Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-09-05

superintendent Is a gentleman Of un-
questionable ability who has had
twelve or fifteen years experience In
school work. One Of the teachers
is the daughter Of the president, a
graduate of one of the best female
colleges in the state-teaching for the
love Of the work. Another Is a grad
uate. proficient In Latin, Greek,
French and the higher mathematics.
Another Is a graduate, skilled In elo-
cution and primary work. This school,
like many others In mill villages, Is
graded, and during the past session
there were ten young men and women
in the ninth grade preparing for col
lege. This only a type Of the class
of schools found in the larger mills,
and at the smaller ones are found
neat, comfortable buildings, and
schools taught by competent teach
ers. Another feature Of the school
work Is the stress that is being laid
on the kindergarten. At many OF
the mills trained kindergarteners are
employed by the management, and
the little tots are taken In charge
and started tenderly and wisely.
Such influence thus early In life
must without doubt result in good.
But such influences are not for the
children alone. Reading rooms are pro-
vided al some Of the mills, In which
are always found the leading daily,
weekly and monthly newspapers and
magazines, and free access Is given
to these day and night. Libraries are
provided free Of ali charge, and ] know
Of one which contains as many as
5000 volumes. In some OF the mills
night schools are conducted for the
benefit Of those who must labor IN the
daytime. Young Mems and Young
Women's Christian associations are or
ganized and conducted solely for the
benefit Of the operatives. Trained men
are employed as secretaries of the Y.
M. c. AS, and In one mill with which
am acquainted a monthly Is publish
ed In the interest Of this organization.
Paid secretaries are also employed In
some instances for the Y. w. c. AS,
and these conduct their night schools,
have their handsomely furnished club
rooms, and are splendid guides to the
girls Of the village. In another mill
q lady Is employed to teach domestic
science. cooking, ess-making milli-
merry ETC., and the girls as well as the
young married women Of the place at
.end these classes. All the expenses,
including ell the materials used ana
the salaries Of these ladies, is borne by
the company. Besides these, amuse-
ments, such as baseball, bowling alley,
eymnasiums, etc, are encouraged. Not
by any means do all profit directly by
these things, not all will profit by any
thing under the sun, but a goodly
number are uplifted and bettered. CIV
en- broader and brighter Views OF life
and are fitted for higher and holier
ways than those their parents trod.
Spiritual Condition.
In regard to their spiritual condition.
a good deal can be said on both sides
of the question. The opportunities for
attending religious exercises In the va
rious churches and chapels are far
better than were usually enjoyed before
they began mill work. In'the summer
miles of dust, and In the winter miles
of mud lay between them and their
houses of worship Hundreds Of them
owned no horses and no live stock OF
any kind, and no conveyances. III th7"
attended church at all II meant that
the father and the mother should walk
the whole distance with the small
est children in their arms, and the re-
mainder Of their numerous family
trailing along behind. In many cases
their management OF their anairs nad
for making a living had been so poor,
or they themselves had been so indol-
ent that not q single member OF fhe
family was even neatly clothed.
weary tramp to church and weary
one home again. Sometimes they lis
tened to a class, well-educated
preacher; sometimes they listened
merely to a harangue from one VINO,
even supposing that he was earnest ana
righteous. was not able to teach them
In the things Of God. Now all this Is
changed. They live In their villages
almost within a stones throw Of their
house Of worship. They are able 70
dress we'll. and. without trouble. at
tend services where, as general rule,
men Of ability preach. In the major
ity of mill villages there are services
twice every Sabbath. and the leaders.
In church work gather the children to-
gether once a week and give them
training and instruction In the Sab
bath schools. These churches are gen.
orally built by the company owning
the mill. and the house, as well as fuel,
lights and janitor's services for the
same are furnished for the use OF the
free Of charge. At all the
larger mills each denomination has It's
own houses of worship, and these
houses are built partly by contributions
from the operatives and partly by dona-
tions from the management. AS gen.
eral thing the management Is very
favorably disposed toward preaching
when It Is done by reputable men. as
their presence at the services and their
toward the expenses OF
the same abundantly testify. Indeed
II Is no new thing to see president
and operatives all sit
ting together while they eat the bread
and drink the cup In memory OF a
common Lord.
There Is very little room for COM
plaint on the subject Of attendance at
these services. Young and old attend
both in daylight and at night. Proba-
bly, as large a proportion Of operatives
attend church as would be FOUND among
farmers. merchants or mechanics.
Take almost any neighborhood In the
farming districts. or almost any town
or city In which there are no Mills
and the proportion Of inhabitants VINO
attend church services Is very little
II any, larger than In the mill villages.
And when they attend such services
their behavior Is as good as that found
among any other class Of our citizens.
OF course their conduct and attend
ance, as we'll as their daily lives, de-
pend a good deal on the stand the
takes concerning these
things. When It comes to the financial
part of church life. they do not respond
to the calls of the church according 10
their ability. OF course there are bright
exceptions to this rule. For instance,
I know of one mill church that. not
only supports Its own pastor, but also
is the sole support Of a missionary IN
China. know Of another mill. the
yearly nav roll Of which Is $4,000, and
vet, although there Is preaching there
every week. the total contributions on
the part Of the operatives Will not
amount to $3.50 a year. All the re-
mainder Is paid by the officers and the
company. Probably neither OF these
mills can be taken as a type. but the
latter is more nearly a type than the
former. In addition to this, II Is ex-
ceedingly difficult to keep any thor
oughly organized work In progress. so
many Of them move so much from mill
to mill that they have no real church
affiliations. They do not get accus-
toned to their pew in one church until
they are hunting a pew In another.
Hundreds Of them today after years
of mill life still have their membership
In the old country church where they
first Joined. and that Is possibly twen-
ty, possibly two hundred miles from
where they now live. Their intense
restlessness, their nomadic spirit,
seems to be the cause In these, the
only lamentable conditions, Of present
mill life. And since the years that are
past have brought So much good to
tho.a thonoan6o ~ unrkinD npOnle.