The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-19
CHILD LABOR IN LITTLEToN.
DIR. McKelWay Visits Mr.. Wilson'S Mill
and Replies to His Article


To the Editor:-H Having read with
much interest in the first edition of
! this mornings News and Observer the
letter of Mr. Finson / concluded to
| find out what kind of a mill he had
| himself with regard To the labor of
children. So took the Seaboard train
which landed me in Littleton in time
to see the mill open this morning and
returned to Raleigh on the Shoo-Fly.
But before proceeding with the ac-
count of what / saw, I should like a
| little space in reply to Mr. WILSON'S
argument. He refers to some statistics
for which | was given credit and
which were vehemently commented
| upon by r. II. Edmonds, of the Manu-
| facturers Record. The fact about
that is that / gave the reporter
statement that there were probably
| $4,000 children in the Southern cotton
mills, under fourteen years of age, and
| the reporter added to that the state
! ment that there were $4,000 such
children in Georgia alone. Manifest,y
| there was contradiction. | correct
ed the statement the next day and Mr..
| Edmonds saw it, but preferred to ig-
more it and left out of his quotation
| the only statement for which / was
| responsible. That is the whole matter
OF my having used these generous
| figures.
]
bill for putting into the hands of the
county school superintendent or the
nearest school principal the right to
| say whether q child has proved his
| age and ability to read and write, if
under fourteen. He says that the
school teacher knows as much about
| the mill business as billy goat knows
about fishing. But the school teacher
! is supposed TO know something about
| education, and that seems a small
| foundation for taking the mill bust
| ness out of the hands of the mill men.
Is it then SO dependent upon the work
of illiterate children?
So far as | have been able to find
out there was no agreement that the
compromise legislation of two years
ago was final. But if the mill mon
could only see that it is to their inter-
est to settle the question once for all
/ by advocating d good law, since we
have now a national committee CO.
operating with State committees the
guarantee could be easily given by
such State committee, for any given
term of years What is everybody's
business is nobobdy's business. Butt
what is somebody's bushes in particu- |
lar is not likely to be made the bust
ness OF ANYBODY else.
Mr.. Wilson'S argument with regard
to compulsory education is most can
wants the advocates of a better child !
labor law to advocate compulsory edu- !
cation for the whole State. And then !
ne says: ''If one Ga compulsory edu- |
cation laW) is introduced it will meet
With "a quick and sure death as it |
ought" 1t has generally been found |
that the compulsory education alter
native was dodge to- prevent needed |
egisation because it was recognized |
hat the time WAS nol ripe for conpuI- |
sorry education. But the motive was
never stated 50 frankly before
The editor Of the Presbyterian |
Standard and the former editor of the |
Charlotte News can afford to smile |
1t the accusation that he is an "emis- |
sary of Northern franaticism." ger |
maps he had better let one Of his |
brethren of the press defend him here. |
Said the Richmond NeWs-Leader a few
days ago:
DR.. McKelway's Address.
Some months back great rumpus
vas raised at the North over the evils |
Of child labor in the Southern cotton |
mills, and this benighted section was !
read series of lectures on the sub
iect by Northern philanthropic. hui /
nanitarians and benevolent. self-con- |
stituted regulators of our affairs, That I
child labor is an evil can not be de- I
MED, and the fact has been recognized |
by legislative action in several if not |
all of the Southern States But at |
the recent meeting of the American I
Association for the Advancement of
Science Prof. 4. j. McKelway, assist /
ant secretary Of the national labor
committee, speaking by the card, put
a flea into the ears of these intermed-
iers which ought to have the effect of /
making them roost lower in the flu /
ture. He declared that there were
more children under the age of 16
years working in the various mills of
pennsylvania than in all the Southern |
States put together. One point our
Northern mentors and critics in re-
spect to this matter have laid particu-
lar stress upon is that the proportion
IL children working in mills is larger /
1t the South than at the North Prof.
McKelway explained that, while that
statement was true, it was deceptive
ana Tor the reason that the percentage
of children is larger down South than
in the Northern States. To illustrate /
ne compared Massachusetts, and Geor-
Sia, showing that whereas the former
mas 500, coo more population than the
latter. Georgia has 100,000 more chill.
tren of the school age than Massa-
chusetts. Another noteworthy affirma-
ton of Prof. Mckelway's was that TAX
ing into account the cost of living, the
south leads the entire country in the
matter OF wages and the sanitary con-
dition of her mills Moral for the CO.
citation of our Northern friends:
Cast first the beam out of thine own
eye, and then Shalt thou see clearly
TO pull out the mote that is in thy |,
brothers eye
But to return to the Littleton mill
belonging to Mr.. Vinson. From the
earnestness of his protest ] had sup
posed that several hundred children
must have been employed by him. |
was somewhat disappointed to find
only small hosiery mill, four win
dows on one side and eight on the long
side, two stories. But these small
mills are frequently the most prosper
Gus, and therefore do not need to be
run OH the basis of child labor. /
found that Mr.. Vinson is well thought
Of by his people, and we We're deyoutv
y glad TO find that his mill is not run
1T night No child under fourteen
ought to be allowed to work all night
a mill. But just q little after day,
1T the mill, ole would have thought
that a kindergarten had been estab-
ished there. The first twelve workers