The Washington times., 1923-01-02

that every child has a right
- to an education. All the States
have made school attendance COM
pulsory for most of the children
of certain ages. because unedu-
Gated citizens can render little
service to the State. In some
States, however, many children
are allowed to leave school at a
very early age. The right to re-
main ignorant is really a legal
right. in these States. Because
their parents seem willing that
they should do without an ade-
quate education, the State yields
and let's the childgen go before
they are trained for efficient citi-
zenship.
But are the parents always
really willing? Many inyestiga-
tons have shown that an inn
portant cause OF early child labor
10 q fact which may be beyond
the parents control-the poverty
Of the family. In some oyster
canning communities about, which
the Children's Bureau has recent
ly issued report-and in which
it found many children at work
almost fourth of the mothers
who were interviewed were wild
owed or deserted by their hus-
bands. In other families the faith.
er's wages were 20 low that chill.
dren's work seemed necessary.
Everything costs 50 much" a
mother said, I'VE couldn't get
along IL the children didn't
work" In another family the
income was fairly high, but the
family was large and even a ten
year-old child had to so to work.
Many Of these parents expressed
their regret that they could not
send the children to school. The
mothers would say, 'if I could
afford it," or 'sif my man was
alive, I'd send all my children"
Poverty should not be con-
stdered an excuse for depriving
child of his right TO an education
Not so many years ago 1t was
commonly taken for granted that
there was no other way than
child labor to meet the situation
caused by a fathers death. The
belief is growing however, that
the family's need should be pro
vided for in some way other than
by sacrifice OF the child's future
and many States now grant pen
sions to mothers until their chill.
dren become Of legal working
age. But even now that most
States have a mothers pension
law. there IL much variation in
the extent to which these laws
serve their purpose. An ade-
Quate system OF aid to widows
and dependent children, and such
readjustment as will insure an
adequate wage to frthers. are
preliminary. steps to. the solution
Of the child labor problem.
Even IL there were no question
Of family need, many children
would leave school to go to work
at the earliest possible moment.
These are tho children who are
unable to see the value of going
to school, and whose parents, de.
prived Of an education when
they were young. do not see the
need Of an education for their
children. They permit them to
leave school when they please,
even though it might be possible
10 keep them there. The par.
ents. like the children, are too
unacquainted with fields of work
where education counts to be able
to understand its value. Some
times they believe that children
are merely learning habits Of
laziness and idleness in school,
and think 1t better for them to
go to work. Many employers
who entered industry when young
are quite sincere in their belief
that early labor is good for the
child. Many are shortsighted and
do not see the Industrial waste
involved. They do not see that
child labor means adult workers
who are physically subnormal and