The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-08-20

/. is due to the fact that the scho
closed July l.. This mill operates
: school nine months in the ear, payir
three teachers and the expenses of ii
school generally out of its own fund
John "A. Law, president of IL
q Saxon mills, Spartanburg, says he Ii,
> 275 people on his pay roll. Of these
, nine are children under twelve yeal
old, and they will be put out as 500
! as school begins, he says. There is
free school in the village running eigt
months in the year.
Arthur L. Smith, of the Langle
Manufacturing company, says tha
mill has 900 employees at work, q
whom fourteen are under twelve year
old. This corporation runs fre
school four months of the year and tn
county five months, making nine il
all. Mr.. Smith states that every on
of these children will go to school OF
the reopening.
James l.. Orr, president of the
Piedmont Manufacturing company
says that there are / 1,423 names on Iii,
pay roll, of which fifty-six are between
the ages Of ten and twelve years. AL
of these are sweepers and jackers and
are children of small families who are
dependent upon them for living
There is not one under 10 and only
thirteen under eleven. There is O
regular graded school, with a principal
and seven teachers, and running ton
months in the year, and all of it is paid
for by the company.
Ellison a. Smyth, of the Pelzer and
Bolton mills, says in the Pelzer mill
there are 2,54a operatives, of whom
twenty-six are under twelve years old ,
and in the Bolton mill there are 541
operatives, of whom thirteen are less
than twelve years old. He says:
cat both Pelzer and Bolton we
have contract book, which is signed
by the head of every family we employ,
and in which it is agreed that all
children under twelve years of age
are to go to schools provided by the
mills every aay the schools are open
and ch'i;'ren over twelve are to be en-
ployed in the mill. Our school runs
for nine or ten months and will re-
open on the 1st of September. 1 find
that during this holiday time some of
the children under twelve years of age
do get into the mill TO work, through
they are not wanted and their employ
mont forbidden, but often the children
want to work and make their wages.
or course, there are special exceptions
made to our twelve year rule in in
dividual cases, owing to the poverty
and neells of the widowed mother or
invalid father, or, In the case of
orphans, TO the condition of want in
which the grandparents are found 10
be-"
j. L. Westervelt, of the Brandon
mills, G1eenville, says there are 207
employees in the mill. Nine are males
under twelve and three are females
under twelve, although they are just
a few months removed from that age.
These are more than usual on account
of the school being closed, which is
run ten months.
Thomas f. Parker, president of the
Monaghan mills, Greenville, says
there are 3SS operatives in the mill
of whom twenty-ihree are under twelve
years. There is school open for
nine months.
L. G. Poag, superintendent of the
Goldville Manufacturing company,
says there are sixty-nine operatives in
this mill, of whom eight are under
twelve years.
r.. II. Fewell, president of the Ar
cade mills, Rock Hill, reports that
there are one hundred and eighty-nine
operatives, of whom twenty are under
twelve years. He declares that there
is not a mill man in the State who
wants to employ children under
twelve, but it is sometimes done from
kindness of heart and sympathy.
This is the record for South Caro-
lima so far as it goes, as it shows a
surprising state of affairs when one
considers the many investigations"
made of conditions by Northern
writer's. They have greatly exagger-
ated the situation, with an object in
view, and succeeded in arousing the
indignation of many of our own peo-
pie who have accepted their statements
as truth. According to the showing
made, says the Columbia Record, there
is no need for any legislation on the
subject in this State, for the mill own
ers themselves do not want to employ
children under twelve years of age,
and they do not do so except when they
believe they are doing good to the
children themselves and their families.