The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-10
AS Dixie Enlarges It's
Manufacturing Labor
Question Looms Up.
IMPORTANT FACTS
THAT CONFRONT US.
Where the Workers in New IND
dustries Are Coming From,
Relative Value of Immigrant
Wage Earners-Facts and
Figures That Are Worthy
of Careful Study.

With the exception of the coal mines
OF Virginia, West Virginia and Ala
bama. the blast furnaces and steel
mills of the South have principally
attracted the recent immigrant wage
Garner to their operating forces. AZ
yet the foreign born operative is a
factor of no Importance In Southern
cotton mills. South Italians, owing
to the large colony in New Orleans.
have been employed in the cotton mills
of that city for a number of years. f
Within the past few months several
cotton mills in the South have, as an
experiment. introduced n number OF
Poles into their operating forces. These
are isolated cases. however. and the
great body of Southern cotton mill
operatives are native Americans re-
cruitcd from the South's agricultural
and mountain classes The Southern
and Eastern European Immigrant IS
found only In the coal Mines the
iron and steel mills and furnaces, ana
on the land in tho Southern states.
The recent immigrant coal miner in
Virginia and the South has already
been discussed In these columns. The
immigrant iron and steel worker may
now e considered, and the status Of
the Southern and Eastern European
farmer in the South presented later.
Iron and Steel Worker.
The recent immigrant iron and steel
worker is of recent arrival in tho
South. lie has come, as the result or
industrial development and tho de-
mand for labor. The census of 1900
showed that there was a total of a.
GOO iron and steel workers in the
Southern States. or this number 100
were native Americans, and $500 were
negroes, also natives. The remaining
1000 were wage earncrs of foreign
birth. chiefly skilled workmen from
England, ireland and Germany. Alto.
gcthcr there were not moro than flfty
Southern and Eastern Europeans In
the South. consisting of few Italians
and Poles In Maryland establishments.
The condition OF affairs Mt the pres
ent time is very different. with tho
building OF now steel mills and blast
furnaces in tho Southern States the
demand for labor to operate them
could not be satisfied by the local
sources of supply. White labor was
The negro was found to be Irregular
and unsa tisfactory. Recent Immigrant
labor was, therefore. secured from
the Northern States and from abroad.
All the rough and unskillcd work in
the Southern iron and steel centres
Is now largely done by Southern and
Eastern Europeans. Thirty-six races.
principally OF Southern and Eastern
Europe. are at the present time repre-
scented among the workers in Southern
mills and furnaces. In the BirminE-
ham district of Alabama alone there
are 600 immigrant families, represents
ing more than 5000 persons. Three.
hfths OF the Iron and steel workers IN
Maryland are of foreign birth In
Alabama only one-hfth OF the total
number OF employees of furnaces and
mills are foreiGn-born. and In other
Southern States the proportion OF i'm
migrant wage-oarners Is much less.
But they arc gradually finding Iodg--
ment In the operating forces OF the
mills and furnaces, and the situation
In Maryland and Alabama may he
taken as an earnest of greater influx
/, in the future IL some effort Is not
made to secure labor Of different
kind. In Maryland and Alabama the
principal races of recent immigration
now employed ave the North and
South Italians. Russians. Slovaks.
Greeks Bulgarians and Macedonians.
Three fifths of these iron and steel
workers have been in the United States
less than i've years, and more than
one fourth have been in this country
year only or less than year,
Economic Status OF Immigrant Em-
rloycs.
AS Maryland and Alabama have re-
: ceived the bulk of recent Immigrant
! employees. an examination OF their
characteristics. their earnings and
standards of living. and the effects
of their employment in these two
| States. will AFFORD an instructive OBJ
/, ject lesson to Virginia and other Statea
OF tho South in their search for labor.
In the first place 1t may be men-
toned that practically none of the Rus
! slams. South Italians. Slovaks and Bull
Garians had any training or experience
abroad for the work in which they
are now engaged in this country. All
the iron and steel workers of these
traces were farmers or general labore-s
before immigration to the United
States. BY way OF contrast moro
than onc-third of the Germans eni-
ployed in the iron and steel Industry
In the South. and considerable propor-
lions of tho English. irish and Sco-ch
were skilled and trained workers be-
fore coming TO the United States. Tho
weekly earnings OF tho foreign born
employees as n whole are one-th.rd
less. and the earnings of the Southern
and acknowledgements not much more
than half OF the earnings shown by tho
native Americans. 4 striking example
of the low earning capacity and ms
efficiency OF the Southern and Eastern
| European IS set forth BY tho table
below. which shows tho average weak
ly earnings OF the principal nativity
groups and races employed in tho mills
1Cpntinued on Second Pa9o.J