The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1902-09-04
With its approval no

be righted. With its approval no
strike can fail; without it none can
succeed. To its omnipotept fiat all
must ultimately yield.
Civic Federation.
Zone of the most gratifying and re-
assuring developments of recent years
has been the formation of the Civic
Federation. 1t is composed of the rep
resentatives of both labor and capital;
of men eminent for their wisdom and
their sense of Justice; men possessing
in marked degree the public conf
dence. The functions of the fedora
ton are essentially advisory. It's kind
ly offices may be invoked By either la
Dor or capital, whenever labor and
capital are disagreed. 1t has already
amply justified its creation. Although
but about two years old, it has COM
posed many differences acceptably to
those concerned.
Its distinguished chairman, Senator
Hanna, informs us that it has but
once failed to effect a settlement of
that was in the case of the deplorable
strike now in progress in the anthra-
cite coal regions of Pennsylvania. In
that case both parties did not invite
the assistance of the federation. Had
they done so l firmly believe that it
would have effected an adjustment
upon terms of entire justice, honorable
alike to all the great interests now con-
tending for the mastery.
The work of the Civic Federation
will be watched with hopeful interest.
That it will be successful in all cases
in effecting satisfactory settlements no
one believes. but there is no doubt that
it will be able in many cases to point
the way to just solution of the mat
ters in difference. and that many lock-
outs. strikes and contests, wasteful
and destructive to both labor and cap
ital and embarrassing to the communi-
ty, may be avoided or settled. Let us
hope that we are making progress
toward the substitution of some ra-
tional. peaceable method for honorably
and sensibly composing the disputes
which are likely to arise between these
two great forces in our civilization.
organized labor has undoubtedly
done much to secure reduction in
the hours of labor. The movement for
reduced hours has accomplished much
that is eneficial-benefcial not only
to labor, but to the community. There
should certainly be some time of each
day when the toiler may have an op-
portunity to cultivate the home and
the fireside, and to make of himself
something more than a mere part of
he machine with which he works.
There should be a margin of each day
for self-cultivation. for the improve
ment of the man rather than the ma
chine. In the end there will be bet
ter man and better worker, and better
results to the employe. the employer
and the state.
Child Labor.
There is no greater evil than that
Of child labor in workshops, factories
and mines. Labor organizations have
done much to correct this evil in many
OF the states and are making com.
mendable efforts to eradicate it where
there are no laws to govern it, Public
attention is being sharply drawn to
this crime in Southern cotton mills
A condition exists there which is in.
tolerable and which should not be per.
mitted to continue in an American
state
"Mr. E. ]. Lister, a representative
of the Dry Goods Economist, has care
fully examined the subject, and pub.
fishes the result of his investigations
as follows:
'First-That from one-tenth to Que
fifth of the total number of cotton
operatives are mere children. Second
That they work from eleven to
twelve hours day. Third-That they
are paid from 10 to so cents a day
Fourth-That boys and girls from four
teen to eighteen make from so to "a
cents a day Fifth-That adults rarely
earn over 81 day, and that on piece
work. Sixth-That the children's
work, though not heavy. is grinding
and nerve-racking. Seventh-That
the constant buzz of whirring wheels
the high temperature and vitiated air
conditions inseparable from cotton
mills-wear down the stoutest frame
and strongest nerves. and the children
so employed ere long lose the bright
eye, healthy glow and elastic ster
which are the common heritage OF
youth. Eighth-That in many cases
these urchins are held in hopeless
bondage to their illiterate, heartlesl
and avaricious parents. Ninth-Tha'
the normal order of things Is. alas, toe
often inverted. and the saddening spec
tacle presented of weak children sup
porting able-bodied parents in lieu o.
parents supporting their offspring
Tenth-That not one out of twenty d
such toilers can read and write
The American Federation Of Labor
reports similar results. It is estimat
that there are upward of $4,000 chill
dren under fourteen years of age II
the cotton mills of Alabama, Georgia
Mississippi, North Carolina and Soutl
Carolina, and that nearly one-half O