Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1898-05-28
WORKING FOR OTHER PEOPLES
CHILDREN.


Many queer things come to the edi-
tors table, but for real unconscious
humor this is the best: a good woman,
who spends half her time working for
church and the w. c. 7. L. cooking,
soliciting, even helping to scrub the
tobacco-covered floors of public halls
working for "other peoples child
rem" writes IL do not want to so into d
colony where will have to spend all
my time working for other peoples
Children
Not long ago 4 good deacon, who
stints himself and family to send the
gospel to the heather, who gives lib
orally to the church, bible society
and every other good work that will
help unseen and unknown children,
said "But it does not seem fair that
people with small families should
spend all their time working to sup
port the large families of other peO-
pie"
Here is another: a Sunday-school
teacher who. after six days hard
work to help provide food for her
family, spends several hours much
needed for rest and recreation in pre-
pairing her lessons and teaching Il
half-dozen mischievous boys, and she
writes: If you allow equal
maintenance for each child, then a
large family will receive more than a
small one. and it doesn't seem right,
etc, etc
There are three very laughable
things about these people: l. Each
is now voluntarily spending much
time and money for 'Other peoples
children" complaining meanwhile
that their associates are not doing
enough for other peoples children"
,. Each of the three is wage
worker" and the census Of 1850 shows
that, on an average. each worker
creates, each day, value to the
amount of 81. % while he receives
as wages, Sis. leaving $l.0+ that
goes into "other peoples" pockets.
3. If these people were to come to
the colony their children would have
vastly better opportunities than
where they are.
Now the point is right here: Do
these good people prefer to work for
bosses who take from them nearly
half what they produce and spend
the money for wines. yachts, $1,000
pups and $4,000 dresses: or would
they rather work in a socialist comu-
nifty where every child has the best
possible chance for the best possible
life, and. therefore, each child has an
equal chance?
Childhood is the dynamic of social
ism. We are not sacrificing the pleas
ures of life in order to make a few
drunken, lazy louis happy in spite of
them selves; but we do hold that no
child should be starved or otherwise
robbed of it's inalienable right
to the best possible life by fathers
laziness.
Here are two men; One is a crimi-
nal and so is denied the right of the
ballot; the other is worthy citizen.
Their two sons attain their majority:
shall the son of the criminal be de-
MED the ballot because of his fathers
fault? Our laws say NO" The at
faint of blood" has been abolished
concerning the ballot, which for an
individual man is of small conse-
quence: but chance to live as man
ought to live, that is a chance to
lead the best possible life we do deny
to millions of children because, pre-
sumably. their fathers went fishing
too often.
This presumption of the law might
be very difficult to establish in the
majority of cases. 1t might be diff
cult, for instance. to prove that a
farmer who lost his home by reason
of a mortgage and succession of bad
crops was a criminal; or it might be
difficult to prove that a groceryman
whose business is destroyed by 4 de-
partmeut store is guilty Of treason;
or t might be difficult to prove that
"a minister. who, through loyalty to
truth. is driven from his parish, is
worthy of death: yet under the pres
ent capitalistic regime child in
either of these families would be. by
law ana custom the church assent
ing. denied q good chance for a good
life,
A watch factory closes. The men
do not SNOW for how long. Most pre-
fer to wait near the old home. Their
money is spent and then they can
hardly leave even if they think it
best. Their children lack decent
clothes and are kept out of school.
Thus we legally treat these children
as criminals and take from them their
liberty. that Is their ornor-55rftv fg4.