Evening star., 1915-01-05


committee.
the Union must give its children an
elementary education; industrial and
technical training must be promoted !;
a scholarship" fund must be extended
to prevent hardship in cases where a
child's earnings are needed.
This program and contract, as II
was called, was characterized as stu
pendous. yet, it was declared. public
awakening to the evils of child labor
gives promise of its fulfllment.
Some Things Accomplished.
Some of the things accomplished by
the national child labor committee in
ten years of work, it was brought out
at the convention, are as follows:
livery state in the Union has i'm
proved it's child labor or compulsory
education law: children under fourteen
have been saved from work in factories
in sixteen states and territories; chill
from night work in twenty-nine states
and territories; children under sixteen
have been protected from work in coal
mines IN sixteen states; children under
sixteen have been protected from more
than eight hours work Cay in nine
teen states and the Distritc of Column
bia; boys under twenty-one have been
protected from night messenger service
in eight states.
Arrangements have been made for
observance of child labor day in the
churches of the country January "a and
in the schools January rs. A motion
picture finn, Children Who Labor,55
will be shown at a local theater every
Speaking of conditions which exist in
some southern states. Lewis W. Hine,
staff photographer of the national COM
mittee, said:
4
Improvement in the general situation dur
ing the last five years, but very young
children are worked today in the North
Carolina mills" He told Of two sisters.
six AM seven years Of age, whom he
found spinning in one cotton mill, and
Of two boys, under twelve years, whose
hands, he said. had been mutilated in
the machinery. yet they continued to
work.
Boast Of Lawbreaker.
Public opinion is getting to be
pretty general against children work.
ing in the mills, but I found one super
intendent in North Carolina who
boasted to me that he had thirty chill
dren below the age limit" Mr.. Hine
said.
The expense of the conference is
borne by the national committee. This
the voluntary contributions of Ameri-
can people. No convention fund was
asked Of Washington, but A. J. Nc
Kelway, southern secretary, with Of
fees in the Bond building, Is appeal
ing to public-spirited citizens of the
capital for financial assistance to carry
on the work in behalf of the children
of the country.
Washingtonians Taking Part.
Washingtonians are playing a con-
siderable part in the convention. DR..
George NJ. Kober, chairman of the Dis
trict Of Columbia child labor COM
mittee, presided at the afternoon ses-
sion today. the other members of the
District committee being DR.. Henry J.
Harris. Prof. Alexander Graham Bell,
Clifford Pinchot. DR.. G. T. Sewers, B.
H. Warner, S. W. Woodward and DR..
McKelway.
Miss Julia C. Lathrop. head of the
children's bureau of the federal gov
ernment, is to speak tomorrow night,
and addresses will also be made by
Murdock, Senator Kenyon, Senator
Owen. P. P. Claxton. United States
commissioner of education. and others
well known in Washington and
throughout the country.
Among the latter Is Jane Adams OF
the Hull House settlement, Chicago. The
convention will come to a close tomor-
row evening. All Of its sessions are
open to the public.
Interest Public Might Take.
Speaking today of the interest the
public might take in the work Of the
national committee. Miss Josephine
Eschenbrenner, secretary Of the COM
mittee. said that only 5000 persons in
the United States have cared enough
about the working children to contribute
to the expense of the work OF the COM
mittee. She said:
hundreds Of well-to-do. intelligent and
we'll intentioned people who seemed ut
terly unaware Of the existence of a