WHAT DO YOU CARE?
WILLIAM EDWARD ROSS IN PEARSON’S
Out to the mines in the chill of the morn,
Stunted, ill nourished comes the forlorn
Stream of humanity—undersized men,
Slaving and toiling for life blood; but then,
Dressed warm and cosy, with slate, book, and rule,
George and your Nellie have started to school;
They are your children, their cheeks warm and fair,
While Tony’s a hunky, so—What do you care?
Over the bridges, the hills, and the fen,
Streams the procession of undersized men
Climbing the stairs to the waiting machines:
Lowered in cages to death-marked ravines.
Look at their faces; sad, pinched and worn!
Look at their garments; threadbare and torn!
Look at their swagger, their precocious air,
Some mother’s babies, but—What do you care?
Courtesy Massachusetts Child Labor Committee.
CHOSE HIS LIFE WORK AT FOURTEEN
Already a child laborer, this chap is typical of the class for whom vocational guidance is being introduced in Boston and elsewhere.