New-York tribune., 1915-01-31


When If .,amcd that there was nothing lcft 20 rDr-
tray. picture of thc Mckinley school. thc puo' 4
GrccnfolTs public educational system, was thrown
upon thc screen Groups Of happy. wc clothed children
,,ur,d ON, Of the school doors They urged ont INTO
the playground, 20 play game, of tag rcd rover and
prisoners base Children dartcd around "cry"rcr..
plump children slim children t'Io and 'ig aiI radiant
with health and happncss.
SUDDENLY thc scene changed. hush tel on '-e
~ audience They saw before them 'nc spinning room
I'm oncof John Royce mills. There were children 1 'as
picture too bu- they did not run around or laugh n
nIay Little girls with pinchcd faces and squirting
eyes shuecd slowly mp and down before The long rnF
Of ring frames stopping now and then 20 join together
the broken ends Of a thread with deft twist Of ther
thin little fingers.
Mingled in with them were the tiny dofer boys
watching for the bobbins % M and then clmpng i n
the frames TO replace the ful ones with -cmptcs.
One minute TWO minutes three minutes, crcpf '.i
but the scene did not change The tle girls with e
squnting eyes continued their stlc5s search ior .e
broken threads and the dofcrs automatically climbed
the frames The drcary monotcny Of It all wring
smothcrcd cry from q woman ~ 'hc balcony
The cry gave Benton q thrill of strange satisfaction
The ~ncw cleaner thar Haye- had sent 90 Roy.c r.l
had done his work we'll Suddenly, after what seemed %
have been an eternity the faded into another
A gasp went up from The audience On the screen now
they saw John Royce himself be Of the spa's and gray
burnsdcs and the air of pompous superiority
Clinging 20 his hand on each side was one o Dds small
granddaughtcr7, compaccn little epr'cs. with 'hc irs
Of their tiny white pcttcoats just pccping from beneath
their pretty dresses
Il was the innocent little scene tha, had been caught
in front Of the Star Department Store; but IL had
new significance now, and this significance was not lost
upon the audience l. sat sDcllbourd, and watched
Royce as he tcndcry lifted h granddaughter into The
waiting limousine Then he stepped IN after them.
The reel ended abruptly and the lights IN the hcatcr
flashed up, revealing upon ~" u startled faces.
Benton stepped 20 the front Of the stage again There
was an uneasy shutiling Of feet, and then-scncc.
MY friends he said, 81 will tell you now why I
A'A came % your town Il was 20 end the labor 4
little children in your mills
He paused and swept the assom5lage with quiet,
fearless eyes The thousand faces raised So cxpccan,y
to his suddenly blurred Five hundred miles away, i1
a little studio Washington Square, he knew that
SLIM white-faccd girl praying:
90 God help him Give him the power % make
them sec-and understand"
He could see her tense lips move they framed their
fcrycnt plea, and a great thrill raced through him. Tie
vision died away He began 20 speak agan-and hs
words carried a ringing appeal
He told them Of the TWO hundred children who were
working in the local cotton mills, slaves 10 the ma-
chinery that was crushing all physical mental, and
spiritual life out Of them He explained how than
half Of them under fourteen and were beng worked
in defiance Of the State law rs hc mace this direct
charge tall. lanlv raw-boncd man sid quietly out
Of his seat in OF the and ei' The theater
The young advertising man startled bis listeners by
quietly informing them that they morally re-
sponsible for the child slaves IN Royce> mill as Was
Royce himself. He read them that part u thc law
which gave them the right % prosecute The person r
persons who broke it.