The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-02-04
Southern Conditions
and Those Of Other Sec
lions Of the Country.
BETTER CHANCES
DO w N IN DIXIE
Virginia, the Carolinas and Other
States Offer Superior Induce
ments to the Thrifty Wage
Earner-Better Living
Conditions and More
Chance to Prosper.
BY w. J. LAucK.

nc condition of labor in the South
as compared with other sections =,
me United States has been a favori,e
;opis during recent years Tor ponn,,r
enters on existing Industrial condi
ions. Many OF the writer; and social
"orhers who nave hooded the prcas
win articles of this description. how
ever. have been constrained more Of
zen by their emotions or by "a tendency
10 lay stress upon the sensational ana
picturesque rather than by a desire Ia
know the truth and TO set forth the
iacts impartiaily. EnfortunateIy, how
ever. their constant reitcrations leo
many Intelligent persons to assum.
lhat me conditions of labor In tie
south. TO say the least was far from
satisfactory II almost came 10 pass
'Eat the public unconsciousl,, assumed
backward state of Industrial condi.
ions In the Southern States In very
riuch the same way that they gave
thtir undiscriminat.ng assent to the
parwinian theory OF evolution, or 10
Inc laws OF gravitaiion. 1t has re-
CURED several years OF Official IN
Hestigation to dispcl effectively this
precunceived and unwarranted as
sumption.
Governmental investigation.
Tao most severe jolt, this more or
less cr!stailizcd state OF publ nina
relative 20 Southern industrs35i condi-
lions received came from the results
OF the Women and CHILD Labor In
rcstigat.on by the United States
Bureau OF Labor carried on during the
period leQS-lslo
Investigations somewhat later By
the same bureau of the Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania. labor troubles, and later
the scale OF wages. and condition of
employment H.. the iron and steel In
dustry as whole. gave q further and
Instructive insight into contemporary
Industrial affairs. The Senate Select
Committee on cost OF Living, in 1910.
also made comparative study of
wages and cost of living in the North
and South The Federal Tariff Board
has also worked out connpa rison OF
money wages in the cotton goods
manufacturing industry. Furthermore
the British Board OF Trade covered
the North as well 9 the South IN 1909
in studying wages and cost OF living
in tho industrial sections OF this
country. More important in this con-
Mection, however. than all oth,rs nave
been the special studies of the United
States Immigration Commission. which
conducted exhaustive inquiries into
wages. conditions of employment, and
standards and costs Of living of wage
mining and m -nufacturing in the
North and South and other sections or
the United States
Nindication of the South.
These impartial studies by the
United states and British govern
ments have resulted in n complete
r!ndicatioR of the South. The radical
statements relative TO Southern in
dustrial conditions, which were before
>pyth
discovered to be without foundation.
On the other hand. state OF In
dustrial affairs has been disclosed In
the Middle, New England, and West
crn States. which had not before been
generally realized. or known to exist.
AS regards women and child labor,
the United States Bureau of l.. Dor, af-
ter its painstaking and extensive In
quiry, reached the conclusion that the
extent and conditions Of employment
Of women and children In Southern
mills and factories had been greatly
exaggerated and that there had been
no basis for statements, which had
hccn given wide circulation.
AS matter of fact, the conditions
surrounding the employment OF women
and children were generally as good
in the Southern States az elsewhere.
and q great deal better than in some
day and per week. a rule, were
shown to be longer in the South than
In the North, but 1t was also ascer.
tanned that radical reductions in
working hours had been made during
recent years. and were still being put
into effect. / &c rates OF money wages
paid in the South, as a general PROPOSE
lion, were also discovered to be lower
than in the North. In this connection,
however. it was found through gov
ornamental investigation that there had
been rema rkable increases during the
past few years in money rates Of pay
Incnt. In many Industries, such as
cotton goods manufacturing, money
rates OF payment were discovered to
he rapidly approaching the same Lowell
as in the North. For unskilled labor,
wages were about the same as else
where. In the bituminous coal mines
of the South. employees We're found to
be earning more than In some ocoupa-
lions In the mines of Western Penn
4 sylvania Tho most significant fact
4 disclosed, however, was the lower cost
4 of living among wage earners in the
! South. This condition Of affairs
1 causes an approximate equality with
real wages in other sections, which
\ fhc money rates of wages would not
i indicate.
/ Another salient feature resulting
z from governmental investigation is the
+ fact. not hitherto fully appreciated.
4 that the Southern manufacturer and
x mine operator mas had to deal with an
inferior and unsatisfactory labor sup
ply. In tho face of these conditions.
although money wages have often
been low, in the South. in reality labor
costs have often been higher than In
the Middle States or in New England.
" =