The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-03-07
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.


An article in The Arena for Novem-
Der, 1902, on desirable Reforms in
Motherhood,' seems to leave something
still to be desired on behalf of the
children. We are reminded by the wri-
ter that mother is a sacred word, full
of hallowed associations, and that to
become motherless is sad fate to be-
fall any child--all of which is I'M
doubtedly true; but why should we
continue to ignore the sacredness of
fatherhood, and the loss the world sus-
tains through bad and incompetent
fathers?
The civilization of today is held back
by d dead weight of barbarism and
hopeless inefficiency, and since the
sympathetic nerve of the social organ
ism has been so developed that We cam
not accept the advice of a late writer
on heredity, and gently and painlessly
put to death those who fall behind in
the race and disturb the peace and or
der we desire to establish, We are COM
PEELED in self defense to ask what
makes it so, and seek to remove the
causes.
The article referred to answers this
social problem with minimizing fluen-
cy: "All the wickedness of the world
can be traced to incompetent mother
hood" Let us see. We will begin by
examining the prison inmates, of whom
we find large majority physically de-
fcient in some way. If we follow them
back to what by courtesy we may call
their homes, we are quite likely to find
ourselves in the city slums, where fam
<~,
which they pay excessive rent-rooms
in which privacy and cleanliness are
well-nigh impossible; where the high
price and poor quality Of food, bad air,
and lack of sunlight and drainage COM
bire to check physical development.
Going to institutions for the care of
other detectives we find on examina-
ton of the records that most of these
unfortunates were born with a defec-
tive physical organization, for which,
by the way, fathers and mothers are
equally responsible; and often circum-
stances over which they have no con-
troll are more responsible than either.
The interaction Of physical, mental,
and moral forces is not yet fully COM
pretended, but nothing is more GER
tain than that poorly nourished, over
worked, nervously exhausted fathers
and mothers will produce children that
are weak unbalanced, and Detective
lacking in power of resistance either to
disease or temptation. In our factories
and shops there are multitudes Of bows
and girls forced by grim necessity to
long hours of exhausting toll, under
very unwholesome conditions, just at
the age when they should be storing
up. vitality for future generations.
<ain, our author tells us that the
best mother is the one who understands
how to Work-hoW to cook how to pre-
pare the washing, etc. Then a wash
erwoman in my neighborhood is we'll
qualified for motherhood, for she can
do all these things admirably and goes
out washing till within two or three
weeks of the birth Of babies; while her
husband, who earns $3.50 a day, comes
nome and abuses her because Sc is hav-
ing babies-which necessity Interrupts.
ever so briefly, her possibility Of wage
earning.
We hear good deal about the fash
1onable mothers" who do not want ba-
biz" J." interfere with their pleasures:
but the story of the fathers who do not
desire babies has never been told. It
IS narrowing tale, and shall be left
TO more graphic pen than mine.
The washerwoman's children whom
they manage to survive are generally
neglected; but it is a hearted