The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1916-01-28
from Mondays Dairy.

Speaking upon the proposed child
labor bill in a pulpit editorial, Rev.
R. W. Hobbs of the First Baptist
church said in part:
$50 significant place has the
child in the history of the Christian
church. that followers of Jesus ought
to be the first to respond to the cry
of the children. &ll the more so,
when in spite CT wholesome federal
laws and excellent child labor legis-
lation in many of the states, certain
manufacturers have succeeded in
evading these just provisions of the
law and place upon the frail Shout
ders of little children, burdens heavy
and grievous to be borne These men
are unpatriotic in that they have no
thought as to the welfare of the
state if its future citizenship shall be
stunted in body and crippled in mind.
They are inhuman, in that money
means more to them than humanity.
They are lawless in that they evade
the spirit of wise laws for the pro-
lection of childhood"
Mr.. Hobbs the" spoke of the pro-
visions of the Heating Owen bill'
and urged the voters Of the church
and congregation TO express their
convictions to their representatives in
Washington.
Miss Flora Carr, the city librarian,
in a very effective talk at the open
ing of the Sunday school session of
the First Baptist chur, h, spoke of
the present-day evils of child-labor
and urged support of the Heating
Owen" bill. A motion to instruct the
secretary Of the school in write the
sentiment of the school to Represen-
tative Franklin Ellsworth and Sena-
tors C!app and Nelson was unani-
mously passed.
The Mems Bible class, which had
nineteen voters present, expressed it
self in vigorous terms as in favor of
the passage of the hill:
##**
Rev. G.. J. Shut, rector of st.
Johns Episcopal church, spoke on
Child Labor.
He took for his text the prophet
Elisha's question 'Is it well with the
child?" and asserted that it is the
worlds question and that every true
man and woman must be anxious for
the safety, the purity and the per-
lection Of child life. Is it well with
the child means, are the worlds best
interests safe, is the best part OF
human life secure from harm? The
civilization, the morality the Chris
tianity Of the future DEPEND directly
tho childhood Of today If
hardly be said that it is well with
the child, in the United States. APP
proXimately two million children are
engaged in gainful and harmful occu-
pations, are prevented from securing
the education which is their right
and without which they cannot de-
velop into intelligent, useful citi-
zens, their little bodies become
stunted and their souls polluted. It
is a curse TO the land. Of infinitely
greater importance than the rhyhts
of women are the rights of children.
The conservation of our natural re-
sources and the protection of wild
game end fish is important but the
conserving and protection Of child
hood is OF much greater importance.
Some states are more interested in
raising hogs than in raising children.
Minnesota has a number of excellent
child LABOR laws but they do not go
far enough. Most of the states have
such laws with varying degrees of
effectiveness. State legislation has
practically proved failure. Federal
laws ara needed The Heating Owen
bill woull go a long ways towards
correcting the evil. What matter the
ether wronFs over which we greive
today il children have not their
rights? Every child has the right to