Year: 1875

OF the mlowners or Rhode Island became subject Of
controversy and some harsh accusations were made
against them or yrannica conduct towards their oper
atives Tho' amor" the owners and managers OF
cotton mills there should be found men Of mean and
tyrannical and, perhaps, even cruel disposition, is
not improbable. The manager Of large factory has,
necessarily great power over the working people,
and wherever men have great power they are likely
30 abuse il II they dare Whether such abuses arc
more common Rhode Island than elsewhere am
not capable Of deciding for 10 do so should have first
TO make an investigation, which would require many
months. Those however, who assert that the
operatives Of Rhode Island mo better than
slaves,n seem to me to accuse, not SO
much the millowners as the operatives
themselves No man is slave who has the right Of
migration secured to him. unless he lacks the spirit Of
man. the courage and endurance which all Of us need
In the struggle of life The Fall River striker who re-
fuses other work and remains in Fall River consuming
hts savings unreasonable creature but he is not
slave If he chooses TO be improvident and II bis i'm
providence brings him to want, and II want thus
brought compels him by and by 20 accept dlsaste
ful terms proposed to him by his former employers y
seems TO me he is in fault; but he is by no means
slave In the same way II anywhere in Rhode Island
elsewhere in New England the factory operative Is
uncomfortable and submits TO permanent discomfort



be called "a slave" for he has the right
20 90 elsewhere and do something else 1t
may be difficult for~him do this at the precise mo-
ment when he becomes dissatisfied; but in this his case
Is no than that Of millions Of his fellow citizens
who, If they sensible people, toll and economize
until they have saved enough TO enable them to mi.
crate or change their employment and until they
opportunity TO do so.


THE ISLAND coTToS MILLS.


In general the operative in cotton mill in Rhode
Island has what to one advantage; the mill
is usually accessible to him. he can reach him
with complaints and remonstrances. He does not
stock company, but individuals, who, in the
majority OF cases, live the mill, and
exercise moro or less oversight over its
management 1t is the custom, tocr here as
elsewhere in New England, for the millowners
to build upon their property houses for the occu
patton the operatives which let TO these at what
is acknowledged to be low rental In the newer estab-
lshments these houses usually very comfortable
and much better than could be obtained elsewhere at
the same rental In some of the older establishments
the houses not good; but the tendency is to
build better.


The Fall River Labor Journal complains that at some
mills the regulations made for the conduct Of the oper
tives who occupy such houses arbitrary and OPP
pressvc Possibly this is true in cases; l can





apropensity interfere mems lives exercising his
authority unpleasant way; but If he should push
his regulations too far he would tho
risk Of losing his laboring force; and he will
not do this because the pecunia-y loss which results
from Reorganization of the force' is too great to
be borne The security Of the operatives lies just there
II requires months Of and expense to thoroughly
organize the force in mill TO make all work harmoni-
ousy together to weed the ncapabes and get the
right person in the right place When this work is
done il is nothing less than calamity for force
trained 10 be broken up, and millowner will rather
work at a loss, many all over New England
doing stop his works and thus lose the people
he has trained


That nevertheless the mill owner has great power
over his operatives s undeniabe Here is an instance
which shows it Last winter smallpox broke in one
or the Rhode Island manufacturing villages. II was
at time OF the year when the opera
tives, mostly French Canadians and a merry
people, are accustomed to visit from village to village
having dancing parties and other frocs The physician
who called in decided that absolutely
sary TO isolate the village in question: and to vaccinae
all the people. The milowners made known the
sity TO the operatives and threatened to summary dis
charge and eject from their houses every one who
evaded vaccination who transgressed tho temporary
quarantine. The result was that the disease was





man taken with smallpox after the order was
given, and he discovered to have eyaded vaccna-
tion. or course while in this the authority
cised for the good OF the people, agree that it
might also be used for bad purposes But II 1t were It
would be resented, and the people would in time re-
move Therein lies, think, their sufficient security.


THE SAVINGS BANKS.


In one respect think abuse is possible, and has
In two notable cases happened II j. or less the
case that the millowners also the controlling
gers OF savings banks in the State Where this is tho
case, their mismanagement milowners may lead
them to borrow the savings banks funds to help them
out Of straits, and may happen that the future Of
mill may involve the failure also or savings bank and
the loss OF their savings to the operatives Two OF the
savings banks Of Rhode Island are now winding up
their affairs They involved IN the sprague failure,
and in just this way. The money IN the banks was
borrowed am told to help the factories and the end is
loss which ought have been avoided or course the
temptation to borrow the funds or bank which Is thus
controlled is very great aud the evil j. necessarily
by the depositors In time to be averted 40 not
know what the aw-makng power do 10 prevent
such connection but those who undertake advise
aborers their should certainly them
not to invest their savings bank which is controlled
by their employers.


FIGURES FROM rHE CENSUS 1875.


The census OF Rhode Island has just been completed
and fortunately under tho supervision OF an uncom-
monty intelligent statesman, Or. Snow, Of Providence
Some facts and figures which have taken from the as
yet unpublished tables tell the general condition Of
Rhode Island In an instructive and, TO mo, ex-
tremely interesting way For instance-With a
population Of 25s 239 Rhode Island has in this
year q hard times only $50 paupers Of 80
over the year 1873 Providence with 100 900 peo
pie has but s5 paupers; woonsocket, with 1856 peo-
pie, has but s. Pawtucket with Is a464 has but 0; Lin
coln with ll5eS, has but s. Cumberland with IL GA
has only Burriyle, scat Or the greatly depressed
woolen manufacture with ,24o people, has paupers
Westerly, with 5,4os people, has butI


Tho State contains 55245 families and 1875 dwell.
Ing houses, Of which only sG3 many Of them farm
houses stood empty when the census vac taken You
viii notice that FOR the whole state the average Is ess
than one famly and half % Tho dwaIlLnn IN poi