The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-14
THOSE OF CASTOR COUNTY IN
SPECIFIED BY A REPORTER
THE CHILD LABOR PROBLEM
Discussed With Mill
These Mills Practical Textile In
dustriaI schooIs-MfI Owners and
Presidents of Companies Risen
From Lowest Positions in Mills.
CMill News. september 1sthl

and takes pride in the fact III theil
county has more mills than any othel
county in the south. there being thirty.
two in all.
Ny first call was at the Loray mills
where / met the president, George a
Gray Informing him OF the object OF
my visit, We proceeded to the mill
which is called locally the new million
dollar MILL and here 1 met the superin-
tendent, Charles NJ. Dunn, to whom MIR
Gray remarked, SHOW the gentleman
through our mill; let him see it all, givs
him full information" and turning to
me said, II have an engagement VI
town at my office, and will be pleased &c
nave you call, and will gladly furnis
you with any data you may seek"
We then proceeded through the mill,
which is a new one, and only half the
equipment is placed in the spinning
ROOM, where the immense vacant space
was especially noticeable, and Superin-
tendent Dunn said: 1T would do you
good if you could see at times our help
at play here on the floor. playing leap
frog and tag and other games. We
now have $40 hands in the mill and,
among this number, there are not more
than eight children in this room under
IL years of age. Dur president is the
head of three other mills here beside:
this one, viz: The GaStonia, Avon, n
Ozark, and he has laid down the rule.
under no circumstances to employ a
child under IL years of age" We made
a complete tour of the spinning room
and the superintendent figures were
correct. You will find at Jul other
mills, the Avon employing 300 hands,
and the Ozark 200 hands, whose super
intendentS are ons of our president,
Mr.. Gray, just the same condition" At
the Modena cotton mills 1 met it's treas
urer. J.. d. Moore. and his remarks
were thoroughly interesting. Il have
been in the mill business in this district
over thirty years, and therefore am
qualified to speak intelligently on the
subject. At the outset / wish to put
myself On record and enter a protest to
the sweeping charge hat u mill help
is composed of the crackers from the
mountain districts. AS far as this sec
ton is concerned it is hardly true.
Conditions have caused some Of the
best connected families, those that car
trace ancestry back to the revolution
airy stock. to seek employment in the
mills They are of u own flesh and
blood. 1 know of families working in
the mills, related to men prominent in
the politics of our state, who have rent
ed out their farms to tenants and
moved to mill villages. Here at the
Modena we have girls who have taken
a course at our collegiate institutes and
/ predict that the day is not far off
when, with their native born American
talent our operatives will surely place
themselves in the front rank of textile
workers of the world.
AS for the child labor problem, no
body seeks the solution Of il more eager
ly than the mill managers. I believe 1
am honest in saying that with a very
few exceptions, isolated cases, where
help is very scarce. and therefore the
child's service is sought, few of our
mills make a practice Of using children
of tender age. Instead of slavery it is
becoming the era of emancipation. The
farm has ceased to furnish the proper
means of livelihood. The mill is giving
our people the comforts of home, the
opportunity for education, and the pros
poets of lettering their L
mean by this, a lad can make greater
in a mill, if he has the ability,
than in any industrial pursuit know OF
1.-The mill is
A PRACTICAL TEXTILE INDUSTRl-
AL SCHOOL.
I know Of dozens of cases in North
Carolina where men who commenced
life as doffers and SweeperS at eight
and ten years are now presidents OF
large institutions self-made men. Here
in Gastohia We have a striking example,
George A. Gray, now the president Of
four of our mills. He began life in the
mill as a sweeper, never attended school
a year at a time in his life, yet today
is a good scribe, book-keeper, and as
you no doubt are aware, a successful
business a At so he is robust and in
the prime of life, and is the hardest
worker in our town. He can be seen
anu -.arpsnu or e ON hic hnrSn ms EInc
the rounds of his mills.
I can cite many such instances as we'll
as that of boys who have gone through
the various branches of the mill, and
are now superintendent of same, with
salaries varying from $500 to $1,000 a
yea
Words could hardly describe the
Fourth of July celebration we had here.
There were over 10, 1000 people present,
the operatives from all the mills in the
county participating; and the beautiful
floats arranged by the mills, decorated
with fabrics they made, and graced by
handsome mill girls, dressed in goods
their fingers helped to make, pro-
duced a scene that was inspiring. The
speeches made. the games and festivi-
ties enjoyed, the patriotism displayed.
could not LAY been that of a people
bound by a yoke Of slavery but the
%outbursf of a happy and contented peo-
pie We want no legislation, no inter-
ference. We are regulating the condi-
tons as they exist in our own way.
Education can accomplish that result
our boys and girls lead a life of
idleness and it opens the way to crime
and vice"
At Kings Mountain I met c. E. Neis-
Ter, superintendent Of three mills, Kings
Mountain Manufacturing Co., employ
ing 100 hands, Bonnie Cotton mills. en-
ploying lbs hands, and Indian Creek
mills, near Lincolnton employing 9"
hands. He stated that not more than
a dozen children under twelve were en-
ployed in these mills.
Calling at the office Of the Dilling Cot
ton mills the following information. af-
ter some hesitation, was furnished me
by j. N. Williams, superintendent IF
same. as well as the Enterprise and
Cora Mills. "At the Dilling we employ
$50 hands, the Enterprise 100, and the
Cora 100. with not more than 25 chill
dren under II years of age in the three
mills"
At C~owders Mountain I called on w.
Shealy, superintendent Of the