The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-09-23
HER RIGHTS

A little slip Of girl sat in the witness chair
in the Municipal Court room on Monday and
had something to say about cher rights" II
work during the week and l think | have a
right to go out on Saturday night and Sunday,
she told the court and she was rather vigorous
in her expression. It was brought out that
she had attended dances at neighboring
amusement park which couldn't qualify as a
high grade amusement center.
Possibly this little girl-she must wait a
long while to become woman-evidently re-
sented the course of the law which was made
to protect her She insisted that the curfew
law which was proposed for the protection Of
lust such girls as her was an infringement up
on her rights.
Well maybe it is curtailment of rights The
inalenable right of every little girl is to have
q chance to grow to womanhood unspoiled by
the temptations of the world. The greatest
need of a girl of seventeen is the care of moth
err who wants to be a real mother and who is
vigorous enough to insist on her rights OF being
the mother" Being mother means more
than washing the clothes, dressing the little
qirl till she gets big enough to dress herself,
and looking after the boys and seeing that they
90 to school. The mother has real duty and
it should be one Of the real privileges OF moth
erbood. Mature womanhood knows that sew
enteen wear old girl has no place at dance at
an amusement park she can know as well that
midnight rides with men who are long way
from what the forefathers and the grand moth
ers considered just the right thing for little
girls to do.
The fact that a girl works does not neces-
sarily mean that she must rebel against the
laws for her right bringing up. These laws
are made for her protection and the fact that
they may curtail some liberties does not in any
wav take away their protective force. Young
girls whether they work or not must be pro
tected against degrading influences and the
young girl who minoles in the mad whirl OF
the public dance at the roadway resort is not
getting into her head the ideas or ideals which
make for high grade womanhood. 1t may be
that curfew law savors of the old days of
witches and COLLINS but if that curfew law can
keep the girls out of the clutches of just such
influences as this little girl was meeting it IS
going to be thing Of value to girl life in gen
eral Kenosha has written lot of tragedies
about the lives of just little girls. Little girls
whose mothers and fathers did not take the
trouble to properly protect against these in
auences. The curfew law has been enforced =
after fashion - 1t may have struck terror
to the hearts of some of the youngsters but it
is to be hoped that the officials of the city will
see to it that it is enforced as it applies to older
girls and older boys. This law says that girls
and boys under eighteen years of age should
be at home at half past nine o'clock in the
evening. If the law is enforced it will eradicate
a lot of heartaches from mothers and fathers.
No little girl-you are all wrong-the state
and the city does not want to abridge your
rights It wants to protect and nuture you. It
wants to make it harder for you to find pitfalls
and easier for you to avoid them. 1t wants to
give you a better assurance that you are going
to grow into that greatest of all classes-un-
sulled womanhood and motherhood You may
think now that the state is hard, that it is a
mean old state to keep you away from the
dance but some time in the future when you
have a little girl just letting her hair be brush
ed back you, will appreciate later what it means
to have some protection for her. You may
avoid the pitfalls which have been laid for you
but have sisters and cousins and there are a lot
Of other little girls not bound to you by blood
relation who are being saved by the proper
application of just such laws. Think it over in
your own convenience and we know that you
will appreciate that the state is protecting and
not injurng you and all Of your class.