Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-01-24
Senators and Representatives Will
Soon Receive $500 An
nually.
SENATOR BEVERIGDE SPEAKS
Tells OF lie Evils of Child labor In
support Of Ills Diu Prohibiting
Interstate Commerce In the
Products Of Child Labor
Much Oratory In House.

Washington, Jan. 23.-The senate 20.
day accepted tho proposal Of the House
/ Of Representatives to Increase tho sal
aries Of senator's. members and t'rri-
| torial delegates to $500 annually, and
those Of the vice president. the speak
or Of the House and members Of the
I cabinet to $4,000 This action was
! taken by vote Of 80 to 9l after dis
/ cusSon lasting nearly three hours.
An amendment confninR the increase to
cabinet officers and the presiding OH
GERS of the Senate and House, was yot-
ed down as was Il proposition 70 post
ponc the Increase until 1918.
The details OF the vote werc IS follows:
! Ycas-Aldrich Alice. Ankeny, Benson.
/ Beveridge. Brandegre. Bulkloy Burrham.
! Burrows. Carter. Clark CMontl clark
/ CIVyo1. Clarke (Ark). Crane Cullom.
Daniel Dick. Dillingham;. dubois, Du
Pont. Flint Forakcr F'oster. FRYE. Fu,-
! ton Galllngcr. Hale. IcyhErn. Hopk,u7.
/ Kittrcdgc. Knox. 1-attincr. Lodge, Long.
McCumhor, McEncry. Mllard, Money.
/ Ncwlards Nixon. Overman. renrose.
Pettus. Plies. Scott. Simmons. smoot,
spooner. Sutherland, Teller, Tillman,
Warner and Warren-53.
Nays-Bacon. Berry Blackburn. Bur-
/ kett, Cavmack, Clapp, clay, Cuiherson.
! Frazier, Hansbrough iIemenway, La
Toilette. McCreary, Mallory. Nelson. Pat
! terson, Perkins, Rayncr. Stone. Talia-
ferro and W-hyte-N.
conference committee was appointed
as 70 the other matters OF disagreement
| between the House and Senate on the
Legislative bill.
President Roosevelt advocated ship
! subsidy in a special message which
was read in both Houses
Senator Beveridge OF Indiana began
an address upon child labor conditions
In the country. In support of his hill
( prohibiting interstate commerce in ar
tcleS which are the product o. c01ld
labor lie gave notice that he would
! conclude his address tomorrow.
/ SENATOR BEvERIDGE's sPEEC H.
/ In opening his remarks Senator Bevcr-
idge said the bill was DOT aimed n child
/ labor on tha farm. The census shows
/ that nearly 2.0O000) child breadUinuers
! undcl y years of age are now at work,
almost 10000 of them outside agricul-
! tural work. These figures h. said were
! not large enough as it had been proven
| that only a part Of the little children
at work in factories and sweat shops
/ We're returned ~ the census enumeratOrS.
! To substantiate this he presented M
davis showing that children from les.
than three years OF age 10 = years were
( largely employed where the census ra-
turns show not much child LABOR vac
! employed He then gave numerous Illus,
trations of child labor which the follow-
! ing is a sample:
Mr.. John Spargo, o1thor Of Tho B.tton
! Cry of the Children. tells Of a little rlrs
! IN Paterson. y. J.. who works in ths
steamnG room or fax mill, standing
| harcrooteG in pools nf water twisting
! coils Of wei hemp. lie say that when
/ he saw her she was "Crppng v'ot. and
/ in the coolest evenings 81 winter little
( Marie and hundreds OF cther lttle girls
must come out OF the superb ratel rooms
/ in Just that condition.
After readirg other examples he sad:
These are examples given because
they are typical | have not referred ID
the worst cases. I have letter from
| Jane Addams. that wonderful woman
whom all America honors. telling Of her
! personally seeing a little girl of years
old at work In southern cotton mill
/ have not referred to the cases where
! cold water is thrown on little children
/ 20 keep them awake. or other ~ the more
/ hideous forms Of this child murder of
which this last is an illustration. All OF
! the examples I have given cen Be sup
ported by testimony under oath, and are
| given because they are typical OF thou
sands Of similar cases"
! The results Of these conditions he ar
gued would be men and women who are
/ enemies Of society with dYarfed and
weak bodies, duh clouded minds and an
/ appetite for liquor an tobacco and stiu
! worse vices caused by the nervous eX-
| haustion they suffer
Tho deterioration of the English people
| of these effects. The Parliamentary
| commission appointed 70 investigate the
causes reported that the conditions of
factory life universal use OF alcoholic
! liquors insufficient nutrition. vicious itv-
! ing. poverty. and other like causes pro-
duced by the physical inferority of y
people who. historically speaking, were
only yesterday the strongest men and
/ women in the world
He maintained that State laws could
not be depended upon TO regulate these
! evils because they were not uniform or
! uniformly enforced.
The results OF the employment of child
labor ne stated would be the lowering
Of the wage level of all classes down to
that OF child labor lie said:
| Not only should the working people
insist that their children should have Il
chance to grow up into healthy workers,
| but working men and women should de-
| mand that their wages should not be re-
duced by competition OF little ones who
| ought to be in school or MT home or en-
| ployed healthfully In the open air.
| He claimed the bill was constitutional
because II prohibits the transportation
| in Interstate commerce. the products OF
! child labor and Congress has absolute
power over Interstate commerce. He
| cited several laws and court decisions
! to show that II was constitutional
| He closed by saying;
| 1T is all a question Of policy and not
of power; OF the wisdom OF the law and