The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-08-13

or enid labor legislation; where
upon | wrote and submitted to the
Georgian for publication, as follows:
| believe in giving the Devil his
dues, even though said devil may
happen to be the "red headed" sage
of Thomson, and even though he may
have been guilty-in the past Of tell
ing great many disagreeable
truths on us Democrats. I asked
them to publish, Or if not to please
save the copy for me, they have done
neither, and SO here goes a copy from
my scrap book on Feb II, 1894, an
Atlanta paper:
"The cotton mills of New England
are bound to come South.
When these New England mill
men come among us they will find the
protection here of equal laws. Be-
tween high freight, high wages, the
exactions of labor unions and legis-
lative interference the New England
manufacturer is in fix from which
there is only one escape; removal to
the cotton field.
1t is safe to say that the grocery
hill Of a family of six in Fall River,
Mass, will exceed by one-third that
OF similar family in the South.
For ten years past not session
of the legislature of Massachusetts
has failed to pass worrying laws un-
der which capital is handicapped.
The inspector appointed by the
State who passes through the mill
sending this one, or that one home,
because they look a little pale or
their cheeks are little flushed, on
the grounds that they are i'll, thus
stopping looms for hours at a time
This bane of legislation on the labor
question constitutes strong grounds
Of complaint on the part of those
who are compelled to submit to it.
Mill owners must continue to work
under the weight of this legislation
or move to localities where the con-
ditions Of labor do not demand such
protection"
A few days after the appearance of
the foregoing editorial in said At
lanta daily, the following reference
thereto appeared in the Peoples
Party Paper, Tom Watson's paper,
at least four years before the said
three Atlanta gentlemen are said to
have inaugurated the advocacy of
legislative opposition to child labor.
First We have the sugar-coated lie,
"The era of slavery has gone by"
Answering the grocery bill prob
lem the p. P. p says: "And so of
course the heather Chinee can live
cheaper by packing themselves in
underground dens in filth and rags
three to the square yard, thus econo-
MIXING in both fuel and quarters,
while living on diet of rice and
rats, so. they can work. even cheaper
than our most depraved and en-
shaved Southern labor"
New England legislation has
thrown around the factory operatives
Of that section a partial shield Of
protection, the enforcement of which
requires the owner to eXpend a small
per cent Of their profits for the pro-
lection Of life and limb of their en-
plOyees, and SO far as may be to
prevent the more INSCRIPTIONS from
recOuping off the wages of the labo-
rers.
Uniustly l believe, the editor of
that Atlanta daily paper, presuming
that.the mill owners of New England
are smarting under this most right
eOus legislation our would-be immi-
grafton promoters, overlooking the
one hundred God-giyen advantages
OF our section appeal to the one base
sentiment, hoped for license to
make profit off the degradation and
death of their kind by trying to