The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-07-19
JUVENILE WORKERS.


tory and shop. The gigantic prog
ress made by the world in the
last few decades has necessitated
the employment Of large num-
Der Of persons in the various in
dustrial centers Of the country.
This transfer, natural enough in
itself, has wrought great change
on civilized communities. Moral
ity has also come in for it's share
in the great transformation. But
has Morality been the gamer or
the loser?
To one in the least familiar
with the literature and customs
Of the various civilized countries
of the world up to about a cen
fury ago a glance at our modern
life will at once reveal a change
in the character Of the individual
as well as in that Of the commun-
ity at large. This change consists
partly in the loss of a certain win
ming simplicity that formerly
characterized the youthful and
rising generation. At the present
day this unaffected naivete, this
confding and unsuspecting spirit
Of trustfulness has to a great ex-
tent disappeared. The loss of it
may be ascribed to many and
various causes. There is, however,
one reason which appears not the
least in Importance. This is ap-
plicable principally to the juven-
lie working class. This army of
young toilers, that are to fight
the battles of tomorrow, have
great deal to learn from associa-
ton with so many of their equals
in age and occupation; and on the
other hand they have many temp
tations to meet and overcome. It
is truism that association begets
familiarity, and this, if fostered
among those whose standards of
morality are widely different, can
not but produce a deleterious eff
feet on those who come in contact
with such principles.
Now, in all our large shops and
factories we behold a kind of
heterogeneous conglomeration, of
representatives Of all nationali-
ties, creeds and shades Of belief.
Take this mixture to begin with,
multiply by the individual char
acteristics and tendencies of each
person, add goodly sprinkling
of youthful ardor and passionate
ebullition seasoned by an impetu-
Gus chatting at any kind of re-
straint; over all this pour a gen
erous decoction of malicious de-
pravity, and then you will have a
fair, if crude, idea Of the seething
cauldron in which the young Cath
Ollie is often placed.
Out Of this ordeal is it possible
to come forth without at least
feeling the detrimental effects
that such an environment almost
invariably produces on character i?
We do not deny that in such as
ISOLATION there are many advan-
tages, and that undetermined men
and women have been formed in
just such a school What we con-
tend is that these persons have
become such in spite Of these sur
roundings, and that the shop and
the factory are very often schools
of vice, where the young and un-
wary are caught and not unfre-
quently corrupted. The spirit Of
self-assertion and independence
that always accompanies personal
success in any walk of life seems
to make the youthful toiler forget
the fact that he is still open to
the attacks of the maliciously in
clined, and subject to various al
lurements as the result of his want
of experience. As a consequence,
we often behold the young enter
these arenas Of human industry
endowed with the most lovable
qualities and the purest impulses !:
all of which are ruthlessly swept
away after a few months contact
with companions whose standard
of right and wrong is woefully
distorted.
Parents cannot be too careful in
allowing their children to go to
work. +" What are, after all, few
paltry dollars more or less If the
child is to imbibe at so early and
so tender an age those false prin-
cip1es that sooner or later will de-
velop and not only tarnish his
youthful virtue, but at the same
time prepare his vigorous man.
hood and declining age for an ex-
istence perhaps disgraceful and
harmful to others?
We cannot too much insist on
keeping the child at school as
long as possible. Where it ap-
pears necessary to permit him to
engage in manual or other labor
when still in his teens, the parents
should make it a sacred duty to
watch over his moral develop
ment. and endeavOr to ward off