The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-03-15

two years. I have not seen a single in
stance OF this being abused. One Of the
causes. also, that led to IL years being
the age limit is the fact that the en-
ployers liability companies win not
hold themselves liable to injury to any
child under IL a OF age.
CRITICISM OF NEW ENGLAND.
"A geat deal of adverse criticism has
been made on US by the people OF New
England. They seem to forget that the
question Of child labor has been prohib-
tied only within h past few years, and
it is not an old thing with them. New
England had fifty years the start Of the
south in which to build up their enter
prises and train their help, and now
seemingly, are over critical Of the con-
ditions they claim exist with us, evil
nently forgetting that it is only a Jew
years back since h same condition ex-
listed with them. In Georgia. the school
system is not so liberal as it possibly is
in other states. and it is much better for
a child II years OF age to be brought up
tributlng something toward the support
Of the family, rather than to be living
in idleness and to be learning vicious
and bad habits. Nowhere is the work
of any minor compulsory. We have in
our mills instance after instance where
We have X help out of the ridges
and mountains that surround US,
brought them into the mill where the
environment has been more elevating,
the standing OF living been much high
er. n their general welfare being very
much improved. Another thing:
This same class of people have been
living a very INDECENT life for years,
and are, as a general rule. acc
toned to any kind of mill discipline;
but after becoming thoroughly train
ed, their standard OF living having
been increased, it takes more wage
earners to keep the family in proper
furnishings h formerly.
One of the great drawbacks that we
have in the south is hat our school ia
ciities are not up to those Of the north
ern states; but, considering the fact
that t~hirty-ffve years g the. country
had been left without any Of
any kind, the strides that We have
made in our educational --ork is moth
ing short Of wonderful, although there is
still great room for improvement which
will come in time as the country builds
up and becomes weather..
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN DIXIE.
1.-The number of spindles in the south
within the past few years has multi
piled many fold. and in doing this We
have had to make our help from the
very greeneSt and raweSt material.
We have found in the south that 1t was
much more profitable to build up our
mills in the cotton fields than to ship
u cotton elsewhere. In the first
place. 1T has been only since the south
has taken rapid strides in the cotton
manufacture that the price has ad-
Vanced from five cents and six cents UP
to ten cents and eleven cents, which
means a vast deal of profit for
the farmer. Again, when this is work
ed UP into cotton goods n is. shipped
out at prices varying, in the finished
product from Is cents and Is cents to
so cents per pound. it is bound to aug
ment our earning capacity many times.
The south some eight or ten years G
received on a basis of 10, 000, 900 bales
of cotton per annum, about $500, 900, 900
to $3.50, 900, 900 for the product Today
our crops run about IL 900, 900 bales and
the prevailing price for the past we!ve
months has averaged about 10 cents,
which increases the amount to some
thing like $500. 900, 900. In addition to
this we have increased u spindleS to
such IN extent that instead of getting
only 10 cents for this cotton in it's raw
state. we send out in manufactured
products at over double the price we
get for raw cotton whitehead the pres
ent rate of consumption of southern
mills must to 500, 600, 900 in ad-
diion. 1t would be inimical to these
growing conditions for us here in Geor-
gia to discourage OF hamper our manu-
featuring industries that are just be-
ginning to get a foothold. by cutting us
out Of a portion Of our help. Neither
car a roy person take the place of
children in a great many parts of manu-
facture, as their fingers are not so
nimble. nor are they so quick to learn.
CHILDREN MATURE EARLY.
There Is phase of the child Ia
o question in the south hat seems to
many Of our critics. A child in
the south natures at a much earlier
6 than one in New England. Fol-
instance a child Is years of 6 in New
England is only physically matured to
about the same extent as the n II or
IL years Of age, and in extremely south
ern countries. such as Cuba, Mexico,
etc, a child 10 or IL years OF age is
physically mature as one IA or 10 years
OF age in New England. There are
numerous instances of mothers in the
southern states not over IL or Is years
OF age. 1t is. therefore. extremely un-
just to apply the same rule to the
southern mills as to age limit that you
do to the northern mills, where the con-
ditions are entirely dissimilar, both as
to needs and requirements Of the per
son and their physical development and
condition"
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