The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-07-07
tBy Irene NJ. Ashby1

L..
| It's prophecy. is the little gray shadow that
! fits along the Southern roadside AZ brool,
~ day It,tio -, -
" uaS' Attie gray shauQW' ghost or the
wlll-o -the-wisp that danced last night In
the meadow swami shane meet ~ no ON
h.oiaor, - ~ @ ~
o'Oiuereu on the tapestry or sad Dreams
surely this little gray shadow is nothRlg
more than one of those pbnntasfes that
come VITA the glamour OF the early South
erh morning
And so it seems It must be, until, draw.
Us neaier ana nearer sounds the patter Of
Ioouals' baby footballs they sound like.
on the soft red earth. Closer and closer
roadside, and out of the recediuy mIsts "a
llny human figure appears. The little gray
SHADOW is the flesh and blood and hone
nnd slnew Of young child It Is little
more than a baby. and yet though its ave.
Ids are sull heavy with sleep. for # wants
something Of O'Clock in the morning the
young child is on it's way 10 a long davis
work In the cotton mill down i'm the town
Child labor, the tragedy and shame of In.
dustrial England 100 years ago rs the
mercial Mnotaur claims the children M Io1 Of
the sunny Southland MS hostages of for
tune. and their cry rings through the land
For twelve long hours the liitlr inhorer
walks the 8readmni to the whirfing of
countless gplndles and the singing Of
myriad wheels From o'clock I'M the
hand plies lis task Then comes the night
the loom Another little figure tlptoes to
the ropes another baby hand cuidas the
endless cotton thread through the midnight
hours untll the break of another day'
The condition of the child lgborcr in the
South is something that we people of Eng
land have not seen or knowH In our country
Tor fifty years. II 10 a condition with us
which passed away a generation ago INT
we have not vet forgotten Mrs Browninr's
CRY of the Children
Throughout the cotton States the cry Of
the children is heard today plaintive and
p4lfuL Seven months ! spent among the
mills Of the CarOlinas, Of Georgia and Ala
bama, and in the mills OF the latter state
nlone | computed there were l2Qo children
under the age OF ~ yeaM, In the twenty.
hve mills OF which / have statistics per.
sonally collected there are 6!25 operatives,
same b9ss Of calculation there are about
sVo In the state; but this estimate IS below
the actually. In many cases was able to
count personally larger number than the
hupefihtenaents acknowledgcd, 70 these
must be added the children who como In 10
1 help their elder brothers ana sisters. who
/ are not counted or pald as workers.; a.
"t I'm = 49, ~ s-,,, % .t, eo,,.h L. q, mi,
me lhllI system OF lhe scntn Is pecuh,r
9 one ~ eioSrly re5eu1nieS IN us methods
Ny, ny ~ fttiS' ulon WIN ,, Int Alhstllda 81
nutts9 ~, ~ ~ 49, lut 20, l,oi HllVA WIN
ms I'M tIe Iuii 1iso oWns ahu VoutIolH w
in tba ,.iTIog NV fr It,t,rsti,p Nm
1n one 'ttaTSi 1919 JIiitP1l H st, VIZ
tkrSSt =" p'h,u Sotl"n LII il 'lls SnSW
nt,,t T., @ Toa o,, ~ 'ut YIN,
cFtnr ~ b"s .on nstahifshogd "'e 'ne ini"
1gJs oe tt9 mn, h IT, t,t, o.,,
90 ~ ~ nssui, ny mus NJ T." VIZ nsi uuu
I III $3.50 va" al iit ~ :, VI s'.a
~ rAtt.ly{.'r "" ,utH Hl.W "lIhb Ht7
t1Nlt lhHu,tu ~ SIGN eonttHets 60 con
AMI o T t tf XXI f ~ ne XII i 49,,
nrN q" I,@, ine l",1's MI uniS mus
-, ' J.. vi ,i"'t az a III 81 ~ ,l
iiIn.s, osi ne s,sns 3Mo3 l1t lsnor unl
ortt.,p,, n'n - mn ,' w. NYi tne{n
Spl 70 fSs NV iiIrsitrs "a Hes,
~ ~ vi ,lt new aenuu.s,ls5 lrtuse 10 invest
inrf money ia SouVnerl COZ ,o9 MUS , nn.
~ !! N. - VIII VII VIZ 5P'1IlH.. I1Ist s'dhu'hs
The nisa 'e tbdt n'oe oi' ~ t,c nobt,v 20
eoInpetts win the promotions or me North
T,he snutbcrr 81 ntas 400 Dr,cticaiir X,itS
out any law covering s child iabor Htnerto
SJ hd, JEW iaws haIe neen n m , an1
MAJ i lev aiiu aseolr 1--we uiele were nave
when the poor white farmer signs con.
10 o., in, tL "nu nin Wy 49, shI i',
20 top ,'1o No d 5ne ryW mil wh.gu S emmy 3s
M, doNn nv uoes ny SNOW WhaI ne ls aYlhs.
raU as M p,St , ~ '"e No.,
nm NV ~ tne cot'en lSel. siuny o. them
t6eIr moor p Sser ~ as IN SnS lump IN az
Sou'oI baies are invaI'aply mortgased auead
ignoran+ - ,3, tDiu, II i'eN ~ ~
,6ny, IA, w usl1la' His. NV ~ NY "
M t haEe ever setl eliner Inc OUTSIDE or
~ ~ ~. lls'1c Vl greSl AnllL lhcN uFe Ela0
d., ,aAc NV NIsee lot What seems 70 them
hot sontbcrn etv " tbc, '9bp1ins uhGer 'ne
Ine iuue, ioneiy., Isolated hte. The com
ppbnSn,ep premises sor 81 mem Sooa houses IN G5
tbem ~ froo On I9usn "s Jap'nS t .elS
49, % ~, ltee sChGole LOT luer cnliaIeh
| ~ 49, tn's . aIv icy haEt NO s9pp"is. ana
oqtenap thnn ySGSS9ri9g ms tt:e ones Is
ttpe poot Mhlty farmer Is so eager TO leave
NH '"v' on t heil anu GO INTO the Sunlng
Mil .j nEu 'nStS atS school houses IN the
Ialuer mas plenged hls htue ones 70 work
seh tef aB6 a fbdn 'hfF ere is no time to 60 to
small that u takes the earnings OF all The
Ininily 10 pay the rent OF the compduy's
MA niue honse and 70 pay the grocery
M a. any 8ny 'on lid ols new store
one Of these mills came upon by accident
Y was IN Montgomery, just before Christ