The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-09-07

pertinent. and no better argument in
favor Of the bill could possibly he pre-
scented the finaucier.
Alabama too is waging its fight. led
| by the women Of the state But when
that is done, what the result" With
enactment Of statutes comes no relief
without enforcement. What do we
profit on the whole The thing neCes-
sarv is the withdrawal Of the child en-
tireIy from the commercial world
There are at present four and three
quarter million men and women over
twenty years of age unable to read and
write. They are the children, now
crown. Of a decade or 50 500. who lost
their youth and opportunity; devour-
ed by the mills. And now the nation
comes forward. after sanctioninE the
sacrifice of these men and women in
their adolescent years. when they
rightfulIy were entitled to protection
with a bill entitled:
"a bill to require the commissioner
of education to devise methods and
promote plans for the elimination Of
adult illtteracy in the United States
Representative John W. Abercrombie
who introduced this bill in the house
Of representatives on April Sth, ex-
cuses this illiteracy on the score of the
Civil War. l myself am a daughter of
an officer In that war. I gained the
foundation of my education in the pub
lie schools Of my native state. Had the
states then the welfare of the children
al heart no such condition need now
be attributed to that source. There
were no compul sorry school laws then.
and lax laws regulating child labor, Il
any. 1t is hopeless task to undertake
to educate grown people who must
spend their days at manual labor. I
hardly think the sterile product Of
mine factory, laundry and the like viii
lend itself readily to this movement
night work along educational lines
The best we can hope for now is 10 see
that employment of fitting nature to
the product be supplied Like a fav-
crite old horse, disabled by years Of
faithful service, their old age must ne
pastured in green fields and not force
them to undertaking fitting only Nheir
youth. 'Mangled by-products Of in
dustrial enterprise some one tragi-
caIly dubs them.
At present there are also three
quarters of a million of children in the
United States over ten years Of age I'M
able to read and write. These are rich
material for crime and prisons. Upon
these may we'll be expended the effort
of the nation.
There are only five states with a
higher percentage Of illiteraCv than
Georgia. There are nearly seventy
three thousand iuiterate children in
Georgia, the great child labor state,
with nearly three hundred and ninety
thousand illiterate adults. children Of
and older growth whose early years
were doubtless dedicated to the cotton
mills. Is there greater proof Of the
necessity of legislation for the relief OF
this long established wrong? But Geor-
gia is forging to the front, her able
statesmen are fast bringing the old
state from under the cloud. Besides
the child labor bill which I refer to, the
legislature has up for consideration a
bill providing compulsory education.
This will doubtless be passed before
adjourns.
There are scores Of able bodied men
for work, men sunken IN
despair from failure to secure it. Do
YOU think they would refuse fa Glory
tying knots, tending ma
chimes in knitting factories and the
like But It is not for such as these |
They would expect a living wage, and |
the profit of the mills would suffer &C |
cordinsIy- And yet SO enormous are |