The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1904-07-01
CHILD LABOR EVILS.
CAPITAL IS ARRAYED AGAINST RENE
DIAL LEGISLATION.

Passed Their Enforcement Ii DIM
cult-EMorts BEING Made to Save
the Little Ones.
Homer Folks. former commissioner
Of public charities in New York city,
in an address on Child Labor In
America" before the General Fedora
ton of Women's Clubs at st. Louis,
said in part:
I'm addressing the representatives of
the women's clubs of the United States
it is happily unnecessary to dwell upon
the suffering aud sorrows Of the chill
drcn whose lot we are seeking to i'm
prove. l suppose that were it desira-
BILE to do so and had power to picture
to you the conditions that actually ex-
ist this very night in the employment
of children in many places in this
country the facts would be so terrible
when rightly understood that no one
present would be able tonight to close
his eyes in sleep.
I'm endeavoring to formulate ma
tl0nal programme we should not seek
for an ideal system which we know to
be at present impracticable, but rather
for the minimum of regulation that is
consistent with protecting children
against exploitation in their early
years and guaranteeing to them i'm
munity from such labor as would in
terfere with their proper physical, men
tai and moral growth. l heartily in
dorse the report of your committee
in favor of a general effort for the fol-
lowing minimum requirements:
'First.-That no children under six
teen years of age shall be permitted to
work at night-that is, between the
hours of Z p. IN. and 1 n. IN.
''Second.-That no children under six
teen years Of age shall be permitted to
be regularly employed who cannot read
and write simple sentences.
"Third.--That in states in which
these two provisions are already en-
forced we should secure the enactment
OF the standard child labor law as out
lined by the National Consumers
league.
but our task Is only half begun
when we hive secured legislation. En-
forcement is possible only when ade-
Quate machinery Is provided. Volun-
tary compliance on the part Of the in
dustries affected is an idle dream. En-
fOrcement by the assistance Of volun-
tary and casual inspection IL a snare
and a delusion.
And here again we must expect to
meet and overcome the same Opposi-
ton which we will meet in securing
legislation, with perhaps REINFORCE
ments. for the number of those who are
in favor Of righteous law but again it
its enforcement is simply astonishing.
Even when we have secured our re-
strictive laws. and a provision for in
spectors and an appropriation for their
salaries our work is far from finished.
for it Is just at this point that the
adroit employer is most likely to ad-
minister an opiate to the entire move
ment.
"Only those who have been close OBJ
servers of public affairs understand
to how large an extent, in the absence
Of constant effort on the part Of right
minded citizens to the contrary, those
public officials who are appointed to
oversee. supervise and regulate private
interests for the public good become
the very bulwark behind which such
interests are enabled the more effec-
lively to push their exploitation.
''In closing would say word Of
caution against being oversanguine.
Let us not deceive ourselves. The his
tory of the past two years has some
chapters of encouragement, but many
Of disaster. In several states. with the
issue distinctly and clearly drawn.
with nothing like an adequate argu-
ment against their proposition. our
friends have gone down in inglorious
defeat before the plain. brutal strength
of combined capital. 1t is to be no
child's play. Human nature has not
changed SO much as we may think.
The business interests that mistaken
ly. as l firmly believe, consider their
interests menaced will fight to the end
and will not be easily overcome.
ut may not be difficult to secure
laws preventing child labor in facto-
resin states which have no factories.
1t may be possible to secure law pre-
venting child labor in all factories ex-
cept glass factories-in states which
have only glass factories. 1t may be
possible to secure laws preventing
child labor in factories during school
sessions-in communities where the
school sessions are exceedingly limited
or altogether absent, but when it Is a
question of actually removing children
who are III factories. mines, stores, tel
egraph Offices, and so on. we must be
prepared for u long and stubborn fight
perchance for frequent defeat, but SC
long as God is i'm his heaven IL we are
faithful in our task we shall win In
the end"
WagewOrkers of Bohemia.
In Bohemia every wagewOrker, OF