8
EVENING LEDGER PHIBABBLPHIA", TTTEgBAY, FEBIMJABY 23, 19115.
s.
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PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY
ernus h. k cimtio. pimimnt.
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'eiltaliJer! I'MlmWr-'iM fevt vhttt forflim poataf
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I'lllUllllDIIA, 'ILI.SDAV. H.IHtlAUV 33. lsHS.
J)eath doe not make it tirfii' It I the cause
or teftlcft 7ie M;;i doicii his Hfc.
A Lesson From Tcrrc Ilnutc
A SITUATION of cnormnila Importance to
.'the RopubttC has developed at Terre
"Haute, Indiana. There huvo been numerous
occasions In America when communities have
"risen In revolt and swept Into tho gutter
political associations which proved on tho
public. Never before, however, has tho
night and power of tho Federal Government
beon invoked to rescue a n.unlclpallty from
the slough of corruption. The Terro Haute
case, therefore, present1? a now methed of
attack which may bo utilized by any munici
pality In the nation, in circumstances where
tho local Judiciary and authorities, by ono
means or another, have become subservient
to political Intercuts npd run no longer bo
relied on to execute Jintlce.
Tho Federal Government contends that In
Any election where Congressmen aro candi
dates the honesty of said o'ectlcn Is a matter
of interest to the United States, and that
Jurisdiction properly lies in the" United Btatos
1 courts lo prosecute thoso guilty of fraud or
of conspiracy to defraud. Judge Anderson
has" upheld tho indictments of a Federal
Grand Jury. Unless he Is overruled by higher
authority, hereafter It will be posslblo for
municipalities and States to take Into United
Etfttes courts charges of Irregularities at
elections In which Congressmen aro chosen.
The Terro Haute case Is of particular Im
portance to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
For l;hls reason tho Rvenivo Ledger assigned
a member of Its staff to v'slt Terro Haute
nnd conduct an exhaustive Investigation into
tho methods and means used by good citizens
to put an end to the elccth n dehnucherles of
which they were the victims. The result of
this investigation is a scries of articles, the
first of which appears In this issue of the
Evening Ledoeii. (
Of tho 114 persons Indicted In Indiana, 87
have pleaded guilty. Tho intricacies of the
Democratic Organization, which has been
trapped there, and tho remarkable part
played by the women In bringing about the
indictments, form n chapter in American
politics that reads like fiction, but Is stranger
than fiction because It Is true.
JVIr. Bryan's Discretion
If the duties of the State Department are
so uncommonly arduous as to Justify the em
ployment of additional ndvlscrs nt public ex
pense, they mifiht Justify the presence In the
national c.mltal of the Secretary of State.
New York Run
OUR esteemed contemporary .Is dilating
with the wrong emotion. The absence of
lIr. Bryan from his desk in the State Depart
ment Iri these trying times, and tho employ
ment by tho department of skilled interna
tional lawyers, 'are matters for congratula
Utn rather than for regret. And If the dis
tinguished exhorter, enjoying the emoluments
of tho office held by Thomas Jefferson, Dan
iel Webster, Thomas F. Bayard, John Hay
nnd 131 hu Itoot, has discovered that thero
nro some things that ho does not know and
ought not to meddle with he should be en
couraged to continue to practice the discre
tion oj absenting himself from his post rather
than be prodded into attempt ng to do the
impossible.
The University's Anniversary
WHEN a group of kindly disposed persons
fourded a charitable school In this city
In 1740, they did not dream that It would
prow into ono of tho greatest universities in
the world. Hut that is what the University
of Pennsylvania is today, ono hundred and
Boventy-flve years from Its humble be
ginnings. The University enjoys an international
fame and it attracts a, larger proportion of
4t students from foreign countries than any
other American university. Its schools pt
medicine. Jurisprudence and dentistry, to
soy nothing of Its other departments, have
pet the standard for its rivals. A teaching
faculty of 80 is required to give instruction
to Its 6332 students, and it has a library of
nearly 600,000 volumes, ready for tho con
sultation of all seekers after knowledge. Al
though Harvard was founded about 100
years earlier, the University of Pennsylvania
has graduated more students.
We aro so familiar with this great institu
tion on the banks of the Schuylkill that Tve
are n danger of forgetting how bier it is and
how it attracts young men from all parts of
the world to lta lecture rooms. It Is a worthy
product of the spirit of the city founded by
Penn nnd made distinguished by Franklin
And his successors.
Little Men for a 1 Job
THE men chosen by the President ta make
up the first Federal Trade Commission
do not command the instant confidence of
the country. The commission la to exercise
th same supervision over manufacture and
sale of goods that the Interstate Commerce
Commission exercises over their distribution
by tho railroads and otherwise. Jt can
go about ltd work in a petty, meddlesome
manner, by-assuming- that the bis business
men of the country' are "crooks and In
IcapaWe pf doing; honest business. Jn some
Ifinmtttg
PjMUjtrters ot the country this Is the common
Eapinuaa of me people. man aoes more
rVu6lnmm than his neighbor there Is some-
nig wrong with him and he must be
(st to book. This feelins was largely
afcible for the creation of the new contr
t2r(dent ha ehostw two of the
mwnbrs of tse rapwiy at.
itiu Praoraaura liurty. ad three.
Vmvx$um tM h. effort to olwy thd prowl-
s vt it uw tat not mam t ms w
taftAtatfU ,AU,i MJU4 !? WM
party. One of tho Democrats comes from a
town of SBOO population In Georgia; another,
while his appointment Was pending, sent
ti telegram to Congress indorsing tho ship
purchase bill, thereby showing that he was
Willing to take his ctio from tho "White
HoUso, and the third Democrat Is tho pres
ent Commissioner of Corporations In tho
Department of Commerc'c, a capable man,
but not distinguished In any way,
If it had been posslblo for tho President
to persuado some of the great Industrial and
professional leaders of tho nation to sqrvo
on this comm sslon, his appointments would
havo been received with greater satisfaction
In tho Senate, as well as In tho country at
large. Perhaps ho did not ask them.
They Shout Economy and Plan
Extravagance
TTUIErii: must bo economy," shout the
opponents of rapid transit. Then they
proceed to economize by proposing to build
three miles of elevated railroad through a
farm district.
"Tho city cannot afford to be plunged into
n. scheme tho ultimate cost of which no ono
;on now protend to limit." Quito trUc. That
Is why Director Taylor haB Bpcnt months in
a most exhaustive study of the entire situa
tion, diagnosing lines of trufttc, probablo
volume, etc. Ho Is able not only to limit final
cost, but to show plainly Just what tho cost
will be. It is becausa tho city must not bo
plunged into a bottomless mire of debt tha
the well-digested Taylor plans must be fol
lowed Instead of th absurd plans of a cllquo
of men who have given the subject no study
whatever and apparently havo no other pur
poso than to prevent rapid transit entirely
by handing over the city to tho Rapid Tran
sit Company bound and shackled. If the
Connelly transit scheme were adopted, not In
BO years would real rapid transit be posslblo.
"Tho city cannot afford, liberal as Its op
portunity for borrowing money may be, to
load Itself with such burdens of debt that nn
Increase in the tax rate would be mado in
evitable." That is why the Taylor plan con
templates no incrcass In tho tax rate. Tho
constitutional amendment will case the an
nual payments, admit capitalization of ex
penses during period of construction and a
short time thereafter; tho Increase in prop
erty valuations which Inevitably follous
high-speed facilities will proportionately In
crease aggregate tax receipts, and there Is
some reason to bollovo that the new system
will be used by passengers, all of whom will
pay fares. There will be no increase of tax
rates under the Taylor plans; an Increase
would be certain were the Connelly fiasco
adopted.
"The loop would bo the most expensive of
all tho proposed subway work." The motor
Is the most expensive part of an automobile.
Who would build railway cars without exits,
or steam locomotives without boilers? An
elevator In a shaft will run, but It Is per
fectly useless unless people can get In and
out of Jt. Tho loop Is the heart of the transit
system, the distribution centre to which all
tho lines lead and without which all sums
spent on tho other part would be wasted
money.
The holdbacks, the obstructionists, the
timid neurotics, the panicky Individuals, tho
men whoso Interest It Is to keep Philadelphia
where it is and prevent all progress, shake
convulsively at the thought of expense when
transit is mentioned, unless it is tho kind of
transit which would be particularly beneficial
to them and worthless to everybody else. But
a now day has dawned Men know that thero
is no danger of bankruptcy, no financial or
other reason why tho city should not havo
what other cities of the same class already
have. They understand pretty well the real
reasons influencing obstructionists who shout
economy In one breath and plead for utterly
extra vogant entei prises In the other. They
know tho ordinance introduced at tho recent
session of Councils for what It is, a deliberate
and vicious attempt to trick and defraud tho
city. They know what obstructionists mean
when they say they are for transit and pro
ceed meanwhile to stick knives into it. Tho
Connelly kind of transit is peculiarly satis
factory to holdbacks, for they understand
that the Public Service Commission would
never sanction Buch wanton waste of public
funds on bo technically absurd an undertak
ing. The opponents of the Taylor plan Pro
test their Innocence too much, They may
try to mask their designs In verbiage, but
the stain on their hands shows even through
gloves.
Drawn to the Shrine
ALL DAY yesterday there was a procession
jfxof visitors to Independence Hall. The
exercises there consisted of little more than
o. tlag raising. The simple, dignified build
ing in which the great Declaration was
adopted is a magnet that draws to it by an
irresistible attraction all those who dream
of liberty. The foreign-born -who have come
here to get what they could not find abroad
move through its halls and rooms' with rever
ent awe. Their little children, conscious that
the place Is not like other places, walk about
and breathe in something of the spirit that
inspired the early patriots. They will dream
of those great days, and the thoughts of J
what was done and said thero will swell in
their hearts till they long to prove themselves
worthy Inheritors of the estate of freedom
marked out there in 1776.
The old Hall Is a shrine in & very real
sense. It is the most precious possession of
this city and of this continent, not because
of Its perfect architecture, but because that
brick shell In the square stands for an Idea
that thrills the soul
i T- .. r
Men we wearing "freak" bata at Palm
Beach, as well as on Market street.
Who will write, a transit "Marseillaise'
calling the freemen of the city To, Arms!
The snipers who are planning- to harry
the, Mayor will make ammunition "for the
Independents to fire back at them next fall
it the MetorJatMi at NorrUtown are women,
$t course they should ooatrol their historical
Mfty: but tt wnMwi have curiously fa
yliU.1 tfa wJ oJHoera t&!r soeuty.
HOW TERRE HAUTE
CRUSHED THE "GANG"
With Political Conditions Similar to Those
Horo tho People Woke From Lethargy
nnd Used Their Power First 'Instance of
Federal Interference In State Election.
By IRWIN L. GORDON
f.
ANEW chapter lias been written in tho
.nnnats of American municipalises. ' It 8
a chapter replete with political debauchery,
political crime, political bosslsm, bl-panlsani
ship and everything tho word "Organiza
tion" has corao to signify in American poll
tics; anJ yet tho chaptor Is ono of victory
for civic honiBly.
It Is ona which tells of a city awakened,
of a titnnlo battle waged by men and wc-men
to down a plundering political ring, of A
struggle between civic rlghtcousnpss and an
unholy nlllanco of liquor, contractor bosslsm
and n debauched ballot. Moreover, It., Is a
chapter of enlightenment, wherein may be
found tho solution of many problems c6n
frontlng cities which smart under tho hish,
of a dominant pblltlcal organization,
Terro Haute, Ind has overthrown "j.ho
gang." Tho Organization which for years
fattened upon tho givir.g of franchises, mu
nlclpaf-contracts and liquor tribute, nnd In
trenched Itself through unlimited patronage,
hnH fallen. The doors of a United States peni
tentiary now stare the leaders in tho face.
Gone is nil tho political arrogance, the con
trol of Councils, the mastery of a corrupt
maglstrato system, of ofllco power, of con
tract grab an Organization house built on tho
sands of political power has fallen nnd tho
placo thereof Hhnll know It no more.
Eighty-seven Pleaded Guilty ,
One hundred and fouiteen officials, their
ward leaders and tools, havo bce-n indicted
by a United Stntes Grand Jury on tho charge
of conspiracy. Eighty-seven of those'' haQ
pleaded guilty to all tho charges, havo turned
State's evidence, and placed tho responsibility
for their wrongdoing squarely on "tho men
higher up "
Tho 27 men Including a Mayor, a County
Judge, n Sheriff, minor officials and lieu
tenants who pleaded "not guilty," aro now
awaiting trial before Judge A. B. Anderson,
In tho United States Circuit Court at In
dianapolis. Whllo the story of tho arrests, of tho great
est political clean-up ever made in an Ameri
can city, Is one of Intense dramatic valuo
and human Interest, combining, as It docs,
the laying bare of ono of tho worst political
machines In tho country, and the remark
able fight mado by women to improve and
rectify conditions, tho fundamental value of
the situation lies In tho action taken by tho
United States Government.
For tho first time In tho history of tho
United States tho Government has stopped
Into a State and made the demand that na
tional elections shall bo conducted honestly.
For the first time In tho history of the United
States, tho Government hns caused tho arrest
of city officials, election officers nnd repeaters
and charged them with conspiracy for de
bauching the ballot. In short, the Terre
Haute caso goes beyond Indiana. It is na
tional In Its scope.
The Government is making a test to deter
mine whether it has the power to compel offi
cials and voters to comply with tho laws,
holding that, In an election wherea Senator or
a Jteprc.scntativo Is to be chosen, thoso who
commit fraud in the polling place defraud tho
United States.
A Federal Test Case
Tho general proposition Is this; Has tho
Government tho right to Interfere in elec
tions which heretoforo have been regarded as
strictly State matters? Tho Attorney General
of tho United States has declared that tho
Government has Jurisdiction; Judgo Ander
son, before whom tho dynamite conspirators,
whoso arraignment followed the attack on
the Los Angeles Times building were tried,
and who Is one of the ablest Judges In tho
country, has likewise declared his court has
jurisdiction, nnd will try tho accused men.
Upon tho outcomo of tho case, which will
undoubtedly go to the Supremo Court, hangs
tho definite decision of tho question of super
vision of elections by tho Government.
True, tho stand taken hy tho Government
and the ultimate disposition of the Terro
Haute case will not affect strictly municipal
elections, except indirectly, but thp glaring
light which has been turned upon this city
and tho methods employed to bring about the
Government investigation will havo a far
reaching result.
At any rate, tho panto caused throughout
the Middle West, the wholesale confessions
and the stand taken by tho Government will
have a lasting national Influence at least
at the time a Congressman or Senator is to
be chosen by the people.
Terre Haute's Shame
Terre Haute has come to be known as "the
hell hole of Indiana." It has been stamped
by the Government white slave agents as
the most wicked city in the country. While
thero were posslbly.more cases of thuggery at
the polls at the last election, more open vio
lations of the law, the Bystem and the organ
ization which controlled city and county
present a striking parallel to that of Phila
delphia and the men who aro at Its head.
Identical was the contractor-bossism, the
liquor domination, the patronage power, tho
bi-partisan Influence.
Terre Haute has had all of these. She has
turned millions into the hands of the favored
contractors, has voted for those who propped
up contractor control, has permitted the Tag
gart machine to rule supreme and gather in
the taxes with slight return to tho taxpayers,
Unawaro of that latent power" 'which'
eventually swept these men from their posl-'
ttons, which deposed the "liquor king" of
Indiana and his agents from their Btand be
hind the politicians, the citizens permitted
this Democratic bipartisan machine to
throttle the will of the people. Smarting
under the lash of tyrannous leaders, the peo
ple time after time made attempts to
overturn tho machine, but. with every branch
of the municipal government in the hands of
the leaders, with the courts favorable to the
perpetrators of political crime, no redress
was to be found.
Gradually the citizens sank into a state of
lethargy, into a state of "what'Sthe-use."
Believing that many who deaireq" honest re
form were Insincere, falling to see that any
victory, no matter hpw flmall, waj a step.
.toward honest gpvernment, , and eelf. con
vinced that "the; gang" was so strongly
lntrfnmed in City Hall, Councils and county
oSle that a miracle sdone could dislodge It,
the Terre Haute electorate sat complacently
buck ainl watched a systematic office and
contrast plundw
AI4 from m IstrtkHMf w-uurvty ,B tfefl
purstttMl ai Jbsf -" HMX M& Pbjydal
phla political leaders, tholr organlrations
were identical Indeed, wero It not for tho
inroads made Into the Philadelphia mnchine
by tho Blankenburg administration, tobblng
it as It did of tho pollco department and pre
venting uholosalo contract gathering, tho
two cities might be considered politically
one. Terre Haute, until tho tlmo of the ar
rest of tho Mayor and his followers, was a
small Philadelphia as It was under tho late
John E. Reyburn, Mayor.
Tho overthrow of tho Organization nt this
tlmo Is all the moro remarkable when It Is
realized that the entire police force, tho flro
department every city department the City
Council, County Commissioners and virtually
the entire system In Southwestern Indiana
was under tho thumb of Tom Taggart, a
political boss of Indlann: assisted by Craw
ford Fairbanks, Taggart's business partner,
"Brewery King of the Middle West" and tho
wealthiest man In tho State, and Donn M.
Roberts, Mayor of Torre Haute, tho highest
official caught In the Government dragnet.
How was It done?
Political arroganco can go so far and no
farther. At last the rebellion point Is reached.
It came In Terre Haute. It camo like a
whirlwind.
The liquor candidate must be elected; tho
bipartisan tools must take office; a crooked
Judgo must be placed on tho bench every
offtco'from United States Senator down to
Rpad Commissioner must bo retained by tho
Organization! Illegal votes must be cast, a
"slushfund" must be raised!
Tho People Won the Fight
Before the United Stntes Senato a charge
was made against Senator Boles Penroso to
tho effeot that $1,000,000 was spent by tho
liquor interests of Pennsylvania to sccuro his
return to tho Senate. Newspapers repeated
tho accusation. The people, however, did not
arise and demand an Investigation. It was
shelved by both Republican and Democratic
politicians In Congress.
In Indiana the people arose and demanded
that a proper investigation bo made not a
senatorial probe, but a real, sincere, non
polltlcal Investigation. They based their de
mand upon the known facts that a "slush
fund" had been raised, that the saloonkeepers
nnd brewers had rendered their tribute, that
thousands of fraudulent votes had been cast.
It was ascertained that fully 2500 illegal
votes had been registered, tho exact number
strickon from the lists in Uniontown, Fayette
County, Pennsylvania, where State Senator
Crow, chairman of the Republican State
Committee, is tho Penroso lieutenant.
On election day the Organization voted re
peaters, as they have dono for years In the
first 14 Philadelphia wards; citizens wero
beaten nnd prevented from voting In short,
an election similar in every detail to the
elections of this city was held.
Against the system which made these
things possible the Government launched a
probe. Tho task seemed hopeless. A house
of cards, however, soon tumbles. Backed by
the women of the city, tho women who first
called the attention of the Federal authorities
to Terre Haute's condition, the work began.
One of the least cogs of the Organization
a habitue of the Tenderloin confessed. He
implicated his saloonkeeper. This man con
fessed and drew in the precinct leader. He
in turn became a Government witness, bring
ing his ward leader to the bar of Justice.
Then came the "men higher up," the brains
and pocketbooks of the Organization,
Exactly how this Organization was built,
how It worked and how It was wrecked will
be told in subsequent articles.
The Subtleties of Music.
The true musician cares very little for your
definite Ideas, or things that can be expressed
by words; tie knows you can give him these.
"What he sighs for is the expression of the im
material, the Impalpable, the great "imponder
able;'' of our nature, and he turns from a world
of painted forms and oppressive substances to
find the vague and yet perfect rapture of his
dream In the wild, invisible beauty of his divine
mjitres Hugh Haweis.
WHEJRE THE WEST BEGINS
Out where the handclasp's a tittle stronger,
Out where a smile dwells a little longer,
That's where the West begins.
Out where the sun Is a llttie brighter,
Where the snows that fall are a trifle whiter,
Where the bonds of home are a wee bit tighter,
That's where the West begins. '
Out where the skies ar a trifle bluer,
Out where friendship's a little truer,
That's where the West begins.
Out where a, fresher breeze is blowing,
Where there's laughter In every streamlet flow
ing, Where there's more of reaping and Jess pf sow.
That's where theWest bins.
Out-where the world Is In the making.
Where fewer hearts with despair are aching'.
That's where the West begins.
Where there's mere of staging and less of slgh-
Wber there's more of giving end Haa of buying.
And a man -makes Memit without hlf trying,
That wfcer tjie Wt bagi
Ari-iui Ctipim. to Oov BimHcsB,
SO EAR, GOOD , jj
CHILD-LABOR IN
What Judge Lindsey and Colorado Have Done to Liberate 'He
otage-cmia witnout uepnving
tion oy tne juvenile judge instead ot JProhibition.
By KENNETH
I think the araumenta aaalnst ataoe chil
dren are about as consistent as some ot tho
arguments against woman suffrage. I say
without the slightest hesitation that there
ts more danger to tho moral welfare 0 the
ehlUl going bach and forth In the streets
to the school and in those things he learns
through aisoclatlon In the school than there
is in being on the stage under a law that
guarantees any sort of reasonable profec
tian for its physical and moral welfare.
Judge Ben U. Lindsey.
W.
"HEN tho child labor law is finally passed
at Harrlsburg, it must make some pro
visions for tho stnge-chlld. If it is a blanket
law, prohibiting the emplbyment of all chil
dren under a certain ngo In any occupdtion
whatsoever, It will, of course, drive the child
actor from Philadelphia theatres and prevent
the production here of many Interesting plays.
If It excepts tho stage-child from its pro
hibitions, it may bo of moro value to tho
playgoer, but It will not do its duty by tho
child. In work dono by Judge Lindsey In
Denver thero seems to be a hint of a far
wiser way of handling the matter.
A Double Liberty
Liberty for tho stage-qhlld Is tho slogan
of Judgo Llntlsoy's newest fight. Liberty
for the talented youngster to follow an art
that Is also education nnd play. And liberty
for tho poor little slave of musical comedy,
burlesque and vaudeville. The first ho would
freo from the prohibitory laws of many
States. The latter he would liberate from
nn employment that exploits his youth, cuts
him off from mental development and even
corrupts him.
Tho curious part of the fight 13 tho op
position. Tho managers of musical comedy,
cheap vaudeville and burlesque yes. But
why such people as Jane Addams, men and
women serving with Judge Lindsey on the
National Child Labor Committee? Why
should Judgo Lindsey, in seeking the child's
protection as well as Its liberty, meet the
same public-spirited opposition that con
fronted tho committee of dramatists includ
ing Percy Mackaye and Augustus Thomas
when they argued against the enaction of
the prohibitory child labor law of Illinois,
which lumped stage children with factory
children.
For tho Child, Not the Drama
And the rest of the opposition who can
It be but the cheaper managers in false
beards and frock coats? Haul out that old
favorite, the Red Herring. Judge Lindsey,
they say, is the unintentional tool of the
Shuberts and Frohman and all the rest that
want to bring child-actors into Boston and
Chicago. Judge Lindsey himself doesn't
think bo. He Is not fighting for the man
agers; they would prefer total noninterfer
ence. He is not fighting for dramatlo art;
he knows that art must accommodate itself
to man's good, not man be bent to art's. He
puts the emphasis in the true place the true
place in all things upon the human element.
He is in the fight for the sake of the child.
The children brought him into it. He met
stage-children and saw what fine young be
ings they were, even when circumstances
were not the best He compared them with
factory children that came to him in Denver,
And he concluded: "I have never known a
factory or a sweatshop child that was anx
ious to do its work. I havo never known a
stage-child that didn't And a great delight in
its part."
There are only two Stales that have any
thing approaching proper Jaws in regard to
the stage-child, There are only two that
do not allow his unrestricted exploitation on
the one hand, or on the other try to drive
him from that stage and end fn sanctioning
Infringements of the worst sort, hey are
Colorado and Louisiana.
Prohibition That Does Not Wprk
By tho laws of Massachusetts, Illinois and
Oregon no child1 may appear upon the. pro
fessional stage, This prohibition is, of course,
merely a part of the general child labor
laws; but it Js praised as preventing the em
ployment, of children In cheap theatres where,
they would bo under a bad moral Influence.
As a matter of fact the prohibition does noth
ing of the sort. Its effect Is the very oppo
site. There Is no publlq sentiment behind
this portiQn gf ,the law, and tb result Is
wholesale evaslpn in the less prominent and
more disreputable theatres. Mr. Davis, fac
tory Inspector of Illinois, baa sajd that there
were more children on the stage and unpro
tected. In IliinpUi, under a prpbtbjtlvq iw,
than ver before ta the .State's history. Un
fortunately, the law does hold for the better
theatres, wher tbwe would b Wsal condi
tions of employment A rutaMe manager
is naturally chary of incurring a public mt
and a. Hue. Tfcua tiw. worthy theatre is wraji.
THE PLAYHOUSE
;
xiim 01 xiis laie-arc Kegtila-
MACGOWAN
gled by a prohibition which has no com?
where it is really needed. -?i
In tho remaining 41 States thero &r 3
laws really worth mentioning, either to pro
tect or to prohibit. One result, of cowJ,'J'
tno samo as in Massachusetts and 'IHInqliT
children may appear under the worst, pojslljif
conditions. For the rest, worthy dnuna'ff
simply benefiting at the expense of tpe eJ
plotted children in tho wrong sort of' theatre?
That is only part of tho situation In'tiT
States outside Colorado and Louisiana. UncY
worse, thero Is no guarantee of proper 0
dltlons of employment. Children nr urtiil?
In companies from which they should j $4
eluded, under circumstances neither ujorsllVl
nor hygienically good. Their hours pf.Wt
formance are not strictly limited. Tey M
not given proper educational opportunities?
vnu meir pay except ror a lew pnpom
enally gifted youngsters on Broadflray If
rar oeiow a decent standard. They areifa-
piy expiouca.
Real Protection for the Child I
'And now what havo Colorado and iLol
ana done about it? They have, adopted 'Jawf
meeting certain, general conditions jhttliBW
oy juago. Lindsey. They do no( pr?hlM(f
vonile Court of the capital' grants pnnR'
for stage children to appear within 'th feSff
under certain conditions fixed by the courS
The mnnager must present a bond of'frofij
?2000 to 15000, underwritten by a refiikl
surety company. Any violation of t"hsnS
dltlons renders the bond forfeit, with, Di;fufjj
thor litigation than a brief hearing bf'w
tho court issuing the permit. 1
j.no conditions proposed py Judge unGjKli
for Colorado are comprehensive 6m'
them he has already secured, though bn
plan, oven in Colorado, is not yet fully rei!-
VW
ized. The salary, first of all, mut U'fiW
as tho courts think fair; in Colorado It ift
least $25 a week. Proper guardlansitlp
parental or otherwise Is secured. If tits!
mother or guardian, traveling with th? chlW.1
la Tin, -I1,n.4 , , U li. .U. . Arictf
supply a ,tutor. The hours of epppapuictj
must nuow of a certain mlnlmupi Jot actm.
ing, ana performances are limited p '?D,s
a week. Certificates of health, requlrfi?'
as to sleeping cars nnd the inspection of
lodgings are also provided for. t
Manifestly somo such national la,W vrpuW
solve the situation in the whole tourlnjrjfyj'
tern. Getting it is another matt?r. Judge
Lindsey, realizing this, has wprked ' ?$
scheme by which the enactment of ucn .r
lnw in no more than four of the taportaiil
States would Insure Its enforcement in (hi
rest. For a manager refusing' to agrij
bunuiwuim ack uy tt BCIlcru, tuMiumyfi.rr
rvew xork, created by the Juvenn w?
and the friendly managers, would find bfe
.ll .., al.t.1. tnVlnM
And ,afly manager under bond in opt) of t
States would have to live up to ti S
MnnlllnHn I ..I .-.-- .-, I Via twtiiU
fwwuitiviio ,1, uuior oiaica 4onv v vv m - s
A Haven From Immorality 'A4ut
Judge Llndsoy has left no loppholf.fjfllf
the managers; as to the objectors, BWyife
carried the war into Africa. The imrnoralitfllt
of ttie stage Is a very (jld bugaboo, a'j!?lp
exorcised and Justly in ail except tPD,!
Olfina rf nfAiitntlnn futiltYi .TlMsTtt Till
Bey would eliminate the child. Judge $?f f
sey finds more to corrupt youth in bP ilt
nary conditions of home and school Jlf- ?flf
knows the city streets. Ha has tlUK4 JS
little "criminals" that come to hka
"homes." where the mother is either
at worjc or absorbed in selMndulgencSl
that go to pchools -where children mln''tl
discriminate under lax condition- WraSf
seen children of the same age and the fs
class who have spent their tune in the,sj
atre under the constant care and guioai"
mother or tutor. And trtll 1 his lnvti
conclusion: A
I make bold to suggest that th gig
be as much, If not more, logio In prWyffi
Child labor laws against chl'dwl lwTs
out public schools as sgstnst children Mg
on the stage. I believe that th tfi:
the average child in most or w K'
schools rihd the dangers tq t!,OTJ
are far greater than with tne cW"
stage under that kind of safeguard
Ttrrttr.ft4fn iat T am rtrnnoainf.
The final case for the stafre-chUd-'t1
ented boy or girl freed, as vie an i"
tp follow where the spark of. genius
Is mueh tha mb for the new sort teJ
There roust be mere of creative Vp
of unwilling tasks. There roust w
4r
ttmaey with tije beautiful, ww
nrutlrm Thn child RlUSt 1 1H
friendship pf a nrfe twin throni
of culture ht the bestow flr
lllvwaiutd. -,
tftj