The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-10
EXPECT BIC CROWD AT ROADS CONGRESS
GOVERNORS OF 52 STATES AND TERRITORIES ARE URGED TO ATTEND AND APPOINT 100 DELEG ATES

ATTEND AND APPOINT 100
 DELEG ATES
 The executive officers of the fourth Ma tional Good Roads congress, which meets in Birmingham on May 23 to 26, several days ago mailed invitations to 52 gov ernors of all the states and territories of the union, inviting the governors to at tend and also to select 100 delegates that are interested in good roads from their respective states and urge them to attend the congress. This invitation was joined by the Alabama Good Roads association, Jefferson County Good Roads association, Board of Revenue, Chamber of Com merce, Business Mems league and Board of Trade. Already quite a number of governors have answered that they will make an effort to attend, and will give positive assurance very soon. They have also expressed their hearty indorsement of the congress and will appoint dele gates, even if they cannot attend. The first governor to state positively that he will attend the congress is Gov. E. F. Noel of Mississippi, who writes Secretary J. A. Rountree as follows:
 ''Your favor of the 9th inst, inviting me to attend the fourth National Good Roads congress, which meets in Birming- ham May 29 to 26, and to appoint a dele gatlon of 100 from this state, received. I leave today for Atlanta to attend the Southern Commercial congress. On my return I will take this matter up and appoint a large delegation I will at tend in person if possible. I thank you, and through you the congress, Alabama Good Roads association, Jefferson County Good Roads association, Board of Reve- nue. Chamber of Commerce, Business Mems league and Board of Trade for their kind invitation. Yours very truly,
 "B. F. NOEL"
 It is pointed out that if 100 delegates attend from each state and territory the city will have on it's hands the en- tertainment of 5200 visitors. The crowd Is at all events expected to be a record breaking one.
  National Consumers league, which took place nine years ago in Los Angeles, when Miss Jane Addams suggested the proposition of laying before the whole body of women in the country a compar ative statement of the nature of legsa- tion on child labor and it's degree, such as had been enacted In each state of the union. A four-page pamphlet was is- sued following the investigation which afterwards led to an ambitious drafting of a standard law for all states to ap- proach and this has had the consequence of bringing about a much wider diver gence at the present time than nine years ago among the states which had no legis- lation then and the states that had the best. Those which had no legislation have forged to the front
 Stringent Laws Needed
 "The children profit, although they do not always recognize the fact whenever the laws are made more stringent, and uniformity on the level of greater strin- gency forces them out of the industry, and thus indirectly into school Uniform ity on this level is the goal of the na- tional commission on uniform legsla tion in it's admirable compilation known as the Standard Child Labor bill.
 There is, however, a subtle effort be- ing made, on a national scale for uni formity on the level of inferior legisla- tion A striking example of this is the effort of the National Alliance for the Protection of Stage Children, whose head quarters are in the Times Building in New York city. The avowed object of this association Is to obtain uniform legislation for the children of the thea ter It's real object, however. is to sub stitute for the excellent laws recently sustained by the supreme courts of Massachusetts and Louisiana the sham law which has long been in force in New York city, under which. throughout the long reign of Tammany, the theater trust has had at it's command any 1e- sired number of children. including babes in arms
 'Uniformity on the basis of the New York law is the thing to be fought by all who have at heart the welfare of the working children. Uniformity on the ba sis of the judicial decisions of Massachn- setts and Louisiana is the aim of the Juvenile Protective association of Chi cago. including Jane Addams of Hull House. the Child Labor commissioner of Oregon, and the National Child Labor Committee
 The next and last speaker of the even ing, Owen R. Lovejoy, general secretary of the National Child Labor committee was introduced by Senator Johnston as Such a good man to make 1t al- most impossible for him to be repub- 1ican."
 MT. Loveioy delivered an able address on Seven years of child labor reform" which, with some allusions to the fact that he was being used as substitute for Senator Borah, immediately caught the attention of the big assemblage.
 Seven Years of Reform"
 
 ''When this committee was formed seven years ago." said MT. Lovejoy there was no accepted national stand ard of protection against child explota- ton. Then rapidly, as public interest is wont to grow, there swept over the face of the country the excited news that child labor existed in America. that the coal mines, glass factories, cotton and silk mills, cigar and cigarette fac tories, and even our public streets were scenes of oppression to the tender bod ies and souls of little boys and girls. Then the more calm and discerning of those who were mortified by the evil de- termned to band themselves together 70 conserve this public interest and to di- rect it into definite channels of activity in order that the sentiment should not spend it's force in futile denunciations.
 And 1t Is to the credit of the south that the initial suggestion of such a militant band on a national scale or iginated with a citizen of your own commonwealth MT. Edgar Gardner Murphy. It grew out of struggle with the mercenary elements of Ala bama to wrest from their control the lives of hundreds of little children and to secure to them the opportunities which childhood may fairly claim In summarizing the legislative gain made during the past seven years the speaker said "in seven years five states have passed their first child labor law the eight-hour day has been established in Il states; night work under 16 years