Albuquerque citizen., 1908-04-30
NEED OF THE LAW
MOST APPARENT
Investigations Show That $4,000
DegenerdteS Are Turned Loose
on the Country Every Year as
Result of Children Work
ing in Factories.

washington, April 3O.-There IL
chance, mere chance, that Congress !
before adjournment. will pass a bill |
| prohibiting child labor in Washington. |
| 1t is a far cry from the bill introduced !
by Senator Beveridge eighteen months |
ago prohibiting the employment Of |
children of tender age anywhere in !
| the whole United States. to the meas |
ure making 1t Illegal to employ chill |
dren in this little strip of territory |
called the District of Columbia.
| President Roosevelt has asked for a |
law which will keep the little ones
with uniformed minds and bodies out !
Of the workshops in Washington. 1t
is the presidents thought that such a
law may serve as a model for the laws
of the different states of the Union
provided the states which do not now
have such laws can be induced to pass
| them. 1t seems probable that Con-
gress eventually will be willing to pass
| a child labor law for the District of
| Columbia, because in passing II the
members will offend none of the great
corporations that make money out of
the blood of the children. There are
practically no great factories in the
District Of Columbia and few children
are here employed. Congress can pass
the law and offend no one, and, there
fore, Congress is likely to pass IL. II
not at the present session at least
some time in the future.
The child labor evil exists to
greater or less degree in nearly every
state in the Union, but it exists in
its greatest virulence in some of the
southern states. Senator Beveridge
hopes in the course of time to secure
the passage Of a measure that will
prevent the employment anywhere i'm
the United States of children under
the age of IA years.
Menace to the Race.
The national child labor matter has
not been allowed to remain under
cover at this session of Congress. Dis
cussion of it has not taken up much
OF the time of Congress, it is true, but
senator's and representatives have
been constantly reminded all through
the winter that the interest i'm the
subject on the part of the humanitar-
ians of the country has not been al
lowed to lag for an instant. OF course,
as is nearly always the case when any
great reform is contemplated, the plea
of unconstitutionality has been raised
! against the Beveridge bill to prohibit
child labor
; The provisions Of the bill are pret-
ty well known, but in a nutshell IL
provides that If children under the
age of IA years have been employed
in the manufacturing or the mining of
|, products, the products shall not De
allowed to enter into interstate com
, merce. This would kill child labor,
and If the reports of those who have
investigated the evils attending the
children at work are true, 1t is time
that child labor was killed.
1t is said that in some of the cot
ton factories of the south boys and
girls under the age of IL years work
all night long making cotton goods
and stunting their lives and their
morals. 1t Is declared on the au-
thority of Senator Beveridge that
child labor turns $4,000 degenerates
upon the country every year. Other
thousands of children die and yet the
work of driving them to the mills
when they should be at school or at
home goes on, in order that men may
make money and make 1t at the least
cost to themselves. The cost to the
country is not taken into considera-
tion for a moment.
Southern Industries Attacked.
, Many or the southern senators ana
representatives, and some OF those Of
the north, have declared the Bcyer-
idge measure TO be unconstitutional
The president favors its enactment
into law unless it is certain that the
courts will declare that IL conflicts
! with the constitution. Possibly an
, attempt will be made TO pass the bill
: at this session. and it may be that it
will be brought before Congress as an
amendment to the smaller bill forbid
: ding child labor in the District of Co
lumbia. Frankly speaking, there is
very little chance, however, that the
bill can go through this year, and un-
queStionably it will require that great
force from without, the letter writing
constituents Of senators and repre-
sentives, to make its passage certain
In the fItnre.