The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-10
Viii Men Indulge in Warm Talk Be
fore the Committee.


Atlanta, Ca, Nov 9-Five OF the most
prominent mill men in the state appeared
before the Senate committee on labor and
labor statistics this afternoon, and fought
the passage of the child labor bill intro
duced by Senator Nesbitt
Those who spoke in behalf of the mill
interests were Mai. J. F. Hanson of Ma
con; Maj. Hardwick of The Crown Cotton
Mills of Dalton, Ca, Manager Rudici, of
the Trion factory, and Messrs. Estes and
Verdery of Augusta.
The Georgia Federation of Labor was
represented by Attorney c. T. Ladson of
this city. Senator w. S. West of Lowndes
also spoke in opposition to The bill.
The hearing was attended with the US
ual sensational features that have been in
jected in most of the committee meetings
this session. In fact, this Legislature is fast
gaining notoriety for its scrapping quail
ties. Near the close Of the committees
session this afternoon Senator West and
Attorney Ladson came very near mixing
up. The Senator understood that attor-
ney as discrediung a statement he had
made that children from 10 to L years o.
age were worked in the saw mills in
Southern Georgia and angrily exclaimed
that if he did he told an untruth. Attorney
Ladson as angrify retorted:
Don't you get gay. If you do will see
you outside"
IAN right" said the Senator; II will
be prepared to meet you"
The two gentlemen adjusted their diff
ferences satisfactorily after the hearing
concluded, and now there are no splotches
of blood on the moon.
Mai. Hanson said the bill was not asked
for by either the operatives or the mill
owners and that the whole effort looked
like a grand-stand play upon the part OF
anti-corpOration lawyers to curry favor
with labor organizations in the state. The
Atlanta man got back after the Macon
factory man by saying that the mill men
sometimes needed to be classed with the
ciemagogues whom they were so prone TO
denounce.
1t was urged in support of the bill that
humanity and religion demanded 1t; that
working hours were excessive, children of
tender age often going into the mills be-
fore sunrise and not coming out until af-
ter sunset; that 70 per cent. of the opera
tives were iliterate; that all this produced
a STUFFED growth and tended to crush out
all the manhood and independence in chill
dren and that they were paid niggardly
wages.
The counter arguments advanced were
that the operatives would seek other
states, as many widows were dependent
on their childrens work for means to sup
port them with; that ii would prevent the
building of new mills; that the Southern
mills had caused the rise in cotton and
fixed the price for this season, and that
the bill would work injury TO the mills.
The bill, said Maj. Hanson, meant COM
pulsory education, which he was opposed
10, and in passing, declared that the pres
ent school system as administered was not
giving fair returns for the money spent.
The mill people admit that they are pay
ing low wages, but contend the wages are
more than these same people could get
on the farms, where the great, bulk of
labor came from.
letter was read from II. j. Fisher,
vice president of the Atlanta Cotton Mills,
who said he saw no objection to the meas
ure provided its provisions were made TO
apply to mercantile and other manufac-
turing establishments.
Senator Nesbitt who introduced the bill,
will conclude the argument in favor of the
bill at o'clock tomorrow, and the COM
mittee will report it back TO the Senate at
to-morrows session.