The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-30
CHILD LABOR GIVEN AFULL DISCUSSION Mrs. Murdoch and Charles Glenn Speak
  A N ATU R A L E V IL Large Attendance at Meeting of Equal Suffrage League Indicates Much
 Interest in Alabama's Child
 Labor Problem
A N ATU R A L E VIL

That interest in behalf of the youthful toiler Is high in the city of Birming- ham was indicated last night by the fine attendance upon the open meeting at the parish house Church of the Advent, called for the purpose of hearing two local speakers on the subject.
 The meeting was held under the aus pices of the Birmingham Equal Suffrage association. Mrs. Solon Jacobs president of the organization, was chairman, con ducting the meeting and introducing the speakers tactfully and with evident ia miliarity with the subject matter which they so ably presented. In the audience, beside many of the leading members, were people representative of the educa- tional and civic interests of Birmingham.
 Mrs. w. l.. Murdock, who was one of the organizers and Is a leading factor in the suffrage association, addressed the meeting on child labor. Her paper gave evidence of deep research and heart felt interest in child life. She is a fluent speaker and her treatise on child labor was ably presented. In part, Mrs. Mur- doch said:
  fundamentally wrong that upon the shoul- ders of any child who has not reached some degree of physical development, who has not had some of the joyousness, of youth, and who has not had the rudi- ments of an education, there should rest even fraction of our industrial burden. The rights of a child to be well born to grow up to have some play time, to a useful education and finally to progress beyond the standards of the last genera ton. All are defeated by premature la bor. It is a safe proposition that for every dollar earned before the 14th year, tenfold will be taken from the earning capacity in later life-n stating this, I am not for moment forgetting such men as Carnegie-they are only exceptions which prove the rule.
 Alabama had child labor law in 1ss7 the first southern state to pass a child labor law. It was repealed In 1891 The Womens Christian Temperance Union, the Federation of Women clubs and the Alabama Child Labor conference succeeded after many efforts in passing the present law in 1907. This law pro- vides that children under 12, may not work in any mill, factory or manufactur ing establishment. Governor O'Neal rec commended this be changed to meet the uniform law compiled by the American Bar association to read, no child under IA. Surely that is early enough to make a wage earner of a little child.
 "Our law, too. says children under 1s shall not work at night in any mill, fac- tory and manufacturing establishment, but is silent as to hours that children shall work in a department store, mes senger service, etc. This is very unjust, 1t seems to me
 Tn long interview with Dr. oates, I find the work of enforcing this law being we'll done, although we must ac- knowledge that it puts upon the shoul- ders of one man and his deputies the re- sponsibility of caring for prisons, jails, Rlmshouses, penitentiarles and factories, is expecting d great deal.
 "The government report shows 66,072 children between 10 and 14 absolutely il- Iiterate-the largest number of any state In the union. So that we feel a public opinion in favor of compulsory education must be created in Alabama Effective child labor legislation places upon the community many duties.
 "d.) Maintaining officials-men are women-with adequate salaries, access at all times to where children are employed i; power to prosecute violation of the law, and their term of office absolutely re- moved from politics.
 "t2) Maintaining schools in which 10