Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-09
Protect the Rights Of Childhood
and Conserve Human Resources

sistent as the individual motherins
which is now given to the children o.
well favored families.
But If this "mothering" is to be eff
fective, the women of the country
must be provided with the means fol
doing it well. Realizing this, Mrs. Gud-
den in her annual ad1ress included a
request that all the members of the
league assist in securing signatures tc
the petition at present Noing circulated
which asks congress to submit the sub
ject of woman's ~uffra ore RI the legis-
latures of the different states.
The organization realizes mt chill
dren may be deprived of their rightful
heritage of physical vigor by the work
which their mothers do before they are
born. 1t has therefore encouraged an
investigation into the conditions I'M
der which women work. and 1t is in
favor of laws limitin0 the hours OF
work for women in factories and work
shops, and prohibiting night work fol-
women in these places. 1t would be
proud to see the Gland of the free, and
the home of the brave" removed from
the class with Russia and qualified
to enter the class which includes the
fourteen European nations which
agreed to prohibit nightwork for wo-
men in factories.
Buyers Must Make Sacrifices
The league believes in "minimizine
the causes of the dependency of chill
dren," as Miss Adams expresses it. II
therefore indorses the employers liza
bility act now before the Wisconsin
legislature and also the bill known as
the industrial hygiene act, which pro-
vides for an investigation into the eff
feet of various forms of employment
upon the health and vigor of the work
ers.
At the Milwaukee meeting an ex
tremely significant address was made
by Mr.. Joseph Waller, factory in
spector. Mr. Waller called attention
to the gap between the ages of IA and
16 when children are not compelled to
attend school and find difficulty in get
ting employment. He urged the estab-
lishment of. trade school for girls,
an institution for which the women of
Milwa ul1ee are earnestly working.
One very practical suggestion made
recently by the Rev. J. w. Greenwood
of Oshkosh was Endorsed by Mrs. Gud-
den. He called attention to the fact
that clothing made under decent con-
ditions may be manufactured out of
cotton which is the product of degrad-
ing child labor. He suggested that
merchants be asked to sell cotton
which is guaranteed to have been made
without child labor and to put price
upon it necessary to cover the in
creased cost OF production. This would
give women and other buyers a chance
to prove the strength of their princi-
pies.
This last suggestion reminds us thar
the joy of the producer will probably
never be secured without a certain
amount of sacrifice on the part of the
user and the buyer. Unless the MEM
bers of the league are willing to make
sacrifices, in the matter, for example of
the time of the delivery of their daily
papers, if this should pe necessary in
order to secure the passage Of the
street traders bill. they will never be
able to work tremendously with other
classes in the community. who are in
terested as they are in the improve
ment of the conditions under which the
worlds work is done.-LaFollette's