The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-30
EDUCATION n MIL
COMMUNITIES.

tnet IN the mill Villages
Of the South u : special problem; that
Y denaands special state legislation
IN several OF the Southern statAs, IN
v~lving recognition of the need tor
supervision for mill schools, ncour
agement OF part-time schools to meet
the requirements Of the smith HUGHES
act for federal aid, IL the conclusion
Of DIR. Harold w. Foght, OF the bu.
reau Of education, In his study OF "A
Half-Time Mill School," just pub
lished by the bureau.
DR.. Foght points out that the
rapidly increasing demand tor indus
les prosperous class Of the southern
rural population from the hill and
fountain districts to the mill centers.
As a people they are homogeneous;
they are all English speaking and Of
i--glo-Saxon and Hugenot origin.
They are. in the main, OF good blood
and OF fair native ability. but are
badly in need Of direction and, above
everything else. education. They have
brought down with them from the
hills and mountains their " social
standards and and customs.
which do not At into the l.ew mill
environment to any extent. The great
est hindrance to progress and indus
trial efficiency among the mill opera
tfves Is the prevailing large amount
OF illiteracy, which Is the unfortunate
heritage from their life in the re-
mote hill and mountain sections.
1t is well to emphasize, on the
other hand. that the average mill
family should not be considered as In
ferior to other people. There are as
many bright minds and true hearts
among them as in n average COM
munity. One southern educator. Presi-
dent D. E. Camak. of the Textile In
dustria1 institute, near S~partanburg,
S. c., feel that they have been, as
1t were. waiting In the mountains and
hill country till civilization needed
them. With the proper training OF
leaders within their " ranks" he
thinks, they will speedily develop a
citizenry IT remarkable strength and
character"
The mill community springs up us-
ually on h edge of one of the larger
Incorporated towns or cities. 1t has
none of the advantages of modern
city policing and sanitary inspection
and little Of school education. 1t Is
neither urban nor rural, and Is often
permitted to develop with little re-
gard to public control. The opera
tives' homes are usually the property
OF the mill corporation. The schools
are often organized and maintained
by the same authorities, and general
welfare work. so far as there Is any,
is under corporate control.
The mill operatives are, with few
exceptions. poor and have large fami-
lies. Many Of the adults among them
are entirely iiliterate and have a very
limited outlook on life. Most OF
them were obliged to go into the mills
~ py1A A.
in school or spending their time in
the out-of-doors at play. The little
schooling they are able to obtain is
seldom Of such a nature as to prepare
them for places requiring greater
skill. Women work in the mills in al
most as large numbers as the men.
Many married who yet have
children in arms spend most of the
daytime at the spindles or at the
looms.
Under these conditions the special
educational problems Of the mill COM
munity are considered to be:
/. How to organize school educa-
ton for the children from babyhood
up to the sixteenth . a OF their lives.
2. How to blot out the whitening
blight OF t~literacy. adult or other
wise. which IL seriously limiting the
eficiency of the mill population.
8. How to instruct the adult popu-
lation so as to increase their efficiency
and SO enable them to become more
than mere hands" in the mills.
4. How to assist the mill women
to become better housekeepers and
the men to become better supporters
OF their homes and upholders Of COM
munity life.
Some southern mill schools are
maintained as regular public schools,
drawing state and local aid through
public taxation, and are regularly
supervised by state and local ofncialA
Other schools of this class are sup
ported in part from public funds and
In part by the mill c~oropration.
Many Of the mill schools are owned
and maintained wholly by the mill
authorities, and thus lie entirely be-
yond the Jurisdiction of public-school
o~fictals. Some Of the schools are
poorly organized and inefficient. while
others Of this class are among the
very best in their respective states.
For their efficiency the privately.
owned schools must depend wholly
on tho public spirit of the CORPORA
ton hich maintains than ana -