The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-12-15

Of eight sidings, but they are physical
wrecks In a few years. The Whirr OF
the passing threads becomes a part
Of their whole mental and physical
makeup. / saw a little boy dying of
typhoid fever, and in his rawlings he
was tying the knots Of the spindles.
"Oh, I wish I'd get another siding!"
he was crying. "This don't work, and
the boss will be mad and will lose
my job" In his death struggle this
little child felt the sword Of the CAPT.
talist over him. This little victim Of
our brutal system died and the new
siding" which the fates had in store
for him could not have been as cruel
as the one he left behind for his little
brothers to watch.
The cotton mill produces a type that
can't be mistaken anywhere. An un-
der -sixed boy, narrow chest, shift
ing and uncertain gait. an expression
less face. and a soul that hopes not,
for there is nought In the cotton mill
workers life but the long hours Of
toll, repulsive food, bare walls, and
! at the close a hole In the ground.
Death can hold no horrors greater
than their lives have known.
The mill owners are not only the
| employers of labor, but they are land
lords, the merchants. the school dir
| ectors. the patent medicine venders
| and the Salvation Army soul-savers.
On every side Of him the worker feels
the touch" of his employer.
AS school director. for instance, the
| infamy Of the employers greed blocks
the pathway of the future OF the lit
| tie child A rule is made and strictly
! adhered to that child who is absent
| certain number Of days during a
term can not be promoted into the
next higher class, even though the
| studies have been carefully kept up
and the child is ready to take an ex-
animation to prove his fitness for pro-
motion. The hard and fast rule is
carried out from year to year and at
last parents and children, too, become
discouraged and the door of the school
house closes behind the child and the
mill door swings open to receive its
prey, never to give it up until death
seals it's ears to the whirr Of the SPIN
dies and the looms. During the last
session Of the legislature in South
| shorten the hours Of labor from twelve
to ten. The mil owners got few Of
their workmen before the legislative
committee who made plea for the
business interests" They insisted
| that they could not make living un-
less they ran at least twelve hours per
day. The bill was pigeon-holed. To
make sure Of its case the company
sent a petition around the mill district
asking the voting mill hands to sign
it for continuance Of the twelve hour
day. I saw man prepare to sign
it, but his wife said, mo, ten hours,
our job!" he cried in dismay. II tell
you even ten hours is too long to
spend in those pens!" she insisted and
the man did not sign. Mothers have
far more Of the revolutionary spirit
than have ia athers when 1t. .ls=a- -quesl-
! tion Of life and comfort for children.
It will be better day for the labor
ers, when the voice Of the mothers may
be heard in the legislative councils
Of the land.
South Carolina passed law pro-
hibiting the employment of children
under the age of twelve. As always
happens, the mill owner stood by and
out Of the kindness Of his heart, made
provision for the children Of the
widow and Of the invalid or the un-
fortunate. This admits all but the
children Of the well-to-do. In many
cases the parents have turned out ex-
ploiters and have sworn that they
| tn
During my stay in Columbia lately
a boy Of nine fell into an elevator
shaft and was killed.. His mother
drew his pay. The press statement
declared the boy to have been above
the age Of twelve and insisted that
he was not In the employ Of the CON-
pany that day. On such technicali-
ties the employer evades the law.
A shrewd scheme shows the mill
owner as landlord. He will not rent
his tenements or his cottages unless
the family can furnish g. worker in
the mill for every room in the dwell
ing.
Teddy had to go to work." said
one mother sadly I'VE had four
rooms, and when was kept at home
with the baby Teddy had to 70 to
make four hands from this house OF
four rooms!" The rents are low for
these company houses, making it an
inducement to fulfill the requirements
Of the landlords. They range from
$3.50 for single rooms to a family
domicile for six dollars per month.
One of the large mills in Columbia
is owned by an employer who owns
mills In Fall River, Massachusetts,
He has opened this mill in the South
because he can manufacture goods &C
much cheaper, and then he sends the
goods to the north to compete with
his wretched workers there. Since
the strike of 1904 the Fall River work.
ers are living on a starvation ware.
I sat each night watching the weary
procession Of men, women and chil.
dren leaving the mills at e:45 D. m
There were old mon walking, with
canes, mothers with babies at thei,
breasts. and many young children who
should be playing with balls or win
dolls in the train Of weary marchera
On the streets Of Fall River I noticad
l from Hav f4 Ia hat