The Nevada County picayune., 1914-09-11
POOR CHILDREN 10
 BENEFIT BY THELAW
Child Labor Bill, If Enacted, Will Give Them Chance to Play and Go
 to School.
SMALL WAGES OF CHILD
 ONLY TEMPORARY HEP
Argument That Poor Widow Needs the Child's Earnings Is FalIacious, Says Murray Auerbach.

The present child labor law in Ar kansas contains provision which practically all other States have abol- ,tshed This provision permits child under 14 years to labor in a factory if such child be an orphan and has no other means of support, or if a widowed mother or an aged father is dependent upon the labor of such child"
 Arkansas is one of the three States in the Union which retain such a pro vision. Virginia retained it until this year, but abolished it last spring when she enacted her new child labor law.
 New Bill a Progressive One.
 The new child labor bill which is to be voted on in Arkansas at the September elections, after being ini- tiated last spring. abolishes this ex- empton. MT. Murray Auerbach, Sec retary of the United Charities Asso- citation in Little Rock. from his wide experience among the poor is in DO. sition to know what effect the enact ment of this new law will have upon them. He says:
 The proposed child labor law is the most distinct step that Arkansas has taken. The State is one of the very few that has not yet passed a law for the protection of childhood and for the improvement of the coming gen erations"
 Of the exemption in the present law " hich permits children of dependent parents to work at an earlier age than other children. Mir. Auerbach says:
 This is most unfortunate exemp. ton as it nulliies the present law As matter of fact, so worthless has the exemption made the law that children are now employed without even being questioned as 10 the poverty of their parents
 The law requires that before the child can go to work parents must se# cure certificates from the county clerk stating that they are dependent Hut according to Mr Auorbach q is rule is not enforced and &oung children are permitted to work whose parents are quite able Co support them This has been found to be the ease wherever the poverty exemption clause has been allowed to resain in child la- bor law.
 MT Auerhach has little sympathy with the point of view of those who would sacrifice the child to help the parent. The person to he considered primarily is the child not the parent" hc says The success of the State de- bends on the prosperity of it's citi- ..Hs, and prosperity can only be at taiGtd by those who are normal. men ta|ly physically and socially Child labor prevents this normal growth in asmuch as tha child is deprived of his ieN' to schooling which curtails his Hur"tal growth. he Is robbed of the rjeAt to play 70 the de'riment of his physical growth. and the two comhin- e1 hiode" his social growth"
 Child of t3 Too Yolnq to Work.
 one would rot jhiuk of sending d ebHd of 5 to york; says Mir Auer- h4ah. "why then, send enc of l32 The latter k still child in need of all that can be given hiW He should be given an opportunity 10 make of him self a contributing member oi society. Started 10 work at an early age with out the advantages for adyauccm mt | the child groNs into workman whose earning power is small and when he reaches the age of say 40 the age of the greatest usefulness. his energy by reason of youthful lahors is exhausted and he finds himself incompetent and inc Fcicut. his poor earning power still greater decreased
 This k not mere theory. for the charity organization societies all over the country arc acQutntod with the type the victim = child labor Chld's Wages Little Help 10 Widow,
 Much has been made of the argu- ment that families particularly Wid, ovs, are frequently dependent on the wages of their children. and that if such children were not permitted to work. severe suffering would result. Legislators have been moved to de feat child labor hills on this ground alone Mir Auerbach however, does not find the poor widows condition really improved by the eafnings of the enid
 These earnings st best are small" says MT Auerhsch and can be onl'. temporary help Far better would / he for the child to partake of his God | fiver rirht-the right to school and tC play and 10 start his life's career with the probabilities of increasing ] lis earning power as time goes on. 1 Then with his increased wages he can give his mother the permanent help that will forever keep the wolf from 1 the toor
 The argument that the widowed vother needs the ehild's earnings is 1 2 fa'3a"ious one There are plenty of "r5ritable and other social agencies
 eady to extend the helping hand whether inc child 's 1S or wears Of re. fer the help is inst as receesa~v 1 the former ease Hs in the latter.