New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-06
TO DISCUSS CHILD LABOR
National Committee Has Estab-
lished a Quarterly Bulletin.


had the proceedings OF its annual confer
ences published in THE Annals OF the
American Academy of Political Science"
In order to furnish copies 10 all Its mem
bership II has been necessary to mako re-
print from the annals. This policy VIII not
be continued as the committee has decided
TO publish THE Child Labor Bulletin"
quarterly, edited in its own Offices. which
will give not only the addresses made az
the national conferences. but news items.
specific reports and communications OF gen.
eral interest to persons who are seeking
TO abolish child labor.
! Volume I, No l. entitled Child Labor
and Education" is just out, and contains
the proceedings OF the national conference
on child labor held in Louisville KY. last
January.
| In the annual address by Felix Adler,
chairman Of the committee. national aid
for public schools IS advocated as solu-
ton of many difficulties now encountered.
The relation of Industrial training to
child labor and the economic value OF edu-
I cation are treated by Edith Campbell. OF
Cincinnati, and William II. Elson, OF Cleve-
land. Dr. Samuel McCune Lindsay. OF
Columbia University, also pronounced fed
.
the solution of the child labor problem
Part time scholars were spoken or ny
Florence Kelley, national secretary Of the
| Consumers League. She condemns as cruel
the system Of education that makes g.
fourteen-year-od boy who has worked
eight hours in a factory or nine hours in
a store spend three evenings In the week
| In night school
Mrs. Kelley believes in the plan OF hav-
ling n forty-elght-hour working week, with
part OF this time devoted to wage earning
after the child has reached suitable age
and the rest devoted to education along
three lines-the building up of the physique,
the study of hygiene and a systemauzed
study OF the duties OF citizenship
I'VE boast of our perfected machinery
SAYS Mrs. Kelley; I'VE turn out wonderful
products up TO a certain level of perfec-
ton which the machine can achieve but
the by-product Of our industry is an ever
increasing mass Of unsldlled, common la
borers.
Some years ago took our philosopher.
Henry Demarest Lloyd. to see the great
est can factory IN this country, just out
Of Chicago. I wanted to show him group
Of little boys who had been sitting four
every boy crooking his back and compress
ing his lungs because Of the attitude In
which he was compelled 10 sit on this
shelf for the purpose Of watching inter-
lninable rows Of can lids-of tin can lids
for condensed milk and tomatoes and all
such precious commodities. The little fell
lows had only the lids 10 look after. Every
boy IN the course OF year looked after
- pf
milk cans coming down in a procession,
1T was the function OF tho bright eyes
OF the boys TO see any defect IN the III Of
a can. They were constantly cutting them
selves. Gripping their hands and cutting
off tho tops of their fingers in this work,
because they had to seize these sharp
edged things and take them ont Of the
procession II there were any defects in
the lids.
But that was the least of their trou-
hes. AZ the end Of fourteen hours Of
crouching on this wretched shelf the boys
were so tired that they otter could not
drag themselves home. but slept in the
fields near by and went back 70 their work
the next day without ever having gone
home because they were too weary at the
end Of the work That was the level on
which these young boys were working.
But 1 never got Mr.. Lloyd far az
that shelf Of boys. because on the way he
came upon a man OF about his own age
who had sat for twelve years on the same
stool watching an inteTmnable procession
Of millions Of cans to which the lids be-
longed. This man had given twelve years
of his life TO looking for dents in tomato
, cans. Heaven only knows how many cans
had passed under his eyes and how many
dents he had discovered But that phi
Iosopher OF American democracy was So
horribly fascinated at the spectacle Of a
man Of his own years who had spent
twelve years in doing that work that the
spectacular shelf full Of little boys who
were beginning nj ten and eleven and
twelve and thirteen years old ~ spend
their lives at equally valuable work failed
TO draw him away.
DO not understand me a saying that the
making of cans s an uncommonlv monoto
nous and horrible occupation II Is not
Our industry tends all the time 10 that
standard Of work. TO such complete per
lection OF machinery, that the work Of the
human observer of the machine is simply
10 sit passive and use the eye TO discern
occasional defects and pick out occasional
defective products. The human being IN
that way becomes a truly nonstrous BY
product OF industry.
We must. face the fact that we cannot
conduct a republic made up OF citizens
who spend nine. ten, twelve. fourteen OF
sixteen hours in twenty-four in that way.
But the tendency OF industry is 10 that
end. Our education will have 10 be de-
liberately shaped in recognition OF the fact
that If we let little girls turn their backs
upon school when they are fourteen years
old and go, nominaly self-directing cit-
zens OF this Republic, into industry under
the pressure Of competition as we have II
we shall not last long as a civilized nation
II that procession OF little girls continues
to increase as It has continued 10 increase
during the fifteen years that I have been
watching it.
In the year 1911 about twenty thousand
little girls went out OF the schools or New
York legally between the ages of fourteen
and sixteen years, TO enter into industry
Of which it can safely be said that the
watching Of the tops of tomato cans COM
ing in interminable procession down
through slot Is fair type. There Is
little more educational influence coming
TO those twenty thousand little New York
girls than came to those wretched little
bows on their shelf IN the tomato can rae
tory fifteen years ago. Since we are SELF
governing nation, with an industry develop
ing in that direction. our education must
be truly recreational.
I'VE must enable the children to renew
the active quality OF their minds ana poo.