The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1916-02-22


in the mills, that they would find
that we would not be found in
the rear in the hell of battle or
deserters in our country's need.
Heating to know that there was
one member of Congress of his
political faith and order, who
had the manhood to stand up
on the floor of the House and
oppose this bill and he impugn
the motive of Congressman
Britt, in his speech at Asheville
for taking the stand Britt took.
Would Britt have been true to
his trust as Representative
from the South, to have voted
for this bill when he knew it was
sword thrust at the manufac-
turers of the South? No doubt
Congressman Britt left, like the
majority of the people of the
South felt all along, that there
was Something rotten in Den
mark" "a negro in the wood
pile," and after Mr.. Gardner of
! Massachusetts, had the mon
umental gall to virtually own that
this law was meant as a check
on Southern manufacturers; he
knew this was so. He would have
been traitor to his State and
her sister States to have taken
any other stand.
This bunch of self-constituted
champions of child labor in this
country, tell you that it is wrong
for child to work until it is six
teen years old. / would Ike to
ask the question: how many men
or women ever amounted to "a
hill of beans" who never work
ed before this age. Take every
President this nation has ever
had, the Senator's, great Inven-
tors and men and women who
have fought their way to the
top, and as children they have
worked. There is nothing in the
world today, that breeds crime,
fosters weaklings and degener-
ates the race as fast as idleness.
Let the boy who is allowed to go
where he pleases and is idle all
the time, come in contact with
other boys and they form
bad habits that will stick
throughout manhood. Would it
not be better for the child to
work at something than to roam
the streets with vicious boys and
form bad habits that all the cul-
ture and education of earth can
not get out of him? You take
the larger per cent of the GRIM
inals and if you will probe deep
enough, you will find that they
were caused from forming bad
habits through idleness in
youth.
Suppose this law goes into eff
feet and is upheld by the SUI
preme Court and declared con-
stitutional. I want to ask these
great philanthropists what's to
become of the boys and girls
fourteen and fifteen years old,
with INDECENT parents or widow
ed mothers, who will be legislat-
ed out of work and therefore out
of any way to make an honest
living. The law says thev can
not work. The Federal Inspec-
tor comes along and sees that
they do not work. Are you going
to provide for them? Certainly
not. Can the States which are on
ly beginning to recover from the
destruction of the rebellion, pro.
vide for them? Can the mills
who have gone through the late
depression and many of them
still running at a loss today, pro-
Wide for them? Massachusetts
with fifteen dollars per capita
to our one, might do it, yet the
fact remains that she doesn't dc
it. The consequence will be that
there will be a horde of beggars
or these same boys will steal and
some of the oirls will he driven
to a life of shame. You have
taken from the girl chance tC
be honest. You have broken her
Lwde, YOU have broken ber trust
ir the higher laws of civiliza-
ton. You have thrust upon her