New-York tribune., 1905-11-05
CHILD LABOR IN SOUTH.
Bous and Girls Work IN Cotton
Mills at the Early 4ge Of TsoelUe.

Mills at the Early Age OF 1SoetOe.
II IS difficult sor a Northerner to conceive of
children twelve thirteen years old work.
fnE In factories and actually operating
machines or of men working for wages rang
ing from 10 to 80 cents a day. In many
OF the cotton mills Of the South children Of this
age are doing this for eleven hours day, and
men are receiving these wages for eleven hours
Of work. A representative of The Tribune re-
Gently visited Albemarle. N. c., a town in the
skirts of the mountain region of the State, an1
saw barefooted boys in knee pants and girls in
skirts reaching only to their knees in cotton
mills. where they had been working from 6
o'clock in the morning until noon. and would
be employed until o'clock in the evening. Many
Of them thin shanked showing lack Of
bufficient nourtshment In that same mill were
hen who would receive payday an envelope
containing a sum Of money representing an
average daily earning Of Is cents. The average
Dum paid to each Of the 1,200 employees of the
largest MILL according to its secretary and
treasurer, is s. SO week This amount is ex-
Elusive Of the rent due the company from those
Sho live in its houses. The rent ranges from
b to So month and is deducted from the total
earnings OF those. The employment of child
labor in North Carolina has been restricted in
tecent years by the enactment of law setting
he minimum age of employment in the mills
t twelve years. Previous to the passage of this
iw, it is said, children young nine years
old were to be found in them.
Albemarle has a population of perhaps $500
Inhabitants OF this number about 2,30O work
in the mills The school population, according to
the Tax Assessor, is about 1,400- There is no
compulsory school law. The average attendance
at the two graded schools is about 275, accord
ing to the same authority. The average at the
one located in the part occupied by the mill
operatives is one hundred. There are seven hun
dred children living IL. this part Few of those
in the schools more than twelve years Old
The mill claims them after they have reached
this age The taxes OF the corporation of Albe-
marie are paid by 143 persons The remainder
of the population owns property upon which
it can be assessed.
Ore of the hanks in the village is labelled as
a savings bank. One of the officials, when asked
if the mill hands saved money. surprised the
Tribune representative by saying that it did not
do savings bank business.
Don't any of the mill employees save any
money!
'I don't think so, Thev don't get enough to
gave much. If they do anything they keep
it in their stockings"
MIR. Boston, the Tax Assessor corroborated
this testimony. Apparently, notwithstanding the
climatic advantage which the poor whites have
their
that several members of the family have an op-
portunfty to earn money, family is able to
collect a nest egg of any size. A few of the
workers It was said owned their homes.
AS one watched the barefeoted boys moving
with their bobbins and boxes up and down the
aisles between the long spinning machines it
was difficult to realize that they were not there
Just for the fun of it; that they would not enter
a schoolhouse again; that they had taken the
first step on the treadrnill of life. They had no
cheeks OF tan, but the boyish spirit had not yet
been eliminated. A commentary their youth
full spirits the girl with skirts scarce reach
ing to the ankles, who reclined istlessly on the
heighboring window sill, tired apparently that
even girlish curiosity swallowed up. With
eyes closed she lay there, needless of what went
on about her.
1t is difficult to discover how many children
work in the mills and what they earn. vii
lager expressed the belief that three-fourths of
the mill hands were children. MI Cannon, the
secretary and treasurer of the Wiscassett COM
pany. the owner of the largest mills, said that
there were 200 hands in his mill and 500 in
those of the Efird company. whose mills 2d-
joined and are reported TO be owned by the
stockholders of the Wiscassett company OF
the 1 200 hands 20 per cent were men and boys