The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-14
LOOKS LIKE DEArHBED REPEN-

TANCE.
 The agitation of the child labor law question in the campaign for the last few weeks has had wonderful ef- feet Mir. Conner has tried to ignore it. but like Banauo's ghost. 1t would not down. He has been forced to give it attention. pr. Murphys letter, pub- iished in The Advertiser on June goth. and Dr McKeiway's on August srd. have brought about marvellous change in Mir. Corners attitude He seems to be very badly scared about the mat ter, and evidently realizes that 1t is costing him many votes.
 The evidence of these assertions is to be found in his mouth piece, The Birmingham News In leader on Fri- day on "a Child Labor Law" 1t made this significant announcement:
 Conner thinks that Georgia railroad road rates in Alabama. He also be- lieves that the Georgia child-labor law would be good thing for Alabama. Somss Soas Is h,,a in & earnest: as as every man who advocates, and he wants child-iabor law that will be not only wholesome but efective. and applicable to the mines as well as the mills and fac tories.
 The Georgia law recently enacted. is far better than the Alabama law, though 1t is not ideal. in that it does not provide any method of inspection of mills in order to secure enforce ment. Nevertheless. 1t is interesting to learn. by this secondhand authori- ty, that Mir. Conner fayors even the Georgia law. or any one that is to be effective. It is tremendous change from his attitude fin the conference here at Montgomery in 1908 between committee of the millmen of which he was chairman, and the state Child Labor Comfaittee of which pr. Edgar Gardner Murphy was chairman. Here are extracts from Dr. Murphy's signed letter to The Advertiser of June asth in reference to Mir. Corners views then:
 I think I do no injuries to Mir. Co., mer when I say that he seemed ear- nestly opposed to child labor 1egisla tion in any form and that such eon- ter much argument and apparently with intense reluctance.
 
 Two of the issues will suffice In the bili proposed by the Child Labor Cofn- mfttes. Section 5. provided that no child under the age of If years shall he employed at labor in or about any factory unless such child attends school for at least twelve weeks of each year. six weeks of said schooling to be con secutive." We offered this proposal in order to reduce somewhat the propor- tion of iliiteracy among our operatives. We thought 1t would work no serious hardship on the mills and that it would help to prevent idle and selfish par ants from shutting out their children from the school privileges provided by fy opposed and at length defeated by Mir. Conner and his associates.
 
 There was also proposal in our suggested bfiT that no child under l the age of 1e shall be employed at la bor or shall be detained in any factory | between the hours of ' p. m, and | a. m." The object of this proposal | was to protect children of fifteen years |
 
 the cotton mills at night. It has al- ways seemed to me that there ought | to be no question among humane men | as to the wisdom and appropriateness l of such legislation as this. Whatever differences men may have on the sub ject of child labor by daylight, hu- manity and good sense would seem to suggest that factory labor ought not | to be imposed upon our children after | nightfall. Although Mir. Conner and his associates earnestly insisted that | they did not themselves employ chill | dren at night they refused to allow this | prohibition to go into the bill. They | forced us to cut down the age limit and thus our factories in Alabama are still permitted under our law to put night work upon their children of thirteen years and upward
 Mir Conner has seemed to me the most bitter opponent of child labor legislation that have ever known.
 Clearly there has been an amazine In Mir. Corners views on these matters since 1903. if The News speaks by authority. Sometime back Mir. Conner was saying in his speeches that Dr. Cunningham and his other critics knew nothing about Child Lahor or mills and that they were making outrageous attacks on the mill interest of the State. From whence has come this new light into his mind? Has ne heard from the people? Is he trying to make fair weather with the voters? It locks nightly that way. But con- to a wholesome. effective" law on the Georgia lines comes very late. It looks very much like death bed repentance. It may not turn the tide of voters away from Cunning ham,