The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1906-06-13
COTTON MILLS
TO REDUCE u
Conference of Mill Men Adopt ResoIa.
tlons to This Eftect-..AIso One Re-
qulring Compulsory Education.

A conference most important in its
bearings upon the industrial progress
of South Carolina was held Tuesday in
Greenville at the board of trade rooms.
There were present 70 mill presidents
of South Carolina representing 1885, 900
spindles, or more than two-thirds of
the spindles of the state. The result of
the meeting was the organization of
the Cotton Manufacturers Association
of South Carolina.
The conference adopted resolutions of
vital Importance to the mill interests.
One of these was that the hours of
work per week be reduced from 66 to
60, the change to be made gradually
and extending over several years, and
the wages of operatives not to be de-
creased consequent upon the reduction
in time. The first change in hours will
be made July 1, 1906.
Another important resolution was
that a committee be appointed to re-
quest the legislature to enact three
new laws: One requiring compulsory
education in South Carolina of all chill
dren under IL years of age, another for
registration of all births, and a third
requiring a certificate of marriage in
South Carolina.
The conference also went on record
as endorsing the state law limiting the
age of children employed in the mills to
twelve years and over, and p~ledging
strict observance of it.
"A PronL Df Aol.s,o, 800 -
motion of Captain E. A. Smyth, called
to the chair, and j. /. Westervelt of
Greenville, was requested to act as Sec
retarv.
Captain Smyth then introduced a Sc
ries of resolutions which were referred
to a committee of resolutions consisting
of Captain Smyth, as chairman; and l..
w. Parker of Greenville; v. M. Mont
gomery of Spartanburg, president of
the Pacolet Manufacturing Co.; Thos.
Barrett, Jr., of Augusta, Ga, president
of the Langley Mill, the Bath Manu-
featuring Co., and the Clearwater
Bleachery, all in South Carolina, and
q. t. Wright of Newberry, president of
the Newberry Cotton Mills.
The conference then adjourned for an
hour, where a beautiful collation. was
served by the Greenville mill officials
and their lady friends. At the second
session of the conference held at 2.3O
O'Clock, the committee reported the fol-
lowing resolution, which was adopted:
Resolved, That a permanent or
ganization be effected, anda committee
to nominate officers for that purpose to
report at a meeting to be held on June
%, the place of meeting to be named
later.
The following resolutions were also
reported by the committee on re-
solutions and were adopted by the con-
ference and speak for themselves:
Resolved, That it is the sense of
this conference that the running time of
the cotton mills in South Carolina be
voluntarily reduced by the mill man.
ayers On July l, 1906 to Cd hours per
week, and on July /, 1908, to 60 hours
per week, and on July 1. 1910, to 60
hours per week. The mill managers
recognize that for many reasons it is
best both for the employees and for
the corporations that this reduction tt
60 hours should be gradual and extend
over a period of years.
"Resolved, That this conference urge
upon all the cotton manufacturers in
South Carolina to continue to carefully
observe the age law limiting the en-
ployment of children to those of IL
years of age and older, and forbidding
the employment except under lawful
conditions, of children under IL years
of age.
Resolved, That this conference of
cotton mill manufa .turers earnestly ap-
prove the passage of a compulsory
school law in South Carolina to apply
to all children under IL years of age,
and also recommend the enactment of
"a law requiring the registration of all
births in South Carolina, and also a
law requiring marriage certificates be-
fore any ceremony can be performed in
South Carolina.
Resolved, That the chairman of this
conference appoint a committee of
seven WHO SIdll pTepdTc ClTCuldr ieI-
ter to be printed and placed on the desk
of each senator and member of the
house of representatives of the South
Carolina Legislature urging upon them
the enactment of these three laws.
Resolved, That it is the judgment
of this meeting that there should be no
change made in the wages of the en-
ployees at this time consequent upon
the change of hours so proposed; enab-
ling thereby such operatives as work by
the day to secure the amount of wages
for the shortened days as they would
have secured for the longer day; it be-
ing the hope of the manufacturers here
assembled that piece workers will be
able to secure, through increased en-
ergy consequent upon the shortened
hours of labor, the same amount of
wages during the shorter time that they
have previously earned.