The commonwealth., 1913-12-26
10 the Women Of Mississippi:

Some of you know already of the
purpose to unite all organizations in the
State having women rs members in ar
effort TO get some needed legislation
for our children as the result of Il
meeting of representatives from sew
eral org ganizations held last March in
Greenwood, an invitation to all such
State organizations was sent out and at
! Hattesburg meeting was held to or
ganize Central Committee for work
along these lines. was elected chair.
man and Mrs p. NJ. Fugler. of Nc
Comb City. was elected secretary. 1t
was decided to work for the following
legislation:
lst. Improved Child Labor Laws.
Experts in this work tell us that Mis-
sissippi's Child Labor laws are the best
to be found in any state, but the laws
are not worth the paper they are writ
ten on, because we have none whose
duty it is to see that they are en-
forced, so that they are just more ma
terial to stow away in Mississippi
Charna House her dead laws. We
Greenwood people think we have an
unusually enlightened class of citizens,
and ANY one would think that a man
who Is intelligent enough to be depot
agent, would certainly appreciate the
necessity Of study and wholesome rec
reation for his boy ten years old, and
yet last winter right in the midst of
the school term such boy with such a
parent came to collect one of the house
hold bills, and when said "You ought
to be in school today, why aren't you?"
The reply was "Yes'm, was in school,
but | got job now, Where this
can happen in town where there
isn't factory in which child can
work, what do you suppose is happen
ing in towns where there ARE fac
tories, canneries, etc. | am not sulf-
ragist, but who can doubt that women
should be allowed to say what is best
for children. That is what we we're
made for. Oh! Womanhood of Msss-
sippi, mothers of our States future
citizens! Won't you arouse yourselves
to your duty to ALL children? Not
only your own-those you have given
birth to-but all children. Won't you
join with us in opening the eyes Of the
men of the State to their duty in the
matter? Some of you will not agree
with me on ALL subjects but can
come to every woman in our. State
with confidence that she DOES
in her heart have the real welfare Of
the children uppermost, That she
wants her own children and their gen
GRAFTON to have a farer chance in life !
than she has had. That she wauts
where ignorance and poverty handi- |
caps the parents, for our State to
stretch her great arm over and around |
thom and say "l'll give you the chance
to be the very best men and women
you are capable of being made, by See
ing that your mind and body shall nave
an opportunity to develop as God
meant for them to develop" Our
men are in the midst of toll, day in
and day out, the commercial spirit has
them in its grasp, and they do not see
what our children need as we may il
we will only open our eyes to things
right around US. Won't you help US?
End. A school for the instruction of
juvenile offenders Of the law. You
mothers, who spend your lives saying
"don't" to your little ones in order to
teach them that all through life
that word must confront them; can't
you imagine what poor chance to be
honest and upright and law abiding,
the children have, who have never had
the blessing Of careful training? Chill |
dren are ever reaching out for any
thing which they fancy; is it any won
der that sometimes when they have
never been taught the enormity of
theft-what it really means to their
own character-t that they some
times steal and in other ways break
the laws Of our State? And then they
must be put in the penitentiary with
all sorts Of CRIMINALS to learn every
trick OTHER trade or what is almost
as bad, they must 90 unpunished by