The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-10


 An immense crowd which taxed the capacity of the Orpheum theatre was in attendance at the second session of the National Child Labor conference, which was convened last night at o'clock with Senator Joseph F. John ston presiding The meeting was said by some of the leaders last night to have beey the best In the history of the organization.
 Senator William E. Borah and Miss Jane Adams. who were both scheduled to make addresses last night, were un- avoidably absent. the former because of an engagement with President Taft. and the latter by reason of urgent matters pertaining to legislation on child labor in Missouri. Senator Borah will be heard today at the business mems luncheon, however, and Miss Ad- dams will deliver addresses Saturday ard Sunday.
 Senator Johnston. In calling the meet ing to order last night. said: "I had an opportunity not long since to pre- side over the Senate of the United States. Later 1 found the motive of the vice president in calling on me grew out of the fact that the meet ing was to be democratic I must say that I very much prefer presiding over this meeting, for 1 am sure there will be no filibustering.
 Congress has recently appropria ted s7,000,000 for the care of our national preserves. and yet I think that the question that has called this confer ence into existence Is of infinitely greater importance.
 Nick elway's Address
 Tn view of the absence of Senator Borah. Dr. A. J. McKelway was intro duced as the first speaker of the even ing. The address of Dr. McKelway was an interesting and most comprehensive study of the past and present con- ditions of child labor and an able plea in behalf of such legislation as will ultimately work q change for the better.
 Reviewing the history of child labor, pr. McKelway brought to light the fact that the Pilgrim fathers had set up their textile factories in New England and employed child labor soon after they had escaped the oppression of their children in the mother coun- try.
 One may learn from census bulletin 69," he said. entitled Child Labor in the United States that the cotton mill
 
 child. To quote from the bulletin, TO greater extent than any other man. ufacturing or mechanical industry the cotton mill furnishes employment to children"
 Taking up the phase of illiteracy among the mill children. Dr. Nickel way quoted from the conclusions reached in the bureau of labor re- port
 Cause of Illiteracy
 Tt will be seen from the foregoing tables that the highest percentages of iliteraey among children of the cotton mill families were found in Alabama and Virginia. In Alabama, out of 145 children under IA years reporting, 95 or 65.5 per cent were unable to read or write. Of these AZ had never attended school and B reported an average at tendance of 6.5 months. In Virginia. TO- per cent were unable to read and write. and there was an average school attend ance of 107 months"
 Child labor conditions were then taken up state by state, and in each instance 1t was found there had been fragrant vio- lations of the child labor laws. In one instance was disclosed the fact that in Alabama there had been a practice, as In other states, of throwing water in the face of little children employed in the mills to keep them awake during the mid- night hours.
 Powerful Lobbying
 There has not been meeting of the legislature in 10 years" continued pr. McKelway, fin North Carolina, South Carolina. Georgia, Alabama or Tennessee In which the cotton mill men have not appeared as powerful lobby resisting every advance in child labor legislation, though frequently when compromise has been affected they have immediate ly posed as the successful advocates of child labor reform.
 'So far as the establishment of a standard child labor law, uniform in it's requirements. is concerned 1t is not too much to say that except for the position of the cotton mill interests this would be a matter of speedy accomplishment. If in New England, Pennsylvania and the southern cotton manufacturing states, the principles of this standard child lahor law could be agreed to it would be a matter of little trouble and short time to secure similar legislation everywhere else. So we can properly hold account able the cotton mill industry not only for it's direct oppression of childhood, but for holding back the nation itself in the proper protection of the working chill dren.
 Tt may very well turn out to be true that with the foreign competition which the cotton mill industry in America will havc to face on an increasing scale, 1t will become an industry with too low a wage scale to flourish on American soil. And if refusing to be reformed, holding on to the last grasp to it's child labor system, with it's long hours and low wages and the defenseless condition of its workers 1t is destroyed at last, on it's crumbing somkestacks which now proudly Haunt their business of industry against the sky, linen will write the obituary of the ancient Herods; They are dead that sought the young child's life to destroy it.''
 Miss Kelley Speaks
 Following Dr. McKeway's address Sen ator Johnston introduced the next speaker, Miss Florence Kelley, as the daughter of former member of Congress commonly known to the people of Alabama as Pig Iron Kelley" Miss Kelley was called on to i'll the place of Miss Jane Addams, and she made splendid address on fzs. tI..