Evening journal., 1915-01-28
THURSDAY JAN. %. 1915
DIsMEMBERMENT AND DISTORTED DEDUCTION.

DISMEMBERMENT AND DISTORTED DEDUCTION.
VKTIiEN the Morning News sets out to fight a woman,
w the very least II should do is TO nght her fairly
and to refrain seduously from resort to foul tactics Its
perverted spirit Of gaantry never should become
atteuuaed TO cause it TO lose sight of the fandamon-
tai merit underlying square deal.
Fairness to Miss Emily r. Bissell, chairman Of the
executive committee OF the Delaware Child Labor
Commission, prompts TO do what unfairness to her
prevented the Morning News from doing even in the
face OF the that it dealing with an intolli-
gent respectable public-spred and self-sacrifcing
woman who has devoted the greater part of her ma
life to the conservation of the health and happ
Of mankind.
What we purpose doing is to print the fun
text of the so-ealled Bissell "repoH the National
Child LaborAssociaton that held its annual confer
encc in New Orleans in March, 1914. The Morning
News ignored three paragraphs in that document used
cdtoraly the remaining paragraph and endeavored TO
dsiort its meaning it would be construed by the
Delaware public as an unqualified endorsement OF
William J. Gibbons who recently deposed by the
commission. as State Child Labor Inspector ON the
ground inefciency. The full text Of that Bissell
report" as appears in the Child Labor Bulletin of
May. 1914. is follows:
"rhe Delaware Child Labor Commission is appointed
by the Supreme Court of the state and consists of
eight persons, unsalaried three from Wilmington one
from rural New Castle county, two from Kent county
qnO two from Sussex county thus covering the only
large city and the counties of the small State One
member must be employer OF labor and one an en-
ploye This Commission appoints all inspectors under
the Child Labor law and can remove them by major
iiy vote IL their work is not satisfactory.
"rhe Commission has appointed two Of It's members,
Mr. Jeremiah H. Coady and Miss Emily =. Bssell a
special committee oversee. direct and instruct the
present Inspector, and receive weekly reports from
him. Before this the inspector has always been po-
ltical appontee supervised by no one except the gov
ernor whom he rendered short and totally useless
quarterly reports The whole law has now been taken
out of politics. and the inspector has TO prove himself
capable industrious and fearless or lose his job. I'm
months-the law went into operation only in Janu-
ary-tho inspector has registered aud examined more
children than any previous man has done in his whole
wo-year term More significant still, the public schools
Of Wilmington have had larger number of pupils.
especially in the last month"; than at any time i'm their
history showing that the children of school have
been put back into school
The school teachers furnish the inspector (by their
own suggestonl with list OF every child in the
schools known any kind of work outside school
hours. These lists Of great value in rounding up
children under who serving milk at $50 In the
morning papers routes at night
"rhe Commission is just beginning. It can, there
fore. report only beginnings. IL welcomes any advice
or suggestion gladly and in this connection it desires
to thank very warmly the Maryland Bureau OF Labor
Statistics and the National Child Labor Committee for
much kind and valuable help"
The second paragraph of tnat report" was all that
it suited the unfair purposes of the Morning
News TO print edtorially and 10 support by distorted
deductions. Our readers cannot fail to appreciate how
Unfair such Acknowledgement of the report and sucl
distortion deduction is Miss Bissen. 1t is sur
prlsing that such paper should resort to such meth
Hazel-Coady Gibbons clique in its fight against th
majority members of the Child Labor Commission.
That the matter OF that report" and its bearini
upon Gibbons and his work may be approached fairl.
and chronologically readers should bear the fol
lowing facts in mind
That the new Child Labor Commission was Greater
by the Legislature OF 1913.
That the commissioners were appointed in Decem
ber 1913
That organization effected and tho first busines
meeting held late in December 1913.
That the Office of the state Child Labor Inspecto
was not opened until after January 10, 1914.
That the so-caled Bssen report" TO the Nations
Child Labor Association was written early in Marc
1914 and presented to the association in New OrleaI
on March l6 of year. than two months a
ter Inspector Gibbons had opened his Office and bcgt
his work
The truth the is that the so-called 'repor
was not a report but letter written by Miss Blss'
10 Miss Malone, State Inspector under the Ten Ho
Law Miss Malone who attended the Child Labor Co
ference i'm New Orleans asked Miss Bissell TO wr
her something relative to the progress OF the CHI
was read at the conference
That is the history OF the so-called report that
printed above.
Piior the writing Of that letter, Miss Bissell
objected to the selection of Gibbons inspector
the ground that he might be partisan. She had
coived positive assurances from Commissioner Haz
his sponsor that he not only would not be a parts
tut that he also would prove himself to be edic'
official
II has been asserted by Gibbons partisans that fr
the outset Miss Bissell had spite against Gibbc
and that his removal from Office for alleged neiceu