Newport daily independent., 1914-09-03
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 HELP
Argument That Poor Widow Needs the ChiId's Earnings Is Failacious, Says Murray Auerbach.


 kansas contains provision which practically all other States have abol- ished This provision permits child under IA years to labor in factory If such child be an orphan and has no other means of support, or if 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 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 mi tiated last spring, abolishes this ex- emption. MT. Murray Auerbach, Sec retary of the United Charities Asso- citation in Little Rock, from his wide experience among the poor is in po- sition to know what effect the enact ment of this new law will have upon them. He says:
 
 most distinct step that Arkansas has taken. The State is one of the very few that has not yet passed law for the protection of childhood and for the improvement of the coming gen erations."
 Of the exemption in the present law which permits children of dependent parents to work at an earlier age than other children, MT. Auerbach says: This is most unfortunate exemp- tion as it nullifies the present law. As matter of fact, so worthless has the exemption made the law that children l are now employed without even being questioned as to 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. But according to MT Auerbach this rule is
 not enforced and young children are permitted to work whose parents are quite able to support them. This has 1 been found to be the case wherever | the poverty exemption clause has been allowed to remain in child la | bor law
 MT. Auerbach has little sympathy
 with the point of view of those who would sacrifice the child to help the parent. "The person to be considered primarily is the child, not the parent" he says. "The success of the State de- bends on the prosperity of it's citi-
 zens. and prosperity can only be at | tained by those who are normal, men, l tally, physically and socially. Child labor prevents this normal growth in. asnAch as the child is deprived of his right to schooling which curtails his ] mental growth; he is robbed of the right to play to the detriment of his physical growth; and the two combin-
 ed hinder his social growth" Child of 13 Too Young to Work. "One would not think of sending child of to work" says MT. Auer- bach, why, then, send one of IS? The latter is still child in need of all 1 that can be given him. He should be
 given an opportunity to make of him. self contributing member of society. Started to work at an early age with out the advantages for advancement the child grows 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 labors is exhausted | and he finds himself incompetent and 1 inefficient, his poor earning power still l greater decreased
 "This is not mere theory, for the charity organization societies all over | the country are acquinted with the | type-the victim of child labor. ChiId's Wages Little Help to Widow. Much has been made of the argu- | ment that families, particularly wid- ows, are frequently dependent on the
 wages of their children, and that if such children were not permitted to l work, severe suffering would result. Legislators have been moved to de- 1 feat child labor bills on this ground 1 alone MT. Auerbach however, does l not find the poor widows condition really improved by the earnings of 1 the child
 These earnings at best are small, says MT Auerbach, "and can be only a temporary help. Far better would z be for the child to partake of his God given right-the right to school and
 to play--and to start his life's career with the probabilities of increasing
 his earning power as time goes on. Then with his increased wages he can give his mother the permanent help that will forever keep the wolf from l the door.
 "The argument that the widowed
 mother needs the child's earnings is
 a fallacious one. There are plenty of charitable and other social agencies ready to extend the helping hand
 whether the child is 13 or 3 years of age, for the help Is just as necessary in the former case as in the latter. IL e.-A