Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-21
ATTACK ON DR. STILES
Scored for Defending Child
Labor in the South.
DENOUNCED BY ROBERTS
Speech Stirs Delegates to Textile
Workers Convention.
Seeding UNIONS DISCIPLINED
Resolutions Adopted to Withhold
All Sympathy and Support-New
Universal Label Favored.

Severely castigating DR.. G. A. Stiles of
the United States public health and ma
rine hospital service for defending be-
fore the Southern Textile Association at
HaleiGh. y. c., the employment of chill
dren in the cotton mills of the south, f.
c. Roberts. formerly of Georgia, chair
man of a labor committee Of the Central
Labor Union of this city, today stirred up
strong Indignation among delegates to the
United Textile Workers of America, as
sembled in convention in this city
Mr.. Roberts declared his surprise that
public officer paid from the public
revenue, should appear before a conven-
ton of employers of labor and undertake
to defend the system Of child labor in the
southern states. Mr. Roberts advocated
action by the convention in opposition to
any attempt to further extend and to
perpetuate the system Of child labor in
southern cotton mills. Such employment,
he said. merely tended to displace adults
The Price Too Heavy.
Il love the southland" said Mr. Rob-
erts. " and 1 would do almost anything
in my power to have the cotton of the
south manufactured in southern states
But there are prices 1 would not pay for
such a commercial victory. l would not
give our little children as the price Of
success. We know that the houses of
these people are inSanltary. The effort of
organized labor is to make them MOI e
sanitary. Here in the District Of Colum-
bia 1t is a daily occurrence to hear white
and black men and women asking the
judge OF the Police Court to send them
10 the wo.khouse because they would BE-
better off there than in their own homes.
The workhouse is more sanitary, and
they are better fed there than in their
homes. Our effort has been and will be
to improve the homes.
Mr.. Roberts spoke In favor of the more
genera adoption of the union label on all
manufactured goods and declared that il
women to ask their employers to patron
fze only union labor when they them.
selves refused to buy only goods marked
with the union label and in that way pat
ronize only union labor.
BY refusing to purchase only goods
that bear our table, he declared. you
are putting money into the hands of men
VINO are attempting to place GOmpers,
Morrison and Mitchell in jail.
Keep Away From Politics.
Mr.. Roberts favored the policy OF bre ak
ing away from all political parties In or
der to obtain the ends that were being
fought for by labor unionists. In North
Carolina, he said, legislative methods
were the most efficient means for short
ening hours in the mills, and he thought
they should be used. In the breaking
away from old political parties he saw
the greatest encouragement for success
along those lines.
John c. Colpoys, president of the Cen
trail Labor Union of this city, addressed
the association. Referring to suggestions
of manufacturers that the product of the
cotton mills be curtailed, he declared that
if that were done the textile workers
must be paid more money for the cur
tailed product.
What discipline should be meted out
to seeding unions was the subject of
animated debate among the delegates.
The general sentiment favored depriving
seeding unions of all manner of benefits
on the part of the Federation OF Labor,
Central Labor unions and from the ma
tional organization of textile workers.
Any sympathy given those seeding and
Independent unions. it was argued, only
encouraged them in their efforts to dis
organize the labor union movement. So
generally was this plan approved that a
resolution declaring the sentiments OF the
association in favor of withholding all
sympathy and support from Independent
unior: was adopted unanimously.
witness Against HIMSELF
Thomas Tracy. secretary of the union
label department of the American Fedora
ton OF Labor, called attention to an
article appearing in an August magazine
which he said would place DR.. Stiles in
the position of a witness against himself
in the matter of the employment of chill
dren in southern cotton mills. In that
article, he said, DR.. Stiles had deprecated
the employment of childl en-, and had stat
ed there were 2OlOUo children in the
southern cotton mills. and that their lives
were slowly being sapped by the hook
worm disease. Mr.. Tracy declared that
the new label department of the Fedora
ton of Labor has 100000 union men and
women in Affiliation with it, and he ex-
pected soon to see added to that num-
Der at least 2OO,OOO more workers.
The association approved recon-
mendation favoring an eight-hour work
day for all silk workers In the United
States.