Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-08
PROTECTS WOMAN.

in ever larger numbers are drafted into
service.
PROTECTS WOMAN.
Were it not for the influence Of
trade unionism the work that women
and girls are compelled to do would
prove even more demoTalizing. The
trade union seeks to protect the wom-
an morally, physically and Industrial
| ly; it demands that she shall not be
employed at night work or for exces-
sively long hours; it demands and in
sists that she shall receive equal pay
with men for equal work. In demand
ing equal pay and healthful surround
ings for women the trade union not
only protects the woman and the home.
but it also protects the standard of
living Of all wage earners.
Even more important than the ben
efits conferred by trade unionism upon
women workers have been its efforts
in behalf OF toiling children. Since
the birth OF the factory system chill
dren have been mustered by thousands
into the factories, and on account OF
their nimbleness, their docility, their
powerlessness to resist oppression and
the low wages they were forced to
accept, have been permitted to displace
men and to ruin themselves by work
unsuited TO their age and strength.
DENoUNCEs CHILD LABOR
at is hard TO reconcile the humanity
and Wanted intelligence of this era
with the wholesale employment Of
children in gainful pursuits. Childhood
should be period of growth and edu-
cation; IT should be the stage in
which the man is trained for future
effort and future work With each
advance In civilization, with each i'm
provement OF mankind, the period Of
childhood should be extended. in order
that the men and women of the next
generation may be mature and fully
developed. The outlook upon life
OF a child emerging from the fac
tory after five or six years of work
at deadening and monotonous labor Is
not at all encouraging, and it is not
to. be wondered at that many children
from such a task develop into tramps
and criminals.
INDICTMENT AGAINST SOCIETY.
The constant throwing of Of these
worn out, prematurely aged children
is terrible indictment against So
ciety Boosting of its civilization. II
Is difficult to conceive Of anything
more fatuous, anything more absurd
and immoral than the wholesale en-
ployment Of children. Apart from the
particular and special evils of the sys-
tenn as it exists today, the policy of
extracting work from children and ex-
plotting their slow growing strength
is utterly vicious and entirely self
destructive. A state of society might
be conceived in which poverty was so
general that even the little children
would needs be drafted into the in
dustrial army in order to produce
enough to enable society to exc out
its existence, but in a nation in which
production is SO far in excess Of con-
sumption that thousands of strong
men can find no work TO do and in
which we are building up permanent
army of unemployed, it but emphasizes
the evil of a system which permits the
exploitation and degradation of chill
dren.
TIME FOR BETTER THINGS.
1.-The increased wages and shortened
hours OF labor have in themselves
brought about a vast improvement in
the mental and moral status of the
4 workers. Workmen who formerly
went from their IL hours Of labor tc
. the nearest saloon now spend theil
time with their families, improving
4 their minds and enjoying a sensible
4 and sane recreation. In most in
stances increased wages and shorter
hours have meant the qualification o.
the intellectual and arti. ic sense o.
the workers; have meant books anC
pictures; have meant a few additional
rooms in the house and more decen
surroundings generally; have meant
few years extra schooling for the chill
dren; have meant. finally, genera
f uplifting of the whole working class
RAISES INTELLECTUALLY.
Trade unionism has benefited tn
worker and raised his whole intelleC
tual and moral tone by the emphasi
. IL has laid upon the welfare of tn