mouth
deep in mud; snow hadn't been SHOW
eled from walks and door steps in some
places, although it had been some
weeks since the snow had fallen, and
dirty, ragged little children were play
ing around as if it were all right.
Here were what are called corporation
boarding houses, owned by the COM
pany. Only few Of these, not
enough to supply but fraction of the
whole number Of operatives. These
tenements are rented to families, who
board and lodge young men and young
women who work in the mill. The
men pay s2.75 week, and the girls
$1.75, and the company supplements
this by 30 cents in each case where
the operative boards at one Of its
houses. These houses are 6rst-class
rooms all well lighted and well ven
tilated.
At Lowell there were still more Of
these houses, and of still better
grade. The rows of tenements were
too close together, giving an insufi-
cient amount Of ground for back yards;
no front yards at all.
At Manchester the best tenements
are to be seen. They are new. having
been built, many Of them, within the
last two or three years. The Amos
keag Company have torn away many
of the old dingy and unsightly wooden
tenements and have erected houses
made Of brick and stone-houses two
|
and three stories high, covered with
slate, and with doors and windows Of
excellent material and in the latest
styles. Inside, the walls are vain
scoted and nicely papercd. 10 each
tenement there is attached small
outhouse for storing fuel. washing
outfit, etc. The Stark Mills have
similar tenements. These, in many
cases, have small front yards, fenced
i! in, and the yards have grass and flow
ers; large amount of ground for back
yards, and each yard fenced to itself.
The Amoskeag Company are to con-
tinue building modern tenements, but
these good buildings are wholly mad
equate for all who get work in the
mills; most of them are compelled to
live in houses which are neither COM
| Portable nor attractive.
Every European nationality is to be
found among the operatives. l stood
at noon one day at the gate of one OF
the largest mills in Biddeford as hun
dreds of operatives were passing cut.
/ heard only a few words spoken in
English, and they were Irish. A boy
was distributing programmes for a
concert, and these programmes were IN
French. Considerable prejudice is
shown by the native American against
many classes Of foreigners. | am In
clined to think the grounds for such
prejudice, in most cases, are not vel
founded. It's question Of the sur
vival Of the fttest. The native
American factory elementin the North
fear, has degenerated. OF all with
whom | ca me n contact was favorably
impressed with the English, Scotch
and irish. The Irish are very fruga