Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday October 9, 1917
Maryland Boss Has Heartache for Loss of Child Cannery Workers
From the Appeal to Reason of October 6, 1917:
“SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN–.”
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W. E. Robinson, a Belair, Md., canner, is heartbroken because the Keating-Owen child labor law has forced him to employ men and women instead of the little children who formerly did the work in his factory. In a recent letter to a local newspaper he says:
Since the first of September [when the Keating-Owen Law became effective] I have not permitted these boys and girls to work in my factory. They are healthful, industrious youngsters, and the work they have been doing was very beneficial to them, mentally and physically. But my heart aches for them now. Their parents are all at work in the factory. Where are these husky boys and girls; what are they doing?
These unfortunate youngsters, bereft of their beloved jobs, exiled from the kindly shelter of Robinson’s cannery, their plight is indeed pitiful. Deprived of the life-giving labor, which was so “very beneficial to them, mentally and physically” doubtless their muscular little bodies are wasting away, and the once eager young minds have crumbled into mental and moral ruin.
