The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-25
DEAN BREWSTER
ON CHILD LABOR
Tells About Some of the Evils
Which Beset System Now
in Practice.

At St Marks Episcopal cathedral on
Sunday the Rev. Benjamin Brewster
preached an appealing sermon on the
sibility For It." In the course of his
discourse he said. in part:
Returning once from q journey, l
was waiting for a street car at the Rio
Grande station in this city, when a
little boy of between and years
(and l should guess nearer ) than -,
approached me with a pathetic appeal
that I would buy of him a paper. He
had only one. 1t was the last one of
his bundle, he said. Please, sir he
whimpered. buy a paper, so that [
may go home. 1t was late. l was
tempted to buy, but 1 steeled myself,
and told him he ought not to be sell
ing papers at all, and was beginning
TO ask where he lived that ] might see
his pare2ts. when he ran and made the
same appeal to one after another of the
passengers. Meanwhile, my car had
come. Just as the car pulled out fell
low passenger was approached by the
same child. paused. felt for silver
coin in his pocket. and took the paper
with him, not waiting for the change.
It was meant 10 be a good-natured act
of charity, and l suppose this gentle
man read his paper with an unusually
approving conscience But the car had
not got half a block away when I saw
the little child go 10 an older boy, get
from him another single paper and be-
gin the same tactics with the new
stream of travellers hurrying from the
train.
Old Before Their Time.
Several hundred years before Christ.
in the prophets picture of the ideal
city, the playing Of the boys and girls
found it's place as an outstanding fea-
ture. But actually in modern cities.
1900 years after Christ. we have thou
sands of children like the one l have
! told of-not participating in innocent,
spontaneous childhood games. but old
/ before their time in the game of lying,
| the game of greed, the game-seve the
mark-called getting on. Project your
/ imagination into that child's probable
| future. and what do you see? If this
| infants precocity does not forestall the
chance of any future, you may reason
ably count on seeing the manned soul
where standard of success is cheating
not found out if not downright THEW
/ ing In such ways we are educating
! the CRATER of the future. or the man
who looks about for the price of his
vote"
Evils of Child Labor.
! Dean Brewster then gave some in
/ stances of child labor. He referred to
1 the canning industry in Maine Chill
dren under the age of il are working
/ at the packing of so-called sardines.
| They work ten hours a day, six days
| in the week. sixty hours a week of
cutting and cleaning fish, on the part
of the children, some of whom can't
/ reached the cutting table without a
STOOL Children should not be held in
| idieness.~ nor should they be permitted
/ to earn a little money. DR.. Brewster
| contended. but they should be kept
| from the grinding, monotonous, COM
petitive work OF factory or mil, and be
allowed ample time for school and for
play.
/ In Tampa. Fla. the number Of child
| employees has grown in two years from
/ $50 to 1000.
/ The question OF sentiment does not
/ alone enter into the matter. he said.
I but of course. We arc bound to look
| onward through the present WEAKNESS
/ and pain OF these children. to consider
/ the effect upon their development and
/ upon the welfare of society. The ply
/ sique OF the nation is being impaired
/ by child labor. To lower the price and
/ cheaper production child labor has
III been pressed into use.
Per Cent of IiIiterscy.
Mr.. Brewster referred to the illite-
l racy in the south. In North Carolina
it is I6.6 per cent for the general white
children from 10 TO IL years of age
but the illiteTacy of the factory CHI
il dren between these ages is 80 per cent.
The preacher urged that they do not
develop the sugar beet industry in
Utah AT the expense OF the children
and in nreveut the evil he suggested
that they join with the men and women
VINO have organized the national child
labor committee This committee has
prepared and introduced in congress a
bill looking to the establishment in he
department Of the interior the chill
i dren-s bureau" with the object of in
vestigating and reporting upon al
| matters pertaining TO the welfare 81
| children
II The preacher asked those who haS'
/ influence with representatives in con
Il cross fr. urge them TO approve the bill