Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-08-18
PROTECTING THE UHmD.

Tie matter of prevention Of child
labor in Georgia. has gained an added
impetus in the victory at the recent
session OF the legislature. When <le
bill was passed prohibiting the EN-
ploying Of messenger boys at night, d
strong point was scored in favor OF
further prohibition of child labor. Tie
general child labor law was passed in
1906.
This is only an entering wedge, as It
were, in the campaign in behalf of the
betterment of the working children OF
Georgia. The battle for the emanei-
patton Of the child is being waged Wig
orously throughout the state. the
South and the entire nation. The Ma
tional Child Labor Committee, which
has general charge of the nationwide
movement, has its offices in New York
City, whence it gives general direction
and supervision to the efforts OF thoss
who are working for the prohibition OF
child labor throughout the entire coun,
try.
The National committee has issued
as is pamphlet No. 1873 an ILLUSTRATED
exposition OF conditions in the cotton
mills Of Georgia, where most of tht
child labor is employed. This pam.
phlet IS being sent out through DR.. A
J. McKelway. secretary for tie South.
ern states, OF the National Child Labor
committee. The initial statement a
the pamphlet is that Georgia was tn
last of tie manufacturing states In
/ the Union to pass a child labor law
Other things Of which Georgia cannof
well feel proud as regards its chll5
labor record are also summarized.
Among these is the fact there arr
only two states in tie Union now
Georgia and North Carolina, in whfco
children are allowed to work sixty-si1
hours week; that Georgia occupies
the bad eminenee of allowing children
under thirteen years of age to be EN-.
| ployed for a sixty-six-hour week. or a
twelve-kour day; that Georgia permits
it's ten-year-old children to labor 70.
sixty-six hours week, or twelve hour:
day. Defective as it is, the great
fault that is found with the Georgi.
law is that it is constantly violated
and with impunity
Statistics have been collected b,
these who compiled the pamphlet an.
these statistics leave little doubt about
the fact that the law is being constant
" disregarded with reference 10 tn,
age limit and other provisions concern
ing the hours of work. There arr
copious illustrations, which of them.
selves show more graphically the dead
ly and pernicious effects if child labor
than anything else could. The pic
lures are fraught with the pathos q
lives blasted physically and morally.
It seems from the foregoing fac..
that the greatest need today is tn,
enforcement of the laws that ALREADY
exist, without which further prohibit
DRY laws will be useless. It is neces
sary to awaken in the parents of many
OF the children more vital sense O
their responsibility. The owners O.
the mills can be brought into broad
er sympathy with the movement. as i
is shown that in some of the Nortl
/ Carolina mills that with the factor,
schools and other improvements tina
have been inaugurated that the noun
tain children are far better off at tn,
factories than in their former homes
Factory labor for the child is not al
bad, and it should not be proceeda,
against in any such light Sanity ane
thoughtfulness must be employed her
as in other reforms.