The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-01-30
MILL TALK.
Solid and Sensible, But TOO Late 10
Do Much Good in Columbia.

Mr.. Editor: We com mence our letter, this
time by asking some questions and at The
same time answering them:
What State In the South has the most cot
ton mills? South Carolina.
Where is the best organized labor? South
Carolina.
Where is the best feeling between capital
and labor South Carolina.
Where IL the best labor In the world
Where Is the laboring people most respect
ed South Carolina.
Where is the laborlng people best educated ?
South Carolina.
Where ia the people most on equality
South Carolina.
Now what brought these things about ?
the tree: % II is the Country Where S men @ get what
they deserve; where men are not looked
down on because they are poor In dollars. A
man in South Carolina is rich If he is indus
trious and honest.
Christ said you would have the poor with
you always. SO you see the masses of the
people will remain poor. So they must not
be Judged fools on that account.the best and
greatest men live above the dollar. So the
poor misguided friends Of cotton mill opera.
lives have lost what little influence they
might have had by calling them fools, ignor-
Here the preacher W. L. Walt, after com.
plimenting the Editor OF the State, telling
him be once preached to a mill town, and
that he saw "chlldren Of very tender age
young lives being ground away between the
upper milestone OF parental rapacity and the
neither milestone of soulless corpora lion.
| met the vampire" the man who dwell In
idleness, living of the labor OF his children; !;
and his tribute was numerous.
"Let me tell you another thing. They say
there Is no such thing as corporal punish
ment at the mills, and nominally there IL
not; put sometimes when the poor little
children were tired or sick and failed to come
up to the requirement they were sent home,
ported the case TO the parents and stood by
while the parent did the whipping"
Poor old soul, be believes he is right, ten to
one, that mill he preached at had organized
labor. We know Of some where II is organ,
lied where the bosses and hands are at outs all
the lime and doing everything crooked.
There is no one that likes a Methodist
preacher better than do, because 1 am q
they find the cotton mills great mission airy
field and some OF them are about as big
cranks az can be.
the people that live at them: the outsiders
want TO make great names for themselves;
they want to organize churches, build
churches, get other people TO give money.
Yon cant have sunday =, senool sddness Widnont
the lessons has had to be dispensed with 10
let them show off. Everybody wants to DO
something for mill people; every little simlin
head that is no count TO the people he works
neighbor, is trying TO do something for cotton
mill people,
We think the child labor bill unwlse. One
clause in Section T, says that no child shall
be allowed to work laler than O'Clock or be-
fore 6, that Is Il hours with n hour at dinner,
would leave III. Why. we work but
06 hours week IN this State, II hours day.
Well, we are not going to fret; this bill will
never become q law; individually We are not
concerned; It don't hurt us. We are In favor
OF education. but everybody can't be educated,
1t takes 80 years now TO get one, that is yon
start at years old, start at Abbeville Graded
School. which Ia good as the best, 1t takes on
an average OF II years to get through. Six
when started make II. 60 TO Erskine you can
get through in three or any other good college
SO that lands you at 20. Now you are just
ready TO 90 somew here TO learn something, or
that, Is to take some special course. We want
educated men and we must have them. we
need labor. God said man should live by the
sweat OF bis brow /; that Is the reason why
good working people can earn more In mill
and can get more for their labor than most
graduates.