The following is an excerpt from The Cotton Mills of South Carolina, by August Kohn, published in 1907.

"The worst help conditions are in the past, but they are very much better than they were twelve months ago. This is because there are more people going to the mills, and because some who have left the mills to go to the farms or the country are returning; and, altogether, the cotton mills are better satisfied with the labor conditions than they have been for some time, and that perhaps accounts for the abandonment temporarily of the effort to bring foreign mill laborers into this State."

"If one were to believe some of the articles of the sensational writers, they would think that the cotton mills of South Carolina grind the life out of the operatives, and that it is not an uncommon thing for an operative on a night run to have his or her teeth shaken out by some irate superintendent. As a matter of fact, there are very few cotton mills in this State that run at night. These few mills that do run at night pay the help from 10 to 20 per cent more for night work than day work, and even for this additional inducement they are unable to get any considerable amount of night help. The Dillon Mills and the companion, Maple Mills, do some spinning at night."

"The cotton mills even provide for their operatives everything that they might want to buy. Though some people entertain the idea that mill stores are intended for profit, the fact of the matter is that there are very few, if any, cotton mills that have ever made anything out of what is known as the company store. The operatives themselves are just as keen to make a good trade as anyone else, and if the company stores do not sell goods as cheaply and as good as any others they will not get the patronage of the operatives; consequently the company stores have to buy the very best of goods because the operatives will not wear anything but the best of clothes, nor will they eat anything but the best eatables, and the prices have to be on a parity with other places."

"There has been a very general impression, entirely without foundation, that the cotton mill operatives, as a class, live from hand to mouth. This is an error of fact and an injustice. So far as I know, there are no more contented people in the State. Altogether there are at least 125,000 people directly dependent upon the cotton mills for their livelihood, and I do not know of any class of workers, of the same number, who are so thoroughly satisfied, who live as well, who dress as neatly and who have as many comforts proportionate upon their skill."

In 1909, Lewis Hine wrote about his investigation of the cotton mills in Dillon, South Carolina, and said this:

"I heard many complaints among the workers about conditions, especially the low wages, long hours, pressure of work and the use of young children. During the past year some children have been turned off but plenty of them remain, many under the guise of 'helping'. The children themselves overstate their ages, their parents have mis-stated their ages so long. Illiteracy seems to prevail here, and many boys and young women even could not spell their own names. The mill school house is a shed-like structure and very small."

Mill School House (in middle) surrounded by mill houses. Maple Mill, Dillon, S.C. Small need here for large schoolhouse. Most of the children in mill. Location: Dillon, South Carolina, December 1908, Lewis Hine.