The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-02-21
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 81, 1908.
"A POOR MANS TREASURE.

It has been argued against tho bill to
regulate child labor in Virginia that 1t
Is hardship on the poor people. On the
the poor people. and 1t Is a strange tii4ng
& to us that any poor man should object to
cit. The children of the rich do NOT have
To work, and this bin Is certainly not In
tended for their benefit. The children of
the rich are sent to the best schools;
they are given time for play and recrea-
ton and healthful exercises; they are
4 given opportunity to develop in body and
mind and spirit; and every provision Is
made to educate them for business and
professional life and the duties of citizen
ship. Therefore these children, when
they grow up. will have better chance
IN the world than those children Of the
!, poor who are made to work and who
are deprived OF the opportunities of de-,
4 velopnlent
This sort OF thing tends to make two
classes of people-one highly developed
and the other stunted. The tendency Is
towards aristocracy OH the one hand and
peasantry on the other. and that tendency
Is contrary to the spirit Of democracy.
We boast that all men are created free
and equal, and while that is not literally
true, is Is OUR business to make it MS
nearly true as possible We boast that in
this country all men have the same
chance. and while that Is not literally
true. it is our business to make 1t as
nearly true as possible. In order to give
must have the same chance. But If the
children of the poor,are made to work In
the factories during the formative Pc
Rod of life, and are thus stunted in ply
steal growth as we'll as in mentality,
while the children Of the rich are edu-
Gated, it is quite clear that in manhood
and womanhood the one class will not
have the same chance that the other
class has to succeed.
We dcspise everything that smacks of
tain duties OF government in relation to
the upbullding of the people which can
not be ignored even by man OF pro-
nounced Democracy The strength OF
this Republic is not In It's factories, in
Its railroads and In its money, but In Its
people. Wherever there is manhood sur
frage, there must be education; and edu-
cation Is a very broad term. 1t is the duty
of the State to provide the means of edu-
cation for the children OF the poor. be.
cause this Is in the interest Of society
and good government. For the same
reason, it is the duty of the State to
prohibit factories from working children
when they should be at play or at school,
developing their minds and bodies. Tho
selfish rich would be quite willing to
see the Rublic schools abolished, and to
see the factories operated largely by the
children Of the poor, for that would give
The rich an advantage over tho poor and
tend to make class distinction, Therefore,
1t Is OF Vital importance to the poor to
have good public schools, and to have
such regulation of labor as will give their
children an opportunity Of development
and prevent them from being dwarfed.
Taking q broad view OF this question,
looking 10 the future of the State, look
Ing to The Improvement OF our Citizen
ship. the Times-Dispatch is IN favor OF
public schools and In favor Of reasonable
res aiatsp:ls Of law which viii prevent the
z children Of the poor from being ground
AZ In the factories.