The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-01-23

/ otherwise not be willing to come to IN
improved conditions, to do 80.
Being cOnvcrsant with The ropul ,
ton, and with The necessities and on
pcrtrnlltics Of those in their cmpl "
we believe the manufactures are bcs
able to exert a proper inIl icnce in tn,
Inducements of education. The &c ,ul
of arbitrary legislation would be f. |
not so much by older established mill
as by the newly established, amt no
so much even by these latter us b,
that portion Of our population who
from distress and misfortune, have beer
forced to seek mill life, and are no,
yet prepared I" support themselves
without the labor Of their children.
We believe il is an unfair consider
alton to speak of the proportion of Hit.
crate in any mill community. An cX-
auilnntion OF conditions Will prove that
this iltitcracy has occurred prior To the
coming of the employees to the mills.
| The records will shnw that as full a
percentage of mill children are attend
ant upon school as any other class of
working people withn The bounds Of
the State. Indeed we say with Ger.
tainty that a larger percentage Of mill
chllGrcu aic at school than can usually
DC found even in villages.
The return OF til" Is mills included
in the tabulatcd statement referred to,
show that there are within their com
'nun ties 93 churches valued at $lj9,-
300, outside Of churches situated in
towns.
or thc abov" amount the companies
have c. attributed $50 ,59J tOwa,d> the
erection, and they moreover assist in
the maintenance Of these churches ami
Sunday schools to the amount of
S5 5,ISj
1t appears further that these same
corporations ale paying the ; mill iaX
towards the education Of the commu
nifty, $ll ,SU2.lG, and in the way of
special assessments tt opcGal cOntri-
buttons &27 ,5l2 II additional. That
The poll taxes inr tn" several commune
ties amuunt to s. ,Jtl, thus making Il
total OF over $50 900 contributed by
these mill communities towards cdu-
cation Of the people, and OF their own
clnrl yes.
They have invested in school hui,h-
81 ,lS9 All ,hc schools with single
exception have free tuition, an the
average term has been $ .SG months. or
twice that Of the other portions Of the
) az, acco: diug IL the report Of the
superintendent Of education. The to.
tai enrolment under these schools has
bccn daring the past YEA" 7,l3I chi
dr"n, with the avclagG attendance Of
3,1ll. WIth such liyules it does seem
that fair minded men must be i'm
pressed with the fact that the manufac-
turcls are doing heir best to c.iu;atc
The children in their mli wi iycs aul
20 relieve, SO far as practicable, the
unfortunate results OF ch lid taboo.
1t is to be regretted that the agita-
ton for legislation upon This subject is
coming, to a large extent, from labor
UNIONS. Ii any cmployc Of IL c)rp,ra-
ton is truly ANXIOUS to remedy the
evils Of employment OF children of too
youthful an age, their efforts can be best
directed towards assisting ,hc manu-
facturcrs to accomplish The results de-
slrcd. The truth ~ that labor unions
have seen an 'pp"ituIity Of avai!ing
themselves Of public sentiment III or
der % strengthen themselves in the
public estimation. We would see with
regret that passage Of any legislation
which would be 5apparcntly Il rccoy-
mtion of labor unions within The
State.
Tue effect of labor legislation has
not been III other counties, or in other
sections of this country, conducive TO
an improved condition OF the people,
or to success in manufacturing. Eng
land is now SO hampercd by such un-
fortunate legislation that she is losing
her trade III manfactu cs.
New England is in many sections
handicapped in hkc manner. So much
SO, that il few years ago her represent
aliv,s in Congress c"dGavor,d TO enact
an amendment to the constitution Of
the United States for The avowcd pur-
pose OF hampcring Southern llbor,
which, free from shaCknny Laws and
t}raunica! unions, Is undermining her
supremacy IL cotton manu- aCturlng.
We believe that much Of The agitation
| in the South III favor of labor leGlsla-
| tiun is brought alb put by labor unions
in New Eh"llnd, aided and abAucd
| by New England manufacturers seek
iuI to sulle Southern enterprises.
| There is no demand for Legislation Of
this character, by the va.t majority Of
those emf loycd within the mills Of The
State. Almost without exception such
employees protest against interference
aud ask to be lei alone.
The advocates OF this bill claim 'hat
the working of children iii the M II is
injurious to the public in that when
such children become grown they AZ?
mentally. morally and physically un-
suited for the duties Of citizens IMP
We believe the standard citizenship
within the mill villages is The equal Of
that III other communities Of Che state
However that may be, a compul sorry
educational law will effect the villages
as well as Other sections Of the STATE
and the unanimous desire OF ihc man
ufacturcrs as exp csscd above, is io
, the enactment Il such Il law rs vii
, enable them to carry out effectively
, what they have been IF, my to dn i"
years, to wit: encourage MtckdnUG
/ upOn The schools. Without the com
. | n,,lsnrv orhnnl law tbn enactment q