The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-31
Murder of the Innocents,

From the New York Tribune
The Italian padrones of this city receive
great deal of condemnation, though no
more than they deserve. The dark-eyed
children that fill our uptown streets and
play their harps and iddles with little
claws lean with hunger and blue with cold
are eloquent witnesses against the brutal
masters who send them out in the morn
ing, half fed and half clothed, to their hard
days work, and herd them in the evening
in their foul resting places, whipping them
to bed if their gains are not large enough.
They deserve the excavations of humane
people and the restraining hand of law
But let US not stain our consciences by de-
nouncing these foreighn Herods. 1t will
be better to see if our own skirts are free
from the stain of innocent blood It is a
convenient thing to denouce the Havana
bull-ring and the Piedmontese tyrants of
Crosby street But if we are not inclined
TO shut our eyes to our own faults we can
find at our own doors enough responsibility
for cruel disregard of the lives and the
health of the children where our amuse-
ments are concerned The dispatch from
Boston, yesterday, of the death of the baby
violinist was full of a pathetic significance.
Not long ago he formed part of the eve
ning's attraction of one of our spectacular
theatres. He was six years old. At a
time when he should have been tucked
away in his bed, he was standing before
large audiences playing music which excl
ted him, thrilled through and through by
noise and plaudits that excited him tenfOld
more. His little store of vital energy and
nervous power, which should have been
subjected to no more eXacting drafts
than the plays of the nursery or the cares
SEES of his parents, was wasted in this reck
less extravaganza. He went to Boston,
and there played day and night. The
manager noticed. after matinee, his look
of exhaustion, and told him to stay at home
that night His father made him obey
the injunction, sorely against his will He
missed the crowd, the lights, the roaring
applause, the fatal delight of the life which
was killing him. Father and son went to
bed and the former was soon awakened by
the murmuFing's of the child. He heard
him say, "Merciful God, make room tor a
little fellow" and with this strange and
touching prayer for a peace in nest de-
MED him in his short life the gifted and i'll
treated infant left this rough world. The af-
fectionate and tender friends of these little
victims, say, with perfect sincerity, He
loved his work he was never forced to it. "
If baby loved poison, would q father
think of gratifying such fancy? The fact
that child five years OF age has passion
for music should be reason for not allow
ing him to indulge in it, for it argues an
exceptional delicaey of organization which
should cause his parents to exercise the
greatest care with him. When DR.. Clark
recently attacked the forcing system by
which so many thousand bright girls are
annually slaughtered, he was met by the
reply that the hardest students were the
healthiest. The principals and teachers
who said this did not seem to imagine that
it was merely saying the healthiest stud
ents worked hardest, and so most COM
pletely undermined their constitutions.
The case mentioned by DIR. Clark of girls
who broke down SUDDENLY on leaving school
were those possessing more than the usual
stock of health to begin with. Parents and
teachers alike are too apt to forget the ad-
vice which Pheaton came to ruin by neg
Letting: Use the reins and spare the
whip" An enthusiastic child will very
easily burn out its life if not restrained.
But what shall we say of the parents, who
not only did not restrain, but goad on these
exceptional natures to mems work when
they ought to be in their cradles? In every
place of amusement in cities little children
are, from time to time, brought in to add to
the attractions of the performance 1t is
an unwholesome and morbid taste which
is consulted and gratifed by these exhibit
tons. A child cannot sing or dance, or act
in manner worth any ones attention.
When child does either of these things
on the stage it is the result of one of two
causes, each equally Objectionable. The
child has been forced into learning its
trick, or has learned it voluntarily through
n feverish precocity. To all judicious per
sons in the house the performance of chill
dren is painful and wearisome. The won
der is that thoughtless parents are led by
their instructive love of children to delight
ed applause. and are not induced to boot
and hiss the cruel spectacle off the stage.