The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-14
MIR. MURPHY RETURNS
TALKS OF CHILD LABOR AND
 EDUcATIoN.
Secretary of ths Southern Education Board is Preparing for Big Meeting Here Late in
 This Month.

Mir. Edgar Gardner Murphy, Executive Secretary of the Southern Educational Board. who returned to Montgomery yes- terday. talked Interestingly of the ap- proaehipg edpeatienal meeting to be held In Montgomery and of child labor iegis- Elation. s VI
 Mir. Murphy has been In New York in attendancs on the annual meeting of the Board. He is constantly travsiing through the South, but he always claims Mont gomery as home" He will kemain here for at least Ave or six weeks before going upon another trip. s
 II am especially interested. said Mir. Murphy, fin the approaching educational conference. It will gather here on the 18th and 2sth of this month. The County Superintendents of Education have been especially invited, and distinguished speakers will be present from other sec- tions of the South.
 'aThe work of our Board is always per- formed In tho closest cooperation with the local educational authorities, We wish to consult with them as to the wisest and best ways in which we can he of service,
 T am also deeply interested in the pas- sage of a conservative and reasonable child labor law. But the educational TOEA anu Lu6 WOTA N0F GnliQ kHODFs lGkl8- lation are not in any way connected. di- reetly or indirectly. Everybody. in Mont gouaery knows that was the chairman of the Labor Committee before the South ern Educational Board was called into existenca.''
 "Bnt speaking of child labor" eontin- ued MT Murphy, T was glad to see that much interest Is being awakened among the people of New York in their own child labor conditions. Their law ex- cludes children from factories and stores under the age of IA, 50 that most of the children In employment are between the ages of lA and, l6. but the aggregate num- ber of such children is much too great.
 "A large mass meeting is soon to be held. IL will represent some of the mo- biest and wiseet forces in the State. They kindly asked me tef remain and address the meeting on the sabject of child labor at the South I declined. said that would speak of our conditions no in the North. but in the South. declined . similar invitation at Princeton University. Should I ever speak in New York on that subject. it will be on Child Labor as q National Problem The question Is not sectional but general. The North has uEore than enough sins of her own.
 Tt 10 a mistake to assume, however, as some Of the opponents of legislation would have us believe that the child la Dor laws at the North are doing no good. Here, for example, is one paper that tries to make great deal of the fact that the census shows more children at work in New York than in any Southern State.
 But. in order to be fair, we must re- rnenber that most of these children are over the age of IA And we must also re- member that 1t Is hardly fair to look no further than the mere totals. It is true that there are in the State of New York over is.000 children at work under 18 years of age, This number seems very large. Yet when we remember that the total number of employees Is s49. .056, we can see that the proportionate amount of child labor Is small.
 According. therefore. to the census of 1900 (see second edition of Bulletin 150). the children under 16 in the State of New York are only one and one-haif per cent of the total number of employees.
 "fn the manufacturing establishments of Alabama the children under IS make over l-2 per cent of the total number of Iaborers, and in the cotton factories of Alabama those under i6 constitute nearly 30 per cent of all the operatives. This Is the largest percentage in the United States. vtf A
 T think 6 law putting the limit at I2 will be conservative and reasonable. It seems to be growing in strength with the great masses of our people. Such a meas ufe has bean pledged by the. Democratic party fin Texas and South Carolina. 1t has passed the lower House in Virginia by an overwhelming vote and will certain ly pass the Senate, as well. In North Carolina such a law has been strongly urged by tho Governor in his message, and the sentiment for 1t is so strong that the mills have declared that they will not oppose #. Such laws already exist in Kentucky. Louisiana and Tennessee" !"
 On being asked as to the visit of An- drew Carnegie to Montgomery. Mir. Mur- phv replied:
 Yes. as I wired The. Advertiser on Christmas eve, Mir. Carnegie has accept cd the invitation of the trustees of our public library. He will soome to us on Lis return from Florida, late in February or early in March"