CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1907-05-23
the BLACKMESS
OF PENNSYLv WANNA
BY Scott Nearing, Secretary OF the
Pennsylvania Child Labor
Committee.

The WOman's Home Companion,
which has conducted a vigorous cam
paign against child labor for a year
past, publishes in it's June number
startling description of child labor
conditions in Pennsylvania. The article
which appears in the Child Labor De-
partment officially furnished each
month to the Woman's Home Compan-
ion by the National Child Labor Com
mittee, of which President Roosevelt
is an honorary member. says:
In 1902 the anthracite strike COM
mission found girl of II working in
a Pennsylvania silk mill twelve hours
a night for 3 cents an hour.
Nearly 100000 children are work
ing in the United States in occupations
other than agriculture. OF these 700.-
900 children one in every six is work
ing In Pennsylvania. With a twelfth
OF the population, Pennsylvania has
sixth of the child labor.
With but one-half Of the amount of
capital invested, and one-half of the
total number of persons employed,
Pennsylvania has as many child work.
ers engaged in manufacturing as New
York, Massachusetts and Illinois COM
bined.
The number of working children in
Pennsylvania Is growing with alarm
ing rapid1ty. In 1903 there were 3d.
900 working children discovered by
the factory department; in 1904, A.
900; and by 1905 the number has risen
to $4,000, an increase Of so per cent
in two years!
"Is it possible that the people Of
Pennsylvania care so little for their
children that they are willing to sacri-
fee them in increasing numbers? l
think not. The people in Pennsylvania
care as much for their children as the
people in any other state. but the pow
ers which control the state care
neither for the people nor for the chill
dren of the people, and it is these
forces which are primarily responsible
for Pennsylvania great child labor
army.
I'm 1905 a child labor law was
passed. In the third section of this
law we find It stated that no child un-
der 16 may work after . O'Clock at
night except that where the material
in process of manufacture is Of a
character which requires work after 9
o'clock; then, in such case, to prevent
waste or destruction Of said material
boys of Is and IA may work at any
hour of the night provided they do
not exceed eight hours in twenty-four.
Think what 1t means for an en-
lightened community to place itself on
record as being in favor of protecting
children so long as material in pro-
cess Of manufacture is not endan-
gered. Think Of law which provides
that where material in process of
manufacture is endangered, then. to
prevent waste or destruction Of said
material there Is no objection to the
waste or destruction of boys, the ma
terial OF the future citizenship!
This exemption was inserted in the
law, not because the people Of Penn
sylvania wanted it, but because the
glass interests in the western part Of
the state wanted to work boys Of IA
after O'Clock at night.
The industrial commission, appoint
ed by congress six years ago to look
into industrial questions throughout
the country, handed in a special report
on prison labor. The commission rec
commended a model law on the subject,
and one of the provisions of this law
was that no prisoner should be en-
ployed at hard labor for more than
eight hours day The Pennsylvania
law Of 1905, as a special concession to
the children. provided that NO child
should be employed for more than
twelve hours in any one day.
THE corporate interests in Pennsyl-
vania are supreme. The laws which
they desire are passed; the laws to
which they are opposed are considered
adversely by the legislature. In Penn
sylvania there is one chief thing; the
material in process of manufacture
"Pennsylvanias corporate interests
have 80 far prevented the passage Of
an effective child labor law, and Penn
sylvania's wretched politics have 20
far prevented an efhcient enforcement
Of the laws passed.
when statements are made like
those at the BEGINNING of this article.
the Pennsylvania factory department
savagely accuses those who make the
statements Of 'traducing the fair name
of Pennsylvania and of 'slandering