The Dwight Textile Mill of Alabama City, Alabama

The Dwight Textile Mill of Alabama City, Alabama: A Case Study of Welfare Capitalism

CHRISTOPHER DAVIS

Christopher Davis is a junior History major who completed this project for the New South class under Dr. Marlene Rikard during the fall of 2003. The majority of the research for the project was conducted in the Gadsden library of
Gadsden, Alabama.

In the decades following the Civil War, the South began to industrialize and follow many of the patterns set by northern industry. In doing so, some southern manufacturers chose to provide services and amenities for their employees in a conscious effort to remove any problems that could lead to labor unrest and ultimately unionization. This plan, known as welfare capitalism, was most prevalent in the South's textile industry. One example of the use of the system is the Dwight Textile Mill of Alabama City, Alabama. This mill, established in 1895, serves as a case study of the use of welfare capitalism in the textile industry of the New South. Welfare capitalism can be observed in the Dwight mill through company initiatives in housing, education, religion, medical care, and recreation.

In the aftermath of defeat in the Civil War, the South, as a predominately agricultural area, had to rebuild its economy. Progressive southerners, some of whom came from the old plantation aristocracy while most were from a new business and commercial class, sought to integrate the South into the national economy and make the region more competitive. These ideological leaders wanted change in the form of a modernized South with industrialization, urbanization, and a diversified economy. Such promoters, seeking adequate capital, presented their ideas in the North to people who could potentially invest in the South. With the help of northern capital, the South began to industrialize at a rapid pace.

As investors brought industry to the South, they sought ways to avoid the labor problems that were prevalent throughout the nation. The rush to industrialize in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries resulted in difficulties in labor that developed from the disparity between the upper and lower classes. The workers were displeased with issues such as dangerous working conditions and low wages, and they expressed this sentiment through both personal actions such as poor workmanship and corporate moves including organization into unions that used strikes as a weapon. As a result, the United States, during the period of 1880 to 1900, experienced 23,000 strikes affecting 117,000 businesses. Often, strikers resorted to violence, and employers retaliated with equally strong measures. Eventually, industry leaders began to seek better methods of managing labor problems while maintaining profitability and discouraging unionization.

Some employers realized that they could continue their work with fewer problems if they satisfied the physical and social needs of workers. They sought to do this by providing services and amenities in the form of housing, educational opportunities, religious opportunities, medical care, recreation, and many others which primarily aided life within the community. Such provisions were part of the system known as welfare capitalism, defined by one historian as, "any service provided for the comfort or improvement of employees which was neither a necessity of the industry nor required by law." The primary goals of all welfare work were to encourage a low turnover rate and facilitate high production among employees. Also, in implementing the system, some employers desired to mold the character of the individuals within the business so that the employees would not have the personal problems, such as lack of education, laziness, and lack of loyalty, which could lead to labor problems in the future. Thus, despite the benevolent appearance of the aid given to employees, all welfare actions had the end goal of improving business.

In the South, the growing textile industry most readily accepted the ideas of welfare capitalism. In Alabama, the total capital invested in 1890 was about $2.9 million, and a decade later the number had risen to $11.6 million. Most mills came to the South because of incentives such as abundant resources and cheap labor, and in addition, some southern cities and entrepreneurs saw industry as the best way to become more prosperous. The most important factor for growth, however, was cheap labor. Typically, in 1880, the wages in southern textile mills were 30 percent to 50 percent less than those in the North.

Mills drew a labor force primarily from poor farmers who moved to escape the evils of sharecropping, tenantry, and the crop lien that had developed after the Civil War. The security of weekly pay, a life of lighter work, and better quarters lured farm families to the mill village. The "family wage" system continued the farm labor pattern where everyone worked to help provide for the family. The prevalence of the family wage system can be seen in the percentages of genders and age groups working in Alabama textiles in 1900. Of the employees, 38 percent were men, 33 percent were women, and 29 percent were children under sixteen. This new work force settled in numerous textile mills throughout the South.

One such mill that chose to use the system of welfare capitalism is the Dwight Textile Mill of Alabama City, Alabama. This mill was created by the Dwight Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts that, at the time of the building of the Alabama City mill, had seven other mills in the North. The president of this company was T. Jefferson Coolidge, and his treasurer was J. Howard Nichols. The treasurer's son, Howard Gardner Nichols, became the first general manager or agent for the mill during its construction. The young manager noted that the incentives for the Dwight Manufacturing Company to locate a facility in the Alabama City area included future Alabama tax breaks for industry, climate, railroad access, river access, donations of land for the mill, cheap resources, and low wages. Nichols also claimed that the Dwight Company did not build the mill in Alabama to avoid strikes. Their difficulty in the North was "labor agitators" who worked to pass laws that were unfavorable to industry. Attracted by all of the positive aspects of the area, the Dwight Manufacturing Company chose to locate their facility in Alabama City, and when the mill began operation in 1896, the total capital invested was $1.2 million. The new Dwight Textile Mill employed eight hundred workers whose families gave the mill village a population of approximately two thousand. Hoping to prevent labor problems, the owners of the Dwight mill implemented the system of welfare capitalism from the beginning. The company offered amenities and services in the areas of housing, education, religion, medical care, and recreation following the national pattern of welfare capitalism.

Housing in company-built villages was often of poor quality. The typical house was a drafty wood cottage of cube shape with four rooms. The inside walls were covered in plaster and paint to provide longevity rather than color, and the outside walls were painted brown, gray, slate, or a deep red. As a result, most houses in a company village looked the same. The unimaginative overall layout of a company town accentuated the monotony. To add to the poor conditions, early houses had few if any utilities.

In the late nineteenth century, some employers began building houses that offered both interesting designs and useful amenities and reflected popular styles of the period. Varied porch and roof design and different colors relieved monotony. Companies had several reasons for providing good-quality housing. One use of this incentive was to reduce the numbers of employees quitting their jobs. This turnover resulted in less profits. Also, the companies could use the housing as a tool against unions. If workers went on strike, the company could simply evict the worker and family from their house. This potential action served as a deterrent to popular support for union activity.

The housing in the Dwight Mill Village reflected the new idea of having both quality and identity. The company painted its cottages different colors to make each seem more like "an individual home." Each house had lattice at the bottom, a deck on the front with a decorative railing, and blinds on the windows. To reduce drafts, the walls were constructed of a three-ply material. The interior walls had wainscoting four feet up from the floor with the rest of the wall plastered and tinted different colors. Painted siding covered the outside walls. The yard had a picket fence and enough room to grow flowers or vegetables. Houses cost one dollar per room per month, so the cottages rented for three to six dollars per month. This price was competitive with similar rental houses in the nearby city which cost around four dollars per month. Amenities included coal that the mill bought from the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company in Birmingham. Also, the mill had plans to build a system of pipes to carry sewage away from the village. By improving the overall quality of life through such amenities, the company hoped to discourage unionization.
Nationally, education was another focus of welfare capitalism. Work in this area ranged from creating nursery schools and kindergartens to establishing night schools for adults. Employers believed education served to improve the workers and prevent unionization. Educated employees would be happier and less volatile.

mployers in the South saw education as an opportunity to mold the children of the workers into the next generation of mill employees. With an educated and skilled work force, the mills could compete with the North in making higher quality products. Also, the company establishment of kindergartens and schools fostered loyalty to the company. Results from schools, however, were often mixed. Some, when combined with night classes for adults, improved the population's literacy level dramatically while others failed for various reasons.

Night classes for employees offered elementary subjects such as reading and writing or lessons in various skills. The company control over the information taught was an important factor. As employees of the mills, teachers served as spokespeople for the companies. Any teachers who were sympathetic to unions were removed. The mill control also extended to the company libraries which were a standard feature, and censorship of materials that were placed in the libraries was common; any materials with socialist themes or non-orthodox Christian teachings were not allowed. Mill education served the purposes of welfare capitalism by attempting to create an improved and yet docile work force that would cause no problems. The owners, in effect, wanted employees to be intelligent enough to do their work but not to seek new ideas.

Dwight mill followed the educational pattern of welfare capitalism. From its first year, the mill offered night school for adults and opened a school for children and a reading room with books and periodicals. For a short time, the school for children was held in a house. Soon after the establishment of the school, it was relocated, along with the reading rooms which were segregated by gender, to the hall above the company store. The teacher of the children kept the reading rooms open on Sundays. Even though he was pleased with the progress of the school, the mill agent, O. B. Tilton, noted that the teacher needed to reduce expenses or to "get a greater return for our money." The mill owners viewed all aspects of their welfare work as investments on which they wanted a good return. Eventually, the mill owners planned to help Alabama City establish a larger school that would accommodate children from the whole area. In 1897 agent R. A. Mitchell improved the company's educational program by building a library in the room over the company store. Mitchell believed that the books the company chose for the library allowed the employees to "avail themselves of this excellent opportunity for information and culture." Company selection of books and other materials also allowed censorship of undesirable materials. In the winter of 1898, the parents of the late Howard Gardner Nichols, who was killed in a mill accident, paid for the construction of the Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library, the first public library in Alabama.

Programs of welfare capitalism also encouraged religion within industrial communities in an attempt to foster social control and a healthy moral lifestyle. This welfare work was accomplished through Bible study classes, groups such as the Young Men's Christian Association, and the construction of churches and hiring of ministers. Often the church built by the company would be named "Union Church" because it served as an interdenominational church. As particular denominations gained sufficient members to start their own church, the industry would often donate the land and 20 to 50 percent of the construction cost of the new building.
Through the mill church and the minister, employers had a way of gaining information about the thoughts and feelings of the workers. If a labor problem was identified, it could be dealt with immediately before it grew into something larger. The companies also used the support of religion to make the mill environment more appealing to the employees. If given the chance to strike, the operatives might not do so since their employers were considered good people. The message preached to the people by a minister who was a company employee was favorable to the company goals of discouraging labor problems and unionization. This message often included themes such as a good work ethic, thankfulness for blessings, and patience with economic and social struggles. Such topics discouraged ideas that would lead to unionization. The traditional Christian themes of honesty, temperance, and discipline were valuable in the workplace. One problem with the mix of industry and religious teachings was the justification of child labor. Since churches taught the evils of inactivity and focused on good work ethics, many ministers preached, in accordance with company desires, that inactive children could fall into temptation. As a result, children should be put to work.

Religious activities were an integral part of the Dwight mill system of welfare capitalism. During the mill's first year, devotional services were held in the room above the company store which also doubled as the schoolroom. The company did not charge for this use, and the services were apparently popular enough to warrant the purchase of twenty more benches. In this same year, the agent, O. B. Tilton, made plans to hire a preacher to be in charge of services, take part in funerals, and "act in general as a local missionary." In addition, the mill built a "union" church for the employees which held services for Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. The Baptists had a separate church building which most likely developed through a land grant and aid in construction by the company once they had gained sufficient members. The mill paid for the ministers and provided free parsonages. In July of 1897, the Methodists decided that they wanted their own church, so agent R. A. Mitchell worked with them in selecting land within the property of the mill. In each company action, the employers worked to make religion a prominent part of the life of the mill community. In doing so, the people were taught principles that the owners hoped would prevent labor problems.

Another important aspect of welfare capitalism in general was medical care. The workplace was a dangerous environment in the nineteenth century. During the first half of the century, workers assumed that injuries were their responsibility and they had no legal recourses against the company. Many employees used home remedies or the aid of a midwife rather than face the expense of visiting a doctor. Faced with increasing industrial accidents and worker dissatisfaction, companies began to develop medical systems and compensation plans toward the end of the century. Most of these plans, known as "mutual benefit associations," involved a monthly or weekly payment by the employees so that they would receive aid in time of injury.

During the period of associations, one alternative to the creation of compensation plans was the use of company doctors which allowed the industries to avoid even greater costs by not sending employees to private doctors. By 1916, the number of manufacturers that used company doctors equaled those that continued with associations. Care given by doctors during this period could be considered average for the day. Still, medical knowledge within the mill did aid employees. Companies also began to give one-time sums to families who suffered the loss of a member to industry work. In addition, manufacturers offered classes to females on the topics of hygiene and the proper techniques and diet involved in baby care. Problems such as infant mortality lessened substantially through medical care as the companies sought to establish a healthier work force and lessen another potential grievance.

In the Dwight mill promotional materials from the period, the owners stated that "the health of the family is above everything," but company actions revealed a more cost conscious approach. In the mill's second year, 1897, agent R. A. Mitchell searched for a mill doctor who would not charge very much. The battle between cost and aid to workers was visible. Eventually, the mill established an infirmary, generally known as the "pest house," which was staffed by a doctor and a nurse. The presence of diseases such as "the Grippe" and the threat of smallpox epidemics made medical care a necessity. The mill allowed no one into the village who had come from areas that were infected with smallpox. Another company health issue was providing pure drinking water for the employees. Since the water from the wells in the village was not good, the agent looked into piping water to the village from nearby sources. The well system was eventually replaced with a pump between each pair of houses.

Despite the provision of medical facilities, the company was still subject to occasional lawsuits because of industrial accidents. In one case, a man lost his finger in the mill. Rather than go to court, the Dwight mill settled with him for six dollars. In another case, a child was badly hurt by a fall down some stairs in the mill. The parents of the child brought a 25,000 dollar suit against the mill, but the agent talked with the mother and "conclusively showed her the futility of pressing her suit any further." In this case, the mill settled with the family for approximately one hundred dollars, enough money to cover the travel and other expenses the family incurred in bringing the suit. From the harsh manner in which the employers dealt with these lawsuits, it can be determined that, in accordance with the ideas of welfare capitalism, the aid given to employees through clean water and an infirmary was primarily to keep the mill operating efficiently. On the personal level, the employers showed little benevolence toward their workers.

A very practical approach to welfare capitalism would, at first, dictate that little if any money should be spent in providing recreational opportunities for employees. The opposite, however, proved to be true. Many employers implementing a system of welfare capitalism put a great deal of effort into recreational endeavors. Some of the outdoor activities included playgrounds for children, baseball fields, tracks, tennis courts, golf courses, dance halls, and amphitheatres. Indoor activities included theatres, dance halls, gymnasiums, poolrooms, card and smoking rooms, and bowling alleys. By 1900, the inclusion of recreational facilities in companies supporting welfare capitalism became a typical feature. One of the most popular endeavors was the establishment of company baseball teams. These served as both spectator events for employees and as advertisement to potential employees in other areas where the team traveled. The companies took an informal activity and turned it into a formal sport that would be identified with the company. Some industries also supported groups such as bands and Boy Scout troops. One other common recreational activity was the celebration of the Fourth of July. This day was marked by sports, picnics, and parades. The companies often used this event to make the industry appear very patriotic to gain more support and esteem among the employees.

The true reason for the addition of such facilities and activities was the improvement and protection of business. The companies sought first to give the workers a release from the monotony of their jobs. If the workers did not have recreation, they might seek other outlets such as alcohol and gambling. The employers wanted to prevent problems that they believed would be caused by idle workers. In addition, the organized recreation served as a teaching tool. If the employees learned to follow the rules of simple games, they would be more likely to follow the rules that governed work.

The Dwight mill excelled in the use of recreation as a part of welfare capitalism. During the mill's first year of operation, the company bought twenty-four settees, benches without backs, and placed them on the banks of the lake behind the mill. The mill village was located on the other side of the lake, so the workers had to walk around the body of water to get to work. After their shift the workers could rest on the settees and enjoy the view. The employers also established a game room which could be reserved for any activities except card games. The exclusion was in keeping with the moral tone encouraged in company-sponsored religious activities. Card games might lead to gambling.

Dwight mill sponsored a variety of other recreational opportunities. The mill allowed traveling entertainers to use mill facilities for performances. A bowling alley built by the company was electrically lit, attended by pin-boys, and contained balls of different sizes and weights. It could be used on any day except Sunday. On the lake, the company built bath houses, with separate rooms for men and women, adjoined to a semi-enclosed area where people could swim. A diving board into the open lake was for "expert swimmers." One popular recreational provision was the mill baseball team. The "Dwights" played in Dwight Park which contained a baseball field and covered grandstands for five hundred spectators. The mill also had "junior teams" for young people. A company-built recreation park, a semi-wooded area with Bermuda grass, contained an open dancing pavilion with railing around the sides. The mill used the park to hold festivals and ice cream picnics. The company also supported a twelve-instrument band which often played at the lake, pavilion dances, and ball games.

In addition to activities and facilities, the mill sponsored special holiday events. On Christmas Day 1898, the company set up a village Christmas party where all of the mill children received presents provided by unspecified donors. Agent R. A. Mitchell noted that "these affairs make very favorable impressions on the operatives." The mill, like many others, celebrated the Fourth of July. In the first year, the mill tried to make employees work on the holiday, but the next year the operatives were given the day off. These special activities, along with all of the other recreational activities and facilities, served the mill by giving the employees opportunities to release tensions, avoid idleness, and view the mill in a positive light.

Ultimately, welfare capitalism failed in its goals to mold workers, establish unswerving loyalty, and prevent labor problems. Employees only accepted company teachings if they chose to do so. There was never a transformation of the whole person into the model employee as the companies hoped. The workers typically never had a standard point of view concerning welfare work but instead judged it one program at a time. Many simply took advantage of programs they deemed useful and disregarded the rest. In addition, the village created by the employers to provide a problem free life for employees and remove any need to unionize actually created a community with solidarity which, in times of problems, could organize very easily against the company.

The death of welfare capitalism came with the Great Depression; faced with drastically reduced revenues, companies eliminated non-essential services. This period also saw the resurgence of the labor movement; greater conflict within industry, moves by the federal government, and programs of the New Deal helped to destroy the effectiveness of welfare efforts. For the textile industry, this series of growing problems culminated in the Great Textile Strike of 1934, which included the workers of the Dwight textile mill of Alabama City. Thus, in the end, the efforts of welfare capitalism both nationally and in the Alabama City mill failed; however, many of the former programs in the welfare work formed the basis of modern employee benefits and company-employee relations.

Despite the failure of welfare capitalism to achieve its ultimate goal of preventing labor problems and unionization, the system did serve as a factor in shaping American industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this period, employers sought an alternative to the violence of labor strikes by satisfying employee needs and improving worker productivity and company profits while still preventing unionization. The Dwight Textile Mill serves as a southern case study of welfare capitalism, an important aspect of evolving labor-management relations in the United States.

Notes

1. L. A. Newby, The South: A History (N.Y.: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1978), 290-91; Stuart D Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism 1880-1940 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1976),4-6, 19.

2. James L. Hoffman, "A Study of the United Textile Workers of America in a Cotton Mill in a Medium-Sized Southern Industrial City: Labor Revolt in Alabama, 1934" (Ph.d. diss., University of Alabama, 1986), 65.

3. Newby, The South, 287-88, 290-91. For more information concerning the industrialization process in the New South see Cobb's The Industrialization of Southern Society: 1877-1984, Gaston's The New South Creed: A Study in Southern Mythmaking, and Woodward's Origins of the New South: 1877-1913.

4. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 1.

5. Ibid., 1-3.

6. Ibid., 4-6.

7. Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, James Leloudis, Robert Korstad, Mary Murphy, Lu Ann Jones, and Christopher B. Daly, Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987), 131, 134; Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 32, 33.

8. William Warren Rogers, Robert David Ward, Leah Rawls Atkins, and Wayne Flynt. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State (Tuscaloosa, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1994), 280, 286-87; Newby, The South, 287; Gavin Wright, "Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles, 1880-1930," Quarterly Journal of Economics 96. no. 4 (1981): 605-629, 605.

9. Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Robert Korstad, and James Leloudis, "Cotton Mill People: Work, Community, and Protest in the Textile South, 1880-1940," American Historical Review 91. no. 2 (1986): 245-286, 245; Hall, Like a Family, 119.

10. Herbert J. Lahne, The Cotton Mill Worker (N.Y.: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1944), 50; Wayne Flynt, Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites (Tuscaloosa, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1989), 96; Tom E. Terrill, "Textile Workers," in Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989), 1428; Hall, "Cotton Mill People," 247, 249.

11. Rogers, Alabama, 286.

12. Hoffman, "A Study," 65, 69, 71; Charles Herbert Moody Jr., speech on anniversary of Dwight Baptist Church (March 19, 1979), notes taken by Margaret E. Moody in Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala., 1.

13. Howard Gardner Nichols, "Journal: 1895-1896," Original source, Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library, Gadsden, Alabama, excerpts in: James L. Hoffman "A Study of the United Textile Workers of America in a Cotton Mill in a Medium-Sized Southern Industrial City: Labor Revolt in Alabama, 1934" (Ph.d. diss., University of Alabama, 1986), 66-68.

14. Hoffman, "A Study," 71.

15. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 40, 41.

16. Harriet L. Herring, Welfare Work in Mill Villages: The Story of Extra-Mill Activities in North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1929. Reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith Publishing Corporation, 1968), 224-25; Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 43-44, 49-50.

17. Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City: Its Location and the Advantages it Offers the Workingman. Promotional Booklet (ca. 1907) Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala., 4; Dwight Manufacturing Company. Group of Post Cards. Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Alabama.

18. Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 4-10; O. B. Tilton, to J. Howard Nichols, 1896, some letters in hand script and others typed text, Baker Library, Harvard University, Massachusetts, selected correspondence in Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala., 12, 4, 7. Currently it is unclear whether the system of sewage pipes was ever completed before such amenities became common place. Further research in this project will reveal such details.

19. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 52-55, 58.

20. Herring, Welfare Work,42-43, 69. This mixed result came from the fact that mill villages could not always attract the best teachers. They could only get those who were willing to come. This led, sometimes, to poor instruction in the classroom. In addition, many of the families that came from farm backgrounds were indifferent or opposed to education. As a result, some children did not attend school despite the availability of facilities.

21. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 60-62.

22. Tilton, Letters, 8, 15, 21-22, 25.

23. Ibid., 26-28; The investigation into the outcome of this plan is still in process. The total educational system will be more clear as this project continues.

24. R. A. Mitchell, to J. Howard Nichols, 1897-1899, some letters in hand script and others typed text, Baker Library, Harvard University, Massachusetts, selected correspondence in Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala., 41. The company school must have moved to a permanent building or have been incorporated into the larger area school.

25. Mitchell, Letters, 46, 62; Hoffman, "A Study," 74; Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 27. Howard Gardner Nichols was killed near the end of the construction of the mill when a piece of machinery fell and hit the young agent on May 20, 1896. Nichols died several weeks later on June 23, 1896 at the age of twenty-five. In the memory of their child, the parents of Howard Gardner Nichols later built the Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library which still stands today and is listed on the National Historic Register.

26. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 66-67.

27. Flynt, Poor But Proud, 100-101; Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 71; Herring, Welfare Work, 101.

28. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 67-68.

29. Ibid., 71; Herring, Welfare Work, 99; Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 68-69.

30. Tilton, Letters, 15, 25-26; Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 22; Mitchell, Letters, 42-43, 45.

31. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 92-95; Hall, "Cotton Mill People," 253.

32. Ibid., 95, 98-99, 101; Herring, Welfare Work, 153.

33. Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 2; Mitchell, Letters, 38; Moody, Speech, 2.

34. Mitchell, Letters, 37, 47, 49, 50, 60; Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 3; Moody, Speech, 2. Further research in this project will determine exactly how the new pump system worked.

35. Mitchell, Letters, 58, 64.

36. Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 75-76.

37. Ibid, 78; Hall, Like a Family, 135, 137; Brandes, American Welfare Capitalism, 77-80, 82, 76.

38. Tilton, Letters, 11; G. M. Brazel, "Tenements, Dwight Manufacturing Company, Gadsden, Alabama," (Map. November, 2 1942. Available Online. http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/
historicalmaps/counties/etowah.html. Source. Rucker Agee Map Collection. Birmingham Public Library. Birmingham, Ala.); Tilton, Letters, 25.

39. Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 47, 50, 53. The provision for an enclosed swimming area shows that the mill owners most likely wanted to be able to control employee use of the lake so that no one would get hurt or die and make the mill look bad.

40. Dwight Manufacturing Company, Alabama City, 37-39,41,43,46-47.

41. Mitchell, Letters, 69. The "donors" were most likely in the North, possibly company officials, because the agent writes that the box of presents arrived at the mill. This seems to imply that the gifts were shipped.

42. Mitchell, Letters,44, 69-70; Tilton, Letters, 7.

43. Hall, Like a Family, 138-140; H. M Gitelman, "Welfare Capitalism Reconsidered," Labor History 33. no. 1 (Winter 1992): 5-31, 6; Newby, The South, 296.

44. Gitelman, "Welfare Capitalism," 5, 7; Terrill, "Textile Workers," 1428. The exact year of unionization within the Alabama City mill is unclear, but it is logical to assume that the workers were unionized by 1934. In the 1950s, the workers of the mill were members of the Textile Workers Union of America.

Works Cited

Primary Sources

Brazel, G. M., "Tenements, Dwight Manufacturing Company, Gadsden, Alabama," Map. November, 2 1942. Available Online. http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/
counties/etowah.html. Source. Rucker Agee Map Collection. Birmingham Public Library. Birmingham, Ala.

Dwight Manufacturing Company. Alabama City: Its Location and the Advantages it Offers the Workingman. Promotional Booklet, ca. 1907. Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala.

Dwight Manufacturing Company. Group of Post Cards. Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Alabama.

Tilton, O. B., to J. Howard Nichols, 1896. Some letters in hand script and others typed text. Baker Library, Harvard University, Massachusetts. Selected correspondence in Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala.

Mitchell, R. A., to J. Howard Nichols, 1897-1899. Some letters in hand script and others typed text. Baker Library, Harvard University, Massachusetts. Selected correspondence in Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala.

Nichols, Howard Gardner. "Journal: 1895-1896." Original source. Howard Gardner Nichols Memorial Library. Gadsden, Alabama. Excerpts in: James L. Hoffman "A Study of the United Textile Workers of America in a Cotton Mill in a Medium-Sized Southern Industrial City: Labor Revolt in Alabama, 1934." Ph.d. diss., University of Alabama, 1986.

Secondary Sources

Brandes, Stuart D. American Welfare Capitalism 1880-1940. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1976.

Cobb, James C. The Industrialization of Southern Society: 1877-1984. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1984.

Flynt, Wayne. Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1989.

Gaston, Paul M. The New South Creed: A Study in Southern Mythmaking. 1st ed. New York: Knopf, 1970.

Gitelman, H. M. "Welfare Capitalism Reconsidered." Labor History 33. no. 1. Winter 1992, 5-31.

Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd, James Leloudis, Robert Korstad, Mary Murphy, Lu Ann Jones, and Christopher B. Daly. Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987.

Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd, Robert Korstad, and James Leloudis. "Cotton Mill People: Work, Community, and Protest in the Textile South, 1880-1940." American Historical Review 91. no. 2. 1986, 245-286.

Herring, Harriet L. Welfare Work in Mill Villages: The Story of Extra-Mill Activities in North Carolina. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1929. Reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith Publishing Corporation, 1968.

Hoffman, James L. "A Study of the United Textile Workers of America in a Cotton Mill in a Medium-Sized Southern Industrial City: Labor Revolt in Alabama, 1934." Ph.d. diss., University of Alabama, 1986.

Lahne, Herbert J. The Cotton Mill Worker. N.Y.: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1944.

Moody Jr., Charles Herbert, speech on anniversary of Dwight Baptist Church, (March 19, 1979), notes taken by Margaret E. Moody. Gadsden Public Library, Gadsden, Ala.

Newby, L. A. The South: A History. N.Y.: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1978.

Rogers, William Warren, Robert David Ward, Leah Rawls Atkins, and Wayne Flynt. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1994.

Terrill, Tom E. "Textile Workers," in Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989.

Woodward, Comer Vann. Origins of the New South: 1877-1913. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1951.

Wright, Gavin. "Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles, 1880-1930." Quarterly Journal of Economics 96. no. 4. 1981, 605-629.