David Clark Says Child Labor, Longer Workweeks Not Reason New England Mills Are Coming to South, June 9, 1924

Denies Child Labor Brings Mills South

Charlotte, June 7—That the mills of New England are moving to the south for economic reasons and not because of child labor and longer working hours was the assertion of David Clark, editor of the Textile Bulletin, at a luncheon of the Kiwanis Club.

Mr. Clark asserted that in the south last year but 1,993 children under 14 years of age were permitted to work. No state in the south or New England permits children under 14 to work, except that in the south special permits are issued in certain cases. The hours of work in the south are longer than the hours-per-week of employment in New England, with the exception of Massachusetts, which has a 48-hour week.

Mr. Clark said the New England Mills are neither efficient nor efficiently operated. That the south can today undersell Fall River in the manufacture of print cloth. He stated that 400,000 New England spindles had moved south in the last six months and predicted that migration would be more general in the next three years. He said curtailment of mills in recent months had kept 255 million pounds of manufactured cotton off the market, and predicted that, if this curtailment is continued two months longer, it will develop a sellers market and a general and rapid improvement in general business condition.

From the front page of the Concord Times, Monday, June 9, 1924

Children of any age were allowed to work on farms, and their hours were unlimited.