Evening star., 1907-11-19

ofmouth from their ancestors, who were.
well-educated pioneers. These ancestirs
moved into the interior. led primitive Lives,
and did not share in the progress of the
world. which passed by them in their iso-
lation. They are very tenacious in their
denominational prejudtces they want their
theology red hot: they are very emotional,
very fervent in prayer, and are great on
religious revvalS and preaching, which
stir their souls.
They are not very particular in politics,
but are generally democrats. and some
have been active in the prohibition move
ment.
Responsive to Good Treatment.
There are plenty of people in the
United States, especially foreigners, who
are in a worse condition than the cotton
mill operatives of the south" said Mr..
Baldwin. But, in nv opinion, there are
none who are SO responsive to what is
being done for them. There is no field
so fertile for work along religious and
educational lines. 1t is time of crisis
with them They are in period OF
transition morally and politically II we
enter into the work earnestly now we can
make good citizens of them and develop
them into communities of great useful
ness If we neglect them, they will be-
come troublesome and dangerous ele,
ment in our commonwealth. Unnumbered
thousands of them will go to swell the
ranks of the discontented and vicious, and
be a serious peril to the state and the
nation"
Mr.. Baldwin began missionary work
among the cotton mill people Of the south
many years ago, and has devoted his life
to their improvement. He has now set
tied down at the Chadwick and Hoskins
mills near Charlotte, where he conducts
a manual training school for text opera
tives, ard is teaching the children the
regular branches of the primary and sec
ondary public schools. The Chadwick
mill has 1900 spindles and the Hoshlns
%. 900 and 125 looms. Both manufacture
fine white goods and employ about 80
hands, all of them white people from the
hill country, who were formerly small
farmers, raising cotton and corn. win
their families these operatives make up
a town Of about 1900 people. and live in
model tenements erected by the mill own
ers, who encourage their employees to save
their money and buy homes, which are
offered them on installments for $1,000
to $3.50
Textile Training School.
It is proposed to establish a regular
textile school to train the children of the
poor white" class to become operatives
in the mills. There are several textile
schools in the south, but their pupils are
limited to the we'll l-to-do ella sSes, the sons
of proprietors and managers, and Mr..
Baldwin is trying to furnish similar
opportunity for the children of the poorer
families to qualify themselves for better
wages The work that he is doing here
is being taken up in other parts of the
south by the Y. NJ. c. A, which has COM
prehenSive plans for reaching the poor
whites and giving them technical edu-
cation that will qualify them for better
positions and better wages than they are
earning now.
Mr.. Baldwin is also working to improve
the homes and cultivate the taste of the
grown people and to assist in that way to
solve one of the most serious problems OF
the mill population that exists in this sec
ton, which is to fasten the mill popula-
ton down in permanent homes. Many of
the factory operatives are migratory.
They are restless, they are fond of change,
they get tired of living in one place and
crave the excitement of, new scenes and
sensations Sometimesl they are dis
charged from employment for one cause
or another, and where all the members of
a family are employed in the same mill
some of them are liable to have trouble
| with their bosses or their companions and
the situation becomes uncomfortable for
them. Help is very scarce. All the mills
are short of hands. and the overseers in
one mill often coax the employees of an
other away If they get "a chance.
To Inculcate Love of Home.
This migratory life is a bad thing for
the people," said Mr.. Baldwin. 1T pre-
vents their improvement materially and
morally; 1t interferes with their getting
homes of their own and acquiring the
comforts of life. If they move frequently
they never save any money, and the
children are kept out of school. There
fore we are trying to devise means to
make them more contented. One of them
is to encourage them to cultivate vege-
table gardens and flowers and plants
The factory owners are offering prizes for
the best gardens. the best-kept yards and
the greatest improvement in the appear
ance of the houses and grounds. The mill
owners furnish the seeds and employ pro-
feSsional gardeners to show the people
how to cultivate flowers and plants. The
judges come from other towns. so that
they are entirely disinterested and a
grea. deal of rivalry has been excited.
The movement began in the Atherton mill,
owned by Mr.. D. H. Tompkins of Char
lotte. who has been very active in support
ing It, and it is now spreading rapidly
over the south, because the mill owners
re ecognize its benefits.
When a man has an attractive home,
surrounded by garden that he has
planted and cultivated himself. he is not
likely to leave it," said Mr.. Baldwin.
Therefore this movement keeps many of
thH factory hands from moving. 1t keeps
them at home on holidays and after work
ing hours and prevents them from visiting
evil resorts; it gives them something to
think and talk about, and they have very
few diversions in their lives, it educates
their taste develops a love for the beauti-
full; it induces them to improve and embel-
lisn the interiors of their homes and makes
them more careful of their own appear
ance. 1t stimulates their self-respect and
prize and indirectly leads to other good
results The people who have taken the
most interest in beautifying their homes
are beginning to save their money to buy
places of their own. They don't want a
garden that they have cultivated to pass
out of their possession. and they are TAX
ing out life insurance policies also, in