St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-13

this country provided that the rights of
parents should be respected. but he
maintained that the drunken father
and mother had NJ rights, and the law
should step in to protect the child. The
bill introduced was so simple in its de-
mands that he did not think it re-
ouired any further remarks from him.
Upon the age of consent he pointed out
that in history all nations had become
effete on account of the violation OF
chastity. He though hit that it was a dis
grace that the age of consent in this
state should be ten years. The new bill
provided that it should be raised to
eighteen years of age, but he did not
think it wise, for many a young mar
might be accused of violation of chas-
itity who had been led aStray by corrupt
girls of seventeen. He thought that
the age of consent should be sixteen
years, and he begged the legislature
not to put the age under fifteen.
He did not wish to make a speech upon
the subject, but only desired to give eX-
preston to a few burning thoughts.
An investigation had been made recent
" by a gentleman on the staff of the
GLOBE, and he found that boys of ten
derage were being sent regularly to
houses of ill-fame by the messenger
service companies. They thus became
educated in vice and crime, and later in
life filed the prisons and reformatOries.
DR.. Sample. of Minneapolis, said that
on the question of raising the age of
consent he was glad to see the matter
openly discussed. He believed in that
which is truly practical, and he in
dorsed the sentiment of Senator Taw-
ney calling for graduation of punish
ment for the violation of laws against
chastity. Men who contemplated VIC
lating the laws would pause if they
knew that they would receive a swift
and speedy punishment. He strongly
advocated raising the age of consent to
eighteen years, the same age at which a
girl was allowed to control her personal
property. He did not agree with DR..
Smith, for girls at sixteen years OF age
were perfectly ignorant of what the
violation of laws of chastity meant. In
II case they should not make the age
under siXteen,- and they had better let
the matter alone If they could not fix
the age of consent at sixteen or over. In
Kansas the age was eighteen. and the
law had worked well. Every good citi-
zen of the state would rejoice if the
age Of protecting girls was raised TO
eighteen years. New York had raised
the age from ten to sixteen, and on The
very day that an attempt was made to
reduce the age to fourteen a man was
convicted of the crime of abducting a
fourteen-year.old girl. Dr.. Sample
on the question of child labor made
a powerful appeal to the legislature
to pass the bill prohibiting the
employment of children under thirteen
years of age. In Massachusetts child
labor had been reduced 20 per cent by
legislation. England had solved the
question by the passage of laws regulat-
ing child labor, though of late years it
had increased.
The speaker quoted statistics gath
cred in the East, showing a lamentable
condition of ignorance among the child
rem employed in factories, and a vast
number or instances where the children
had been injured by working at ma
chimes. The interests of society and
the state demanded that vital attention
should be given to these subjects.
Mrs. Harris. w. G. T. u, made an adj
dress Oh behalf of the young girls OF the
state. pleading for their protection from
licentiouS and immoral men.
Rev. George Muller asked that the
bill should be so amended as to protect
boys of eighteen and twenty years who
violated the laws of chastity. He did
not think it fair that a lad should be
branded as a felon for life, and asked
for equal protection for the bov of six
teen to eighteen as the girl of the
same age.
A number of ladies spoke indorsing
the views of the previous speakers, and
the meeting terminated without any ex-
preston of opinion pom the bills from
the members of the legislature.