Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-11
DON'T KILL MOTHERS,
Urges CIVIC EXPERT
= p. Gutenberg, Addressing
Rally at Bourse, Cites
England's Mistakes
KEEP INDUSTRY INTACT
r.us Attention to Overwork of Women
in Factories and Delinquency
of Children

earning for the United States TO profit
axreriences of England and prevent
.,nioying of women and children at long
,,,rs I'm industry was issued TINS AFTER
IT,, nv Frederick i. Gutenberg. director
hoon pu,eau of Municipal Research, in an
oddress on Civic Efficiency In wartime,
Sosnre a civic rally in the assembly nall
ot the Bourse.
pnirtinu 10 the dire effects in England,
=, women and children we're rushed into
I'D labor in field and factory AT ire
nan,rp of the war. MIR. Gruenbeig & sa'l'
.1,he terrible conditions that had former
Il, obtained in British Industry had been
.s,,owbat ameliorated. The tendency in the
sarjy days of the war was to tear down IN
soy what had required thirty or forty
saors to build up. Furthermore, the regula-
.,ons recurring compulsory education Of
ohIlren and restricting the use OF chiId
,ahor were largely thrown to the wind with
The result thai tots OF e.eNeh ana Twelve
wears were dolnS tne "Oi" VI "''' !"
Geld ard factory.
INJURY To WOMEN
.worst of all. perhaps was the wav that
A.. ,.or,on were iniudiaously used for In
s,strial purposes for many hours day,
es.si,a tho fact that the sober experience
~ niyiIized nations of the world had forced
~ CONCLUSION that all these things were
.orrih,v destructive of the human resources
of the nation .,
s-.odfnI cost of such hasty action. 1t is
uuirninr 10 be realized that the prpduc-
pI,,. in industry of overworked women is
Low and that long shifts are I'm the long
.,p costly and Inefficient Great Britain is
ioarning To her sorrow. that, with fathers
sabtinc I'm the trenches, the care and pro-
section Of her children should have been
,,,creoee cod tenfold rather than relaxed. and
,ho Good neople of England are startled to
,oarn that Juvenile delinquency has In
creased "a per cent
"Now our great and beautiful country Is
,,,e England in its form of government, in
It's traditions and in its democratic institu-
,ions We should study tho experience OF
onr friends across the water and apply
tbeir experiences to our own use win I'M
rnense profit to ourselves. Great Brltaln is
now thoroughly organized and has taken
stems to retrieve as far as possible. those
perfectly natural errors OF the curry "'SS
of the war
"t is important that the intelligent ele-
r,ents of our community think and think
hard. Nobody knows what lies before
whether the war will be OF snort duration
or whether many hard years lie imme-
diatelv ahead. But, in any event, let us
mot Ne victims of the paradox that having
won the war we shall have lost infinitely
more than victory. for what shall 1t proit
a man though he gain the whole world ana
lose his soul"
PLEA FOR SHORT BALLOT
Mr. Gutenberg made a plea for the short
ballot saying
For a number of years | have been in
terested in this short ballot principle as an
instrument for efficient democracy, and
have as yet been unable to discover SIN
gle good argument against it.
"The opponents of the short ballot are
either superficial critics. or they are schem-
ing and crafty politicians who confuse the
unntiated voter by pretending that by
electing a large number of officers the
voter general, obtains the control.
when the great American people are
aroused to the elemental values of democ-
racy and, above all, the underlying fact
that democracy and efficiency are coinpati-
BILE terms. we shall see the short ballot
applied as one of the very first means to
gain the end we desire