All available evidence indicates that he provided conditions far superior to anything available in Britain at the time. As such, New Lanark became something of a magnet for visitors and tourists alike. Dale was very clear about the practical value of his efforts and summed up the situation perfectly:…"when it is considered that the greater part of the children who are in the boarding house consists of destitute orphans, children abandoned by their parents... and many who know not who were their parents... it gives me great pleasure to say, that by proper management and attention, much good instead of evil may be done at cotton mills. For I am warranted in affirming that many now have stout, healthy bodies and are of decent behaviour who in all probability would have been languishing with disease and pests to society had they not been employed at Lanark cotton mills."Robert Owen visited on a number of occasions and by 1799 had married Dale’s daughter. Shortly thereafter, he took over the management of the mills and a new chapter began – but one which owed a huge debt to Dale’s creation – something which Owen seldom acknowledged.