Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-29
THE WRONG WAY TO
DO THE RIGHT THING
Act Of Congress Without a Con.
stitutionaI Amendment

Act Of Congress Without Con.
stitutional Amendment
the awakening of the public con-
science is the condemnation visited on
the exploitation of the labor of children.
Children have right to their child
hood. They have a right also to grow
and develop into normal physical ma
turity. No one who has given any
thought to the matter denies either of
these propositions nowadays. Only those
whose greed for gain blinds their sense
Of social responsibility fail to admit
them. Their eye is on the dollar and
they can see nothing else.
But no society ever progressed which
concentrated its attention wholly on
money. The dollar is important and
necessary, but healthy, contented and
happy human beings are much more i'm
portant. The whole purpose of our
social and political organization is to
make the conditions Of working and
living easier land pleasanter for all of
US. That is why We have schools and
police and fire departments. 1t is why
we have laws regulating the construction
of houses. 1t is WHY we safeguard mar
riage by statutes. It is why we prevent
unqualified persons from practicing medi-
cine and the law.
We have been slow in recognizing that
the self-interest of the employers is not
sufficient to prevent them from injuring
the future generations by putting chill
dren at work when they should be in
school or at play. But we recognize it
now. Many States have passed laws for
bidding the employment of children
below a given age and social reformers
are urging upon the Legislatures of the
backward States the passage of similar
statutes.
Not content with the rate of progress
by States, they persuaded Congress to
exclude from interstate commerce all
articles in the manufacture of which
children had been employed. Able con-
gressional lawyers insisted that such
law was beyond the power of the national
legislature. But they were unheeded and
the Supreme Court, as was expected, has
declared the act to be unconstitutional,
not because the ends sought are unde-
sirable, but because the people them
selves have refrained from granting to
Congress power to interfere with inter
state commerce in such a way.
Now the Congressman who wish to
stop child labor without waiting for the
slow action of the States are attempt
ing to draft bills which will SECURE that
end by indirection. Senator Pomerene
has already introduced two bills, the first
of which levies heavy tax on articles
made by child labor when shipped from
one State to another and the second for
bids the shipment of such articles into
States in which child labor is forbidden
by local laws, as the shipment of liquor
into prohibition States is forbidden.
Both of these bills are open to the
objections which the Supreme Court
raised against the act which it declared
invalid. They are an attempt to regu-
late commerce in articles which are of
themselves unobjectionable.
No one should make the mistake of
charging those who say that Congress
cannot regulate child labor with being
opposed to its regulation. 1t is impor-
tant that the employment of children be
forbidden. But it is also important that
Congress should not be allowed to tres
La ~. &c III
served to the people and to the States.
If constitutional amendment extending
the powers Of Congress over the regula-
tion of the labor of children should be
submitted to the people and adopted-it
would take not more than two years to
do it if the nation wants 1.-THE desired
reforms could be accomplished through
action in Washington. But until such an
amendment is adopted every person
opposed to the disregard by Congress of
the fact that this is federation of SOW
ereign States, with certain rights re-
Served to the members of the federation,
must regret the persistence of Senators
and Representatives in their efforts to
trample upon our fundamental law.
Respect for the Constitution is not in
consistent with the advocacy of child
labor legislation in every State where it
has not yet been passed or with demand
ing an improvement in the child labor
laws already in force. The most humane
motives are actuating the men and
women who are seeking reform through
Washington. They are simply going
about it in the wrong way.