Arizona republican., 1917-03-27
INDUSTRIES ID GRAB CHILDREN
 + WAR COMES
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1

Republican A. p. Leased Wirel
 BALTIMORE. Md, March 25.-Dan- ger that American children will be made to suffer the rigors of indus trial life if the United States should become involved in war was pointed out in an address by Owen R. Love joy of New York, general secretary of the national child labor committee, at a mass meeting held here today un- der the auspices of the National Con- ference on Child Labor. Speaking on Safeguarding Children in Peace or War" MT. Lovejoy said, in part:
 Our natural admiration for Amer ica and typical sense of national su- periority tempt us to believe that no rigors of international conflict could lead Us to neglect our children, and that we shall not deal with our child ren as European nations have dealt with theirs. if the same crisis comes.
 What has happened in Europe. In one area 17,000 children out of 1000 have been displaced from school be- cause the buildings have been taken over for military purposes. Some 500 900 children between F and 15 left school to enter industry in 1915 and probably more than that in 1916. Be tween 150 900 and 200 900 children II and F years old are at work. There is an abnormal demand for boy labor; abnormally high wages are paid to children. The committee on health of munition workers states that boy workers are drawing on their strength and is anxious to know what will be- come of the boys after the war And when we read that intuition factories have increased the hours of labor for children to 67 a week, that night and Sunday labor are not unknown, and that the committee recommends that boys under 16 and girls under IS be not employed more than 12 hours a day, we can imagine the effect of such conditions on the health of the child ren. These conditions prevail not in England alone but in 2n the warning countries
 "The breaking down of education, health and other conservative stand ards must not be permitted here. Al ready a bill is in the New York state legislature exempting from the hours of labor law women and girls over 16 working in intuition factories. Reports from Connecticut asert that since the state law does not fix the hour of be- ginning work but only the closing time at night, intuition factories are sending their women and child work CTS out at 10 o'clock at night only to set them to work again immediately after midnight. Whether these reports are authentic or not, l cannot say, but the tendency is unquestionable.
 What may we anticipate when the real stress comes? Our school rooms will be deserted, agencies for the pro lection and study of the health, nor als, and development of little children will be closed, and the exposure of children to the rigors of industrial life will be based solely on the high motive of patriotic service. The children of the present generation will suffer an irreparable loss unless those of us who have dedicated ourselves to their pro- lection keep our heads clear and our motives unmixed, determining that whatever else happens, all other treas UT, all other forms of wealth, all other methods of defense be sacrificed be- fore we compel the children of Amer ica, to pass through the fire"