Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-07
Senator Delivers Views on Child
Labor.


To the Editor of The Star:
in The Star Of Maya, under the head Of
plea for Children" Senator Dolliver is
reported as having said: 1.-THE intrusion of
young children to bread-winning occupa-
ton Is an injustice to the army Of workers
who are charged with support Of families"
The senator loses sight of the fact that
many of these children filing bread-win-
ming occupations are charged with support
of families as well as themselves, and to
deprive them Of this simply means starva-
ton
The senator ssys: I'm the last three
months 800 children less than sixteen years
of age have graduated in this city from
the care of employers to the guardianship
Of the criminal courts" We would like to
know who those employers were and
what their business was that could produce
such remarkable results in such short
time. There must be something the matter
with either the employer or the business
that could manufacture criminals at that
rate of speed, and 1t seems to me that the
business as well as the children should be
looked after, or. If these children were
criminals before having been employed.
why should the fact that they were en-
ployed be held responsible for their crini-
nahty. The senator says: Might schools.
for children who ought to be at home in
bed, are barbarism." True but how
many mothers, bereft Of their husbands on
account of the saloons, are obliged to leave
the baby in the care of the one q little
older during the day while she earns the
bread for their supper, and then cleans
the little fellow up and sends him to night
school for an hour and a half or two
hours, while she takes care of the baby
and does the family washing.
If Senator Dolliver will investigate he will
find that many of our leading merchants
/ and successful business men. and to the
writer's personal knowledge, some of our
most prominent public officials have come
from just such homes, and this city is not
alone in records of this kind
Why should exceptions to child labor be
made in favor of the pages" in both
houses of Congress? They are principally
the children of parents in comfortable cir
cumstances. When will they go to school?
The matter of education seems to be lost
sight of in regard to them
The senator states further that there are
100 children in the District of Columbia,
under sixteen years of age, who work in
the day time and try to secure their edu-
cation in the night schools" Yes they are
the ones who fill our colleges here, and
from whom we get our lawyers, doctors,
business men and our members Of Con-
gress.
What does the senator propose to do
with all these children that he says ought
vide them beds: many of them at present
are sleeping on lumber piles, under steps
and in store boxes coal yards. ETC.. or
does he refer to children who have parents
able to care for them?
The senator says: This involves both
labor question and a problem of morality"
Are we to understand that this Is move
ment on the part of the labor unions? 1t
| is stated in this article that more import
ant than the labor question or the school
question Is the question of the moral ruin
of thousands of boys and girls who, under
| proper surroundings. might grow up use
full members of society. VIII simply en-
forced idleness bring about these proper
surroundings?' Will not the deprivation
of the means Of bringing into these homes
| the necessary comforts increase instead of
| decrease the sorrow, want and crime? This
| is very broad question for Senator Dol
| liver to view from all sides. A. HENRY.