The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-24
A CHILD-LABoR LAW.
Why Legislation is Better than "Vol-
Untary Agreement" Of Mills.


To the Friends of Child Labor Legisla-
ton In Alabama:
l note in the columns of the current
press a communication upon the subject
OF child labor from one OF the prominent
club women Of Alabama Its author is.
Know, a friend of progress and OF the
children. She suggests that the advocates
OF the restriction of Child Labor should
work. not in behalf of legislation, but
In behalf of voluntary agreement"
among the cotton mills, through which
they may grant, by common consent, the
reforms desired.
II the Executive Committee has advo-
Gated legislation 1t is because the plan
proposed by your correspondent will, in
their judgment. prove Ineffective. l am
Governor Jones, Judge Castor and DR..
Phillips. have no pride of opinion in their
advocacy of a child labor law. Our SUI
preme concern Is for the relief of abuses.
atively, of little Importance. Upon the
following grounds fair. reasonable and
conservative law seems q better method
than the plan suggested.
% We have no definite nor tangible
assurance that the representatives OF all
the cotton mills in Alabama are ready
to offer such voluntary agreement. The
agreement of the best mills without the
cooperation Of the worst would leave out
OF account those very points at which
children.
(2} have seen written expressions from
some Of the largest OF our Alabama mills
indicating their preference for the level
proposed legislation prohibits. with a few
exceptions. the employment in factories
OF children under u. Such law bears
evenly upon all alike, is best for the
child, the mill and the investor.
90 The correspondent to whom / have
referred has quoted with approval the
terms of the Georgia agreement"
venture to suggest to her kindly and gen.
erous heart careful analysis of its
terms. l cannot but distrust an agree
ment' which reserves to the manufactur-
ers the liberty to work for ten hours
a day all children over 10 years old who
happen to be able to read and write, and
which reserves to the employers the lib
their little girls and boys Of IL years old
and overt
90 Some objection has been made to
legislation on the ground that 1t may lead
to State inspection. That will depend up
on the manufacturers themselves II the
are honest and law-abid-
ing this need not be the case. If they
are not honest and law-abiding. they will
probably not be long bound by any vol
untary agreement. II the manufacturer
will sincerely accept an agreement with
his associates he will probably keep the
law of the land. Certainly If we cannot
trust him to obey the law, we can hard
ly trust him to obey an obligation to his
(6) The operation of such an agree
ment" has always proven an injustice to
the best mills. With these the agree
ment is fulfilled. with the worst mills the
agreement is evaded. The resulting in
equalities are demoralizing to the con-
ditions of labor, and are thus embarrass-
Ing to the best class of employers.
90 Suggestion for voluntary agree
ment' must be carefully tested, / think.
N the light Of the long history of the
cry point at which the correction of fac
tory abuses has been attempted, Its his
tory is everywhere the same. 1t has
tailed in Georgia 1t has failed so con-
spicuously in South Carolina that the
Democratic Party has pledged itself in
decisive and emphatic terms to pass a
law prohibiting the labor in factories of
all children under II. The Democratic
Party In Texas has also acted In North
too, there has been agitation
'or child labor law. In order to defeat
his effort the mill men of the State cow
snanted with themselves and with the
legislature that they would not work the
children at night and that they
would refrain from the employment of
children under II. State Commissioner
Warner now declares that this agreement
which was accepted by the Legislature
md solemnly spread upon the journals of
hat body, has been violated. (See The
News and Observer. Charlotte. N. c..
or August and 8, and The Atlanta Con-
August q 1907 On page 1877 of
he N. c. Report of the Department of
labor and Printing for 1901, 1t is officially
ecorded that there are in the mills of the |
state nearly 5000 1885 children under
4 years of age!
% Our confidence in the disposition of
he mills is Tot increased when noting
he statistics from Alabama. In present
ng the figures of the L. S. Census Report |
N the development of cotton manufac- |
uring The New York Commercial, Au- |
,ust 4. says:
1T is not necessary in the case of Ala |
anna to go back of 1900. in which year |
he had 1875 men operatives in her cotton |
Mills, $50 women and 501 children; in 1890 |
he men numbered 3,152 the women 2,7i3 |
nd the children 2437.
1T will be noted that the increase in
hid labor in the cotton mills of four
southern States has been very marked
\ Alabama 1856 per cent. during the last |
ensus decade; Zi6 per cent. in South Car
lima PA per cent. in North Carolina,
nd SO per cent. in Georgia. There was.
{ course. an accompanying increase OF
dult labor as the industry grew, but |
n nothing like the proportion that is
hown in child labor, except in one or
wo instances. Alabama. in fact. presents
he unusual spectacle OF $3.50 cotton mill
peratives all told. of whom almost 30 |
er cent. are children under 16 years
Id"
There thus arises here a serious and
ertinent Inquiry. Granting as I do with |
II my heart, that many of our mill men
re honest and true and generous in pur-
ose. can the great majority of the men
Who are responsible for these conditions
ow come to the people OF Alabama and |