Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-30
MOTHERS FIGHT FOR CHILD
Women Of United States Appealed to for
Assistance in Reform.
ANrl-cHILD SLAVERY LEAGUE ACTIVE
DIR. Edward Everett Hale Writes I'm
stirring words OF Existing
Abuses and the steps
Needed for Remedy.

DR.. Edward Everett Hale. distinguished
patriot, chaplain of the United States sem
ate, Americas Grand Old Man, has be-
come active In the warfare now being
waged against the evils OF child labor. In
ringing appeal to mothers Of the county,
published in the Anti-Chlld Slavery leagues
official organ, the Woman's Home Com
panion for October, he says:
Looking with wide range over this dear
America of ours, think the best and the
happiest life for any boy IL the wide range,
open air life Of the country, where. he and
u plain and. in fact, in the daily life OF
In what I might almost call this natural
people have worked out for themselves
wherever they were not closely cefnented
together.-four points Of the first Importance
boys and girls have the advantage Of q
great deal Of life In the open air. This
is essential 70 all good education.
tenn have great deal Of intercourse with
their fathers and mothers. This is very
SssiraDle @ IN all ,,. s6ucsti9n; ana failure
Third. the children OF the neighborhood
are brought together IN their schools and,
sentIa1 also. for together il one OF the
central words OF real life. Many fine
man or woman is lost to the world because
which were really cultivated In youth. On
the other hand, JOY In society Is natural
to the human race. which for the purposes
ears. And, 70 add one more necessity In
education. this system gives the great
we have 80 little space a large life, a lie
strong ana happy life. are well nigh in
-snred in such system.
Fate of Young worker.
almost a system, which takes possession
have been alluded to. Suppose little girl
where she is to spend ten hours a day. or
perhaps eleven or twelve Sunday is the
only day. you might say when she, can
world. 1t is the only day in which for any
purpose worth considering she can run and
play and exercise the hands and feet and
The chances are against her In the matter
Of using her tongue or her ears; The rule
Gf the WoTk shop probably f1reds orr her teR
for the daily work.
And It is hardly an even chance whether
big brothers and sisters by sight. Any
thing which you and l would call home Is
Or take the boy Of or 10 or I2 years,
who is set to work in the factory. There
are a great many days in the year when
he must be up and report at the mill te-
child labor; that miil may run twelve or
more hours out of the twenty-four. Now
look IN your almanac and see how many
hours between sunrise and sunset. All
those days the little fellow must go in
the dark and come back in the dark to
as the power is turned on. If he is not
there he loses the days work, and he loses
precisely pre- what ' he wv win DO IN the mill. Per,
haps HIS business is to Garry waste"
That Is, he has to sweep up the. waste
spun, to fii great baskets on wheels with
II, and wheel those baskets from room to
room till he comes to the dumping. room.
he goes back to the place he started FROM.
He does this for ten hours OF the day. or
for eleven hours or for twelve hours, as
may be directed by the laws or the state
In which he lives.
Mill and Prison. &
Now, compare this girl in the shirt
room, or the boy and girl in the factory,
with your own boy and girl Of & any aga
neither in the shirt. room or in the fac
oss IN ss san f1 have m Ssm worR aers IN tSs S
mill or In the shop, they live as near the
mill or the shop as they can. True, the
hours @ IL hG is very pFiIUn nearly % % prson Sh The
children cannot talk to each other, they
cannot look out of the windows, they can
not STOP Wniie LHe IIldCillntTy 10 WOEhluBs
This means that they have not the fun
and Joy which children ought to have in
the beautiful world which the good God
has made for them.
OF this imprisonment you must let me
speak very seriously. for il means some
thing which ought to come very close to
the hearts OF every father and mother
who reads these lines. 1t is not true that
Nahum is any nearer to God when he
takes down the bars to let the cattle into
the pasture, or when he puts them up
again. or when ne climbs a tree to see IL
the wild cherries are ripe, OF when he
throws a stone into the chestnut tree to
make the burs fall. He Is no nearer to
God than Hosea Is who is for ten hours
OF that same day wheeling cotton waste
in the mill
MOI But Nahum sees God hundred
times and hears what He has to say a
hundred times. while he drives the cows
to pasture and taxes down the bars and
climbs the cherry tree or breaks open the
chestnut burs for once when for poor
Micah in the midst of the clatter and dust
and smell of the factory sees him or hears
him.
what Can BE Done.
what you and can do about Il is this:
We can recollect what we were and 8
and 10 and IL years old
We can ask ourselves whether II would
haua haav a gn0d thing for MS n he shut