Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-02-13

TAnl1All.A. SOUTH y 4 3, 100

i1it. 4 am firmly Of the opinion that
la cotton mill oorpo alton located in
tile country sas most Of our mills are,
with enements owned and controlled
by the company, can operate success
fally q mill with colored labor.
came TO this conclusion because
there were a number Of negro opera
tiyes i'm every department OF the
4 Yesta Mill that were as efficient az
any help.
s'Ihe negro has many shortcom-
Iings, but the chief one is his inclina-
ltiont to do a JOB. He is indifferent
about continuous work. The truck
ing business around Charleston
Iinterfered with our mill labor.
when beans and strawberries were
ripe pickers were in great demand
at q better price than tho mill paid.
Though the work did not last long
negroes who had regular jobs at the
mill sought it, ss3s
"Then, too, it lis easy TO live in
Charleston, as 1t is in most Of our
seaboard towns. Fish and oysters
can be had for song. Out of 400
or 500 negroes we had about 200
treliable operatives. In the mill they
were as good as any other help.
We had to train great many ope-
ratives. Our superintendent taught
400 or 500 more than he needed. /
have learned from experience that il
new mill is built and greenSwhit
labor secured about half of.the origi.
nal number will stick and make eff
cient laborers. The same is true
with the negro, but to a very much
greater extent; not nearly 80 many
will stick. 85
"However, the negroes who took,
the proper training at the Vesta and
who were faithful to their work
made good operatives. We had as
good lappers, spinners, spceder
attenders and weavers as you would
find anywhere. Our superintendent
taught two negroes to grind and set
cards. He said that they were as
good as any workmen he ever knew.
"Some days we would have 600
looms at work and the next 100
would be idle. That was where the
trouble came. We could not con-
troll the help outside the mill. With
all our machinery at work we en-
ployed between 45O and 500 hands.
"I think the Piedmont is better
than the coast section for cotton
mill. Farming is made more diff
cult in the former and it is not so
easy to obtain livelihood from the
soil as it is in the low country.
That is why the mill will be moved
to Gainesville, Ga. The white peo.
| pie as we'll as the negroes who would
work lin the mill at Charleston do
not care to do itwhen they can
farm without much trouble.
"Had the Vesta mill been we'll
supplied with tenement houses T
believe that we could have succeeded
with the negro help. We could
have controlled it as we'll as the
farmer does. The location Of the
mill was fine. Freight rates were
only about one third of what they
are here. The health of the place
was good. We owned few tene.
ments, but not half enough. Our
machinery was good.
81 did not say, as I have seen it
stated, that the negroes we're too
trifing and lazy and would not stick
TO the work. Those who worked
did it we'll. Our superintendent
told NE he could picl, on. cs .ho
mill 200 that would do as satisfao-
tory work and be as faithful as any
operatives"
Capt. Montgomery is an entertain
ing talker. He is we'll posted on
the cotton mill business in the
South. In speaking Of a bill that
has been introduced in the Legisla-
ture now in session at Columbia to
require all mills to keep a free school
nine months in the year, for the
benefit of the operatives, he said
"Why, we have had q free school at
the Pacolet Mills ever since they
started, II years ago. The company
built school house at "a cost of
$4,000, which is the only one in the
district. All the trustees of the
school are connected with the mill
company in one way Or another.
| The school is kept open ten calender
months each year and it is abso-
lutely free. The trustees take what
money the district is entitled to
from the county, which is based on
the enrolment ot the previous year,
4 and which liz not exoeed;no ona. half