Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-09-05
WORKERS IN THB
COTTON Mills.
Intelligent Appreciation Of fTheir
Status.
RIGHT PLArE FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE

RIGHT PLArE FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE
The Average Cotton Mill Employe
Stands Upon a Higher Level Than
the Popular Mind supposes-Men
Rise From Floor Sweepers to Gener-
All Managers, and They Are the
Equas Of Their Fellows In CORES.
pondins Stations Mentally, Morally,
Spiritually and Otherwise.
Rev. ]. L. Oates In Charlotte Observer:
I'VE need no sympathy. and we want
no pity" might be correctly taken as
the unexpressed sentiment Of the great
army Of mill operatives in the south.
And II they would express their
thoughts a little further they would
say that they want no snapshot judg-
merits and no ignorant or prejudiced
statements made concerning them.
Every new enterprise has to endure a
period Of misconception In the popular
mind, and Of this the management and
operatives Of the mills Of the south
have had their full share. The busi-
ness Of manufacturing cotton is only
abou. 25 years old In that section Of
the United States In which the staple
is produced. and within that time this
business has risen to a position Of
such far-reaching Importance that 1t
necessarily occupies very important
place in both the economic and social
affairs of the country in which 1t Is
carried on. And II Is but just that In
the minds of the management and
employees of other Industries there
should be a correct conception Of con-
ditioas existing in this industry. With
this object in view. this article Is per-
pared from sources of information that
cover the standpoints Of both the own
ers and the operatives. One Of the
clearest and best ways Of describing
the condition Of any class Of people
Is to show their financial, social, and
spiritual affairs. together with a COM
parison Of their condition In these
things with the conditions Of the same
class Of people In other well-known
vocations. Following this system In
our study of the mill operatives, let
us look first at their financial condi-
tiOn.
Financial Condition.
t., hot
mills are built and operated for the
purpose of making money for the
stockholders. And yet the stockholders
are not the only ones who share in the
material prosperity Of the business. In
he infancy Of this industry the oper-
atives were composed largely Of the
families Of those who had been fall
ures on the farm or other occupations,
and who moved to the mills for a sure
and steady means Of supplying their
daily wants. At the present time there
are still many who go to the mills In
order to earn their daily bread, es-
pecially where there are large fami-
lies Of girls: and many go because OF
the fine oppol unities offered for busi-
ness success. Let 1t also be remember
ed that much Of the labor Is unskilled,
and as such could be expected to COM
mand only the comparatively low price
hat such labor universally commands.
In spite Of these facts the financial
condition Of the operatives is far su-
perior to what Ii was before they be-
gan mill work and is equally superior
to that Of people Of the same general
skill and intellectual and physical
equipment engaged In other occupa-
tions. Indeed. after careful study OF
every general occupation, / do not be-
lieve that there Ia any field Of labor
that gives as great a return In money
or the comforts that money gives In
proportion to the equipment Of the la
bor"r as the cotton mill industry.
could name family after family whose
entire earthly possessions on the day
they begin mill work were not worth
to1 dollars, who could not pay the cash
for 'hree days food; whose clothing,
bedding furniture and faces bore the
n~mistakable marks of abject and
nirchire poverty: and yet after six
months Of mill work the rickety chairs
and bedsteads would give place to good
new furniture. the meal tub and -four
barrel were full. and salt pork gave
nlace to juicy. stall-fel beef.
In the matter of food 1t Is we'll
established fact that these mill people
usually have the very best that the
country affords. 1t may not always be
prepared according to cooking school
usages, but any one who has watched
the Saturday afternoon purchases, or
who has scanned the pages Of the gro
GERS or butchers books will be fully
satisfied that the tables that are set
In a mill village compare very favor
ably with those set In the fashionable
portions OF the city. I have tested
hoth. and the factory table Is not al
ways second. Indeed this seems one
'rouble with this particular people;
FOR many Of them buy not only suffi-
rinnt amount for their own needs. but
waste enough to go far towards keep
i"g another family Of equal size from
want.
In their clothing they are not one
whit behind their food. 1 have stood
heforn audiences Of city people. town
people. country people, and factory
reonle: and the last compare favorably
with any Of the others. What II some
nj them do wear rough clothing six
laws II the week? Have they not their
silks and ga ins and trailing plumes
carefully laid away at home and at
the first lecture. show. or sermon will
tney not all appear! IL is nol dH
u common thing to find men who In
all their lives had never had anything
hut he cheapest cotton or shoddy
clothing, after a few weeks at mill
dress in all the comfort and style Of
their town brothers. and. so, often
does the slat bonnet and faded calico
and coarse shoes Of the women give
place to the more elegant styles OF
dress
The furniture Of their homes and
their houses themselves are likewise
far better than they were accustomed
to in the other walks Of life. The
houses occupied by them are all COM
Portable They have not the elegance
of the palace. nor the airy roomi@ess
Of the old anteb bellum home; but they
are sufficiently roomy for comfort, and
are nearly always plastered or ceiled
and neatly painted: and the average
land -owner has not his own home as
weE furnished as the mill operatives
So true Is this that the merchants,
furniture dealers. ETC., who cater to
the mill trade soon discover that the
only way by which they can retain
their trade is by keeping the best.
o,@tt 90 oil to