for over fo' hundred people,
year in an' year out, an' let us pray God, forever. It was not mine
to begin with--it belonged to the worl'. God put the coal and iron in
the ground, not for me, but for everybody. An' so I've given it to
everybody. Because I happened to own the lan' didn't make the
treasure God put there mine, any mo' than the same land will be mine
after I've passed away. We're only trustees for humanity for all we
make mo' than we need, jus' as we're only tenants of God while we
live on the earth."

As for children, the bishop settled that quickly and effectively. His
rule was that no boy or girl under sixteen should be permitted to
work in the mill, and to save any parents, weakly inclined, from the
temptation, he established a physical standard in weight, height and
health.

He found afterwards there was really small need of his stringent
rule, for under this system of management the temptations of child
labor were removed.

Among the good features of the mill, established by Alice Travis, was
a library, a pretty little building in the heart of Cottontown. It
was maintained yearly by the mill, together with donations, and
proved to be the greatest educational and refining influence of the
mill. It was kept, for one week at a time, by each girl in the mill
over twenty, the privilege always being given by the mill's physician
to the girl who seemed most in need of a week's rest. It came to be a
great social feature also, and any pretty afternoon, and all Saturday
afternoon,--for the mill never ran then--could be seen there the
young girls and boys of Cottontown.

To this was afterwards added a Cottontown school for the younger
children, who before had been slaves to the spinner and doffer carts.

And so it ran on several years, but still the Bishop could see that
something was lacking--that there was too much sickness, that in
spite of only eight hours his people, year in and year out, grew
tired and weak and disheartened, and with his great good sense he put
his finger on it.

"Now, it's this away," he said to his directors, "God never intended
for any people to work all the time between walls an' floors. Tilling
the soil is the natural work of man, an' there is somethin' in the
very touch of the ground to our feet that puts new life in our
bodies.

"The farmin' instinct is so natural in us that you can't stop it by
flood or drought or failure. Year in an' year out the farmer will
plant an' wo