The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-10

defended her own children from cruel and unnecessary industrial system. will question the heartless policy with which her capital is using and is striving to per- petuate the defenselessness of the chil- dren of the South. This capital is doing here what it dare not do at home.
 Realizing, with all the peoples of the Christ. that the protection of the little child means the preservation of every thing that is worth preserving, and be- lieving that our fellow-countrymen of the North and East will unite with us in at tempting to check this exploitation of childhood for the creation of dividends, We earnestly ask your interest and your aid.
 October 1st, 1901
 (SigneD
 Edgar Gardner Murphy Rector of St. Johns Episcopal Church, Montgomery; Thomas G. Jones Ex-Governor of Ala bama); Lucien V. LaTaste Montgomery; J. H. Phillips Superintendent of Schools. Birmingham); John Craft Member of Legislature, Mobile); A J. Reilly tMem- Der of Legislature Ensley).
 | EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR ALA BAMA.
 A Reply to the Committee.
 On Wednesday, October 3Oth. the follow | ing communication appeared in The Even ing Transcript of Boston, Mass, one of ', the leading journals of New England: 1 To the Editor of The Transcript:
 My attention has been called to an ar l ticle in your paper of the 23d inst, signed by gentlemen fro n Alabama. in reference to child labor.
 As treasurer of a mill in that State
 erected by Northern capital. l am inter- tod fr hn
 | From the starting of our mill, have
 never been South without protesting to | the agent, and overseer of spinning Uhe l only department in which small help can | be employed), against allowing children | under twelve years ot age to come into the mill. as I did not consider them in-
 telligent enough to do good work. On a | visit last June. annoyed that my instruc- tions were not more carefully observed,
 before leaving I wrote the agent letter of which the following is copy:
 Every time I visit this mill I am im-
 pressed with the fact that it is great | mistake to employ small help in the spin ming room Not only Is 1t wrong from a l humanitarian standpoint but it entails an | absolute loss to the mill. We prepare the stock and make it into rowing, and, be- 1 cause of the small spinners, send back to the pickers an excessive amount of rowing | waste, and meantime lose the work or the l spindles 1 again express the wish that you prevent the overseer. as far as pos
 sible, from employing children under twelve years of age. l know 1t is some times difficult to get at the real age-and | in some cases the parents may threaten to leave our employ unless we give work | to their small children, but we must take this stand-and l trust an honest enort | will be made to carry out my wishes. In defense of our officials, it Is doubt | less true that the trouble comes largely from the parents, who make every erort to get their children into the mill and | often because of refusal take their fami- | lies containing needed workers, to other mills, where no objection Is made to the employment of children. The statement
 that twice as many children under tweiVe
 years of age are employed in mills under
 Northern control as in Southern mills II
 it means. as it should, in proportion tc
 spindles on same numbers of yarn, is ab-
 Solutely false so far as relates to our
 company, and have reason to believe the
 same can be said of other mills under
 Northern ownership.
 Now in>regard to the attempted legisla-
 tion of last winter. The labor orBaniZa-
 tions at the North imported from Eng
 land very bright and skillful female la
 bor agitator and sent her to Alabama
 She held meetings at central points, and
 when the Legislature convened appeared
 at Montgomery with her following. and a
 bill against employing children was
 promptly introduced. The manufacturers
 and other business men of Alabama re-
 sented this outside interference, well
 knowing the source from which 1t came, and they were also aware that manufac- |
 for funds with which to incite labor trou- 1 bles in the South. As they recognized
 tkat this bill was enly the entering wedge.
 they determined that action must come
 They also felt that the adjoining State of
 Georgia, having double the number oi
 spindles, should act first. With these con
 alterations in mind, the mSnufacturers
 selected among others our agent native
 Alabaman. to aopear before the legisla-
 tive committee, with the result that the
 bill was defeated. I think 1t may be said
 with truth, that the interference or North
 ern labor agitators, is retarding much
 needed legislation in all the manutactur-
 ing States of the South.
 As to our mill, and the little town oi
 1900 people which has grown up around
 it. there Is nothing within the mill ol
 without, of which any citizen of Massa'
 chusetts need be ashamed. On the contra from Alabama whose names are attached to the letter referred to, to mention among the forty mills in the State. O 5 which only four are directly operated Q from the North, any one which will com Q pare with ours, in the expenditure whicl y has been made for the comfortable hous = ing of the operatives, and the appliance ] introduced for their comfort and uplift , From the inception of this interprise, tn ! purpose has been to build up a n9d' :. town that should be an object lesson t l. the South, and we are assured that 1t influences have been helpful In additio
 to a school supported by public tax. tn
 company has always carried on a schoC of its own, with an experienced and de . voted teacher, who has been instructed make special effort to get in the youn children, and thus allure them from tn mill. We have built and have in opera ton a beautiful library-the first erecte for this special purpose in the State C Alabama. and We have a church build ing which would be an ornament in an | village of New England, and is in itsel an education to our rAople. We are nov building a modern school house iron plans by Boston architects which will ac commodate all the children of our com munity These are a few of the thing we have done and are doing. in our eff assumed. in dealing with a class of peo pie who have some most excellent traits and who appeal to us strongly. becaus many of them have hitherto been de prived of needed comforts and largely o | Clemcntarv advantages.
 | What we are attempting to do for ou opera tives may seem to the gentlemel who signed the appeal in your columns a "spectacular philanthropy and heart lees policy" but this Is not the opinio acquainted themselves with the facts, no ]. HOWARD NICHOLS, Treasurer Alabama City Mill, Alabama. ] A Rejoinder from the Chairman 0 the Alabama Committee. On the afternon of November 2d. tn