The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-06-23
Southern Labor.

me uklLudl EEpOlL VI kAH
er OF labor of North Carolina en- labor
conditions prevailing in that state con-
tains some very interesting and In
structiye matter. In that state, as In
other southern states, efforts are being
made to insure the rising generation q
full enjoyment OF the industrial ad-
vantages that are now presenting them-
selves. The report contains many let
tiers from mechanics describing work
ers' conditions from workers stand
point, and they are practically suggest
i've. While We may not agree with all
the contentious advanced they show a
state Of AFFAIRS that very likely exists in
other communities. Following are some
of the extracts of the letters referred to-.
Anybody that can knock piece Of
work together, regardless OF neatness,
comfort or durability, and will work
cheap, gets the work.
Few of the young care to learn q
trade. Just as long as they can learn
to build or patch up boat or build
cheap frame building, that is all they
care for and good mechanic is not
appreciated.
apprentices quit their trade and
start up for themselves before they are
workmen, and this fills the country
with poor workmen.
There are too many inexperienced
men employed as mechanics to make
quantity or quality of work or wages
satisfactory.
"one of the greatest drawbacks in
this country is the large number OF men
engaged in the different trades who
know scarcely anything about them,
and cannot do a decent job.
II think the main reason Of low
wages is simply this: The country is
full of old ana young men who claim
to be workman, but know very little
about the trade. they follow. and in
order that they may get a job they will
offer their services at about farm rates.
This induces the builder or contracto :
to give them work, and the man who
has mastered and ought to be well paid
can't get a good job"
The possibly partial explanation Of
the nelghborhood conditions thus de-
scribed is offered in statement by R,
r. Wicker, of Raleigh, who writes that
most of the labor in the south before
the war, Mechanical as well as agrI-
cultural, was performed by slaves, and
adds:
There is a great deal of intelligent,
systematic labor in the south, although
our labor has kept pace with the de-
mands OF the times to surprising ex-
tent, considering how it has been ham
dlcapped from one cause or another. At
the close Of the war most of our
mechanics were negroes Caught trades
by their masters). and the white me
chanlcs in most mechanical branches
were then, as now, placed at great
disadvantage"
The same writer finds that while the
southern mechanic is not paid as well
as his northern and eastern brother. he
generally realizes that southern indus
tries are yet in their infancy. and is
worhns to build up and not to tar
down the social and industrial struct-
ure, Commenting on these disclosures
the Manufacturers Record says:
The expansion OF the cotton manufac-
turing industry in the south has done
much to influence industrial conditions
for the better. 1T has afforded opportu-
mites for making living to thousands
OF persons who otherwise would have
merely repeated the miserable existence
OF their fathers and grandfathers. and
has at the same time been an efficient
means for recruiting the ranks OF skill
ed labor In one direction. The aeces =
slons to the south OF large operations
in iron, with the inevitable growth OF
minor industries dependent upon that
form of manufacturing, are creating a
demand for skilled mechanics which the
south ought to meet promptly. The
material from which such mechanics
are to come Is plentiful. The south has
population large enough to meet Az
the demands for labor for an indefinite
time. But, as is the case In all crucial
periods. there Is danger that energies
may be misdirected and wasted by i'm
proper alignment. The great problem
is to TT square pegs into square holes.
II may be solved successfully, first, by n
cultivation Of demand for thorough
ness IN all work; secondly by counter
acting the erroneous impression that
ease and respectabillty are to be had
principally in professional lines. and
finally, by directing for n generation at
least educational efforts toward train
ing the hand to act intelllgenly.