The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-01-07
WORK IN MILLS AT Might
Views of D. 4. TOmpkinS Of the In
duStrial Commission.
Himself an Expert in MHnufactuT-
ing Affairs, lie Declares That Such
Generally Thought 10 Re-PrObIem
VIII Eventually ADJUST Itself.

CHARLOTTE. y. c.. Jan. ID, A
Tompkins. OF Charlotte a member Of the
Industrial Commission. and one of the
best-known cotton manufacturers in he
country. some time ago gave cut for pub
LEGATION the draft Of a labor law regard
ing hours of work. etc in Southern mills.
which created much discussion In this
proposed law M. TomDkins said nothing
about the question Of night work In re-
gard to that omission Mr.. Tompkins says:
In the bill l have proposed l have
SAID nothing about night work because
in this connection I can see no need Of
legislation. First. because the subject
Will take care % itself As mills in
crease labor viii become more scarce un-
til there VIII be no available labor for
night work.
In the second place, the night work
IN cotton mills is better than any other
work the night operatives can get or
they would not take it. Il would be Z
hardship TO close all the mills at night.
and throw all these people at once out
Of regular employment.
The prejudice against the idea of
night work is based upon sentiment
more than upon q fact anyhow. The
sentiment about il and the prejudice
against II is far greater among those who
never did il and know nothing about il
than among those who dc not know about
it and are actually engaged in it. OF
those engaged in work in general there
is proportion Nho actually prefer night
work. The fUll-hadged printer is nat
uraI-Born night bird, and the owl is his
chosen emblem The printer on morn
ing paper scorns the day worker as be
ing Of Intellectual inferiority, and holds
him in about the same disTespect as the
seaman does the "land-lubDer-" In cot
ton oil mills blast furnaces. steel mills
railroads. hospitals. etc. there are ana
always viii be night jobs and night
workers. but the locomotive engineer. the
professional nurse. and other self-reIidnJ
night workers have no sore tees and
wouldn't exhibit them if they had. and
neither does the seli-relIant cotton mill
operative do so except when miSied into
il by some people Of good motives who
have had no experience in night work.
The mother al home with an infant is
compelled TO run day turn and a night
turn all alone and is more entitled 10 sym
UaInv for her disturbed res and other
hardsnips than any healthy operative
working regularly in co-top mill at
night
"D1y work is usually preferable lthe
printer the student and the belle OF So
cietv are partial exceptions 10 this prefer
euce for daylight hoursJ but night work
when it is the best and the most profitable
available Is no enduring hardship, far
from it
In regard 10 the need of labor law for
Southern cotton mills Mr.. Tompkins said:
NO Improvement CT humanity can be
directly legisIated. We can only legis-
late favorable surroundings, and even
then the question OF Improvement Is de
pendent upon ne disposition and char
acter Of humanity Itself Schools may be
brought into existence by legislation, but
NOT education except by the Indirect in
fiueuce of the schools.
Those Of our people who are working
I'm cotton mills have had in The pas, seant
opportunities Tor education or training Of