How were the rural southerners affected by the rising industry in the New South?

When industry came to the South after Reconstruction, it
came mainly in search of cheap labor.  This fact had a major impact on Southern workers
(many of whom had been rural people).

When the factories
came, poor whites came out of the backcountry and moved to the company towns in hopes of
finding factory work.  Of course, the industrialists had come to the South for low costs
and they were, therefore, going to pay low wages to these people.  The Southern workers
got paid very little compared to Northern workers and had to live in company towns where
they were often paid in credits that they could use at the company store.  These stores
tended to charge high prices and kept the workers in debt to the
company.

Overall, then, the coming of industry was not that
great for the rural people who took jobs in the factories.  However, the factories (low
as the pay was) were the best options open to many of these rural
families.