The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1910-08-12
CURT CURRENT COMMENTS
THE SAME CONTAINING A FEW UNBIASED OPINIONS ABOUT
MATTERS OF MORE OR LESS INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC

am grieved, Inundated, filed with,
regret. For three weeks l have watch
ed the daily newspapers of Lincoln ad-
vertising violation of the child labor
law of Nebraska. l am so accustomed
to having notices of violation of this
law called to my attention that l am
Anot usually surprised. But these vio-
tions are usually on the part OF those
wNp are admittedly out for the money,
and who make no pretense OF Christ
ianity. humanitarianism or civic right.
eousness Consequently, when l noted
that great religious assembly. headed
by men who pretend to be above all
things law-abiding, God-fearing and
humanity-loving. deliberately adver-
tising that the child labor law is going
to be violated. l was shocked. saw
the law violated, too, after being adj
vised for weeks that it would be done.
/ saw children under the legal age en-
ployed in concert hall, and employed
after the legal hours, too. | saw lad
9 years old leading band, for pay:
a plain violation of the law. l saw
other boys under the legal age playing
under this lads direction. And thou
sands of Christian men and women
listened and applauded, and pillars OF
the church who had violated the law
by employing these children. looked
on with sanctimonious mein and said
it was good.
Perhaps I should have interrupted
and prevented This violation of the law.
Perhaps not Perhaps the good Chrit-
ian men and women who violated the
law by employing these children
thought that because those whom they
employed were only "dagoes" it was
all. right. I know that would have
happened had l enforced the law in
this case-I would have been the VIC
tim Of another protest, signed, per-
haps, by the head man in the manage
ment of the great religious assembly
guilty of violating the child labor law
as fiagrantly as any messenger service
or big department store. But the
whole matter will be left to the con-
sciences of these deyout violators OF
the law. But it strikes me that good
people so awfully interested in the
heather children of China and India
ought at least pay some little attention
to the laws protecting children in our
own country. What?
If the daily prints have quoted Rev.
DIR. Risner correctly l am sorry l was
not privileged to hear his addresses
at the Epworth assembly. If the daily
prints did do the right thing by him.
the Rev. DIR. Reisner is a minister after
my own heart. The donning of
Prince Albert coat and white tie
does not seem to have had the usual
depressing effect upon the gentlemen.
Instead OF having moral dyspepsia he
seems filed with the religion of good
cheer: to believe that Christianity is
something more than long-faced lugu-
briousness. *Some of you people ought
to make a collection of funny sayings
and read them over every once in
while said DR.. Reisner. What the
church needs is action. It's the bust
ness Of the church to keep folks so
busy they won't have time to sin. "
! Then DR. Reisner continued: ''The
church to be practical will have to
give folks real human happiness. 1t
is not true that religion alone will give
all the Joy a live person wants. We
have to give innocent pleasures be-
sides that appeal to the everyday
man.
1t would seem from all this that
Rev Dr. Reisner's religion is some
thing more than religion of don't. -
1t seems to be religion that appeals
to young men and young women in
whose veins runs the rich. red blood
of Youth And the religion that APP
pYals to such as these must be a reli.
Zion of action. of innocent pleasure, of
doing" of all these things that go
to make life in the new APPROACH in
pleasure, in a measure at least, to the
pleasure they tell us will be ours in
Dthe life to come if we do right here.
1t is a joy to note that there is a
growing disposition on the part of the
ehnrch naDDlp-tO 90 to the DeODle