Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-07-17
THE INFANT TOILERS
CHILD LABOR IN TIE COTTON FAC
TORIES OF THE SOUTH.

her recent investigation In parts OF the
south: -Four months ago l accepted
commission from Samuel Gompers,
president of the American Federation
of Labor TO agltate the subject of child
labor with view to getting the law
limiting the evil through the legislature
of Alabama. Although | return with
the news of present defeat, | believe
that my mission has helped to give an
other blow to that SLOWLY dying cause
of building commercial success on the
ruin of little children.
''There is no question more vital to
the interests of workers throughout
America at the present time than that
of the employment of young children in
the so called lighter factory industries
of the south. The unorganized male
worker is the first instrument whereby
the corporation keeps down wages. A
corporation, being Just machine for
making money, works automatically,
without respect to the present or future
good OF the human element In that
wealth making or of the community
wherein they dwell. Still more effective
as an aid In this direction Is the wom-
an, for even when organized there are
reasons, social and physical, why she Is
a less certain quantity than the man
and therefore more easily underpaid.
Deadliest of all is the child.
Wherever an industry appears in
which IL IL possible for a child to work
the grown people are made subsidiary
and the child and young person are
used at cheap rates, giving for the mo-
ment an enormous incentive to the in
vestmeut of capital, which will receive
quick returns from the purchase of Ia
Dor at IA low rate. The cheapening OF
labor in one part of the market in the
long run causes q cut down In wages
everywhere In that particular trade.
The reduced spending power on the
part of one great section of workers re-
coils on other trades.
Briefly, the general situation Is as
follows: The manufacture of cotton
goods Is recent throughout the entire
south. 1t Is almost new in Alabama.
There are some 43 mills in the state,
where there has been a regular boom in
cotton mills during the last few years.
When city gets prosperous, the In
habtants Clau@r for one and In sever
al places they are going up as quickly
as they can be Built.
while In many places the mills are
hailed with delight by the people, there
are already mutterings that they are
creating misery and wretchedncss on
the one side as quickly as they are
making big dividends on the other, and
some business men are actually saying
that the trade of city Is injured rath-
er than helped by the vicinity of mill.
"The human material for the indus
try is as raw as the cotton. Families
come In from the little isolated farms
and cabins, very poor and very prolific.
A few cents seem to them q fortune.
Where they come from they have sell
dom seen money, and their next year 3
cotton bales are often mortgaged ahead
for this years food. Entirely Ignorant
of industrial life, they are willing to
take low wages for what sounds like
light work without consideration of the
novel demands of rent, food, fire, lights
and clothes In village or city.
"In the % mills of which ! have sta
tistics there are 6,725 operatives, about
400 being children under II years of
age. On the same basis of calculation
there are about 900 in the state, an esti-
mate below rather than above the actu-
al number, as only corrected the man
ayers statements in cases where | was
able to count personally larger num-
her than they told me. To these must
be added the children who come In to
help their elder brothers and sisters
who are not counted or paid as work
ers, although they often do full days
work for the fun of it. This would
bring the number nearer 1.200.
"No difference is made between hours
by night or by day of the children and
grown up people. These hours are from
u 10 12l4 n day, averaging 66 week,
with but one half hour or 40 minutes
break for meals. Mills which run at
night generally work II hours, some
times with no break at all.
zones indignation at such n wrong
to childhood rises to fever heat when
we learn that these 1,200 little white
slaves, worse off than the negro child
in days of slavery, who, being worth
some hundreds of dollars, was allowed
to develop into a healthy animal are
sacrificed to commercial superstition
and not even to a real or fancied ne
cessity of the industry. Huge fortunes
were made in England and the north
at the beginning of the trade by the
employment of children, and it is the
superstition that this can be done again
which is responsible for the employ
ment of these children.
"Out of IL practical superintendent
TO whom l talked, several being from
Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, ten
confessed that doing away with the la
Dor of children under Il years of age
would benefit rather than harm the in
dustry. They are wasteful workers,
need much supervision and moreover
are spoiled as operatives for the future
by the destruction of their health.
81 saw n bay of helping to unwind