The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1901-01-31
TINE AMTl-cHilD LABOR BILL.
Georgia Legislsaars By the Hoa. sss-
born Wright, Who spoke for iss Paas-

nm E-t1Nl1~nA SR%WIn AS~hV%f In -
Georgia L-gislstare By the Hoa- sss-
born Wright. Who spoke for In Psas-
age.
While the anti-Child Labor Bin,
which Was defeated, was up for dis
cu-sion In the Georgia Legislature,
Hon. Seaborn Wright spoke elo-
quently for Its passage. His perora.
tion, as follows, was 4 gem Of ora
tory:
The spirit animating the opposi-
tion to this bill Is the spirit Of com.
mercialism. 1t knows no pity. II
chills every generous thought and
deadens every holy feeling. II
measurs all things, manhood, wo-
manhood and childhood by the dol
lar. The hearts aud brains, aye, the
puny weight OF children, are valu-
able only as they can be coined into
money. You lay our little children
at the feet Of Eastern capital and say
all this will we give in exchange foz
your dollars.
/ lift the standard Of revolt today,
and in the name Of the South de-
nounce the unholy traffic.
Mr.. Speaker, l stood In the door
Of an humble cottage shadowed by
the factory's massive walls. The
mistress Of this home was the v ife
of q gallant Confederate soldier,
They had seen better days. Death
had kindly come to him and he
slept. The remOrseless hand OF
necessity had driven the widow and
her children out from the old home
stead to the humble cottage. AS ]
stood, the gates of the factory swung
open and amid q hundred children
hers came. They were young child
rem. The kindly walls of the nur'
sery should have been around them
There was no spring in their steps
no light In their eyes; their cheeks
were white, and thought, standing
in the presence Of the children OF
this Confederate soldier, I would
give every spindle and loom in the
South to bring back the light tC
their eyes and see the roses bloom
again upon their little cheeks.
IwOuld like to see every boil Of cot
ton whose white bosom opens to the
warm kiss of Southern SUNS spun
and woven In the South, but there
are prices I would not pay for it.
We are standing today, Mr.. Speak
er. at the gate of the granciest manu-
featuring empire the world has ever
seen. The men of the North and
East with spindle and loom and
treasure, are coming TO our cotton
fields. The laws of nature, stronger
than all the laws of man, compe
them to come. But, mark this
truth, they are coming as our mas
ters; our children and our children.
children are to be their servants.
would put no restraining hand upor
their coming. I would fling wide
the gates and bid them enter; but, q
help me God, 1 would never give
them our children until their little
bodies had grown beyond the nur
sery walls, and the light of know
ledge had dawned in their souls.
Last night sat with my wife by
the fireside of our comfortable home
1 watched my eight-year old boy lay
his head upon his mothers lap ant
close his tired eyes in sleep, and
thought except for the goodness o
God he might be numbered among
the thousand little toilers in tn,
mills of the South through the Ions
hours of the night. And then, Will
justice in my mind and pity in my
heart, I said: ~ will do for tn
children of my people what I woul,
have them do for mine."