The Labor enquirer., 1886-03-20
The Children.

The Children.
For the ENQUIRER.
If strong men and grown women
could bear the heaviest wrongs our civil
lization heaps upon humanity perhaps
the need of Revolution would not
press upon us so deeply.
But the childrenl The innocent,
wondering victims of conditions they
cannot understand but must endure :?
They appeal with their mute, pathetic
faces to the innermost heart of every
earnest-person. Who would not, rather
than see'them marching on in that slow,
dreary procession to the grave, year
after year, be willing to risk his life in
a grand struggle to end it all?
The children-who see nothing but
four grimY walls, and hear nothing but
the clatter of machinery throughout all
the daylight hours, the children who
are driven on the keen run from morn
ing till late at night in the huge piles of
wealth called dry goods stores, the chill
dren who creep about alleys and coal
yards searching for anything that will
60 to sustain life, the children who 60
down in dark mines and know no joy-
GUS daylight-the children of the poor
everywhere. beseech us silently and
sorrowfully to make life something bet
ter than a curse to them.
They are so easily made happy, poor
things! Their own undeveloped pow
ers-the untried resources of the world,
make life seem so beautiful at first.
But slowly, they turn into dwarfed,
stupid or vicious creatures, instead of
growing into noble men and women.
Made but part of the machines which
do the worlds work, how can we expect
them to become intelligent human be.
ings?
Moral teaching cannot effect them. A
plant placed in "a dark cellar could be
but sickly, distorted growth even if
you did give it handful of good soil
now and then and a treatise on the
necessity of becoming a dark green
thrifty plant
Even substantial suppers, judiciousl,
mixed with lessons in ethics. as the good
people of Chicago administe- the u, can
not create a free, healthy, intelligent
human being in an atmosphere of pow
erty. Moral training and slay cry do not
work we'll together.
Talk of truth, bravery and integrity to
the boy who has no choice but to follow
the motions of machine all day, to eat
when it is time and to sleep when he is
exhausted. He does not know what you
mean. Talk honesty to the child who
serves mercantile master and sees dis
honesty win success and power every
day of his life. He thinks you do not
know what you are talking about.
Speak of Justice" and fright" to the
street gamin who is cuffed and knocked
about as he is trying to do the best he
knows anything about, while he sees
pompous little fellows dressed and fed
like princes and of no use to ANYBODY,
praised tor their easily-acquired good
ness" They are meaningless words to
him.
Tell of '1ove'' and "gentleness" to the
child who knows no kinder voice than a
foreman's gruff commands-no softer
answer than blow or growl. He
could make nothing oft
These terrible conditions must be
changed if we would not see the race
sink into greater darkness than it has
ever known. 1t will not do to scold
about parents who allow their children
to work; it will accomplish nothing to
pass legislative laws, or compulsory ed
ucational laws-as long as the dire ne
cessity exists, child-labor will continue.
Babies will work and parents will let
them before, they will starve. Eight
hours" may help some, but as long as a
few individuals own machieery, mate
rials, food, everything in fact by which
people live, they can force human beings
to any terms. Empty handle people
cannot dictate to men who possess
everything they, the empty handed,
need. AMI to grant individuals the
right to the products of peoples toll,
while they humbly ask for little larger
share of twas absurd. ..
A complete change is necessary.
When every one receives the full benefit
of his toll, and no one preys upon an
other, children will have chance to live
the beautiful lives natural to healthy
growing human beings.
/ LIZZIE M. SwANK.
The Prohlem Solved s0