Hellraisers Journal – Saturday March 16, 1912 Washington, D. C. – Lawrence Children Appear Before House Committee
From the Everett Labor Journal of March 15, 1912:
———-
(Republished from Los Angeles Citizen.)
“The chill hand of charity” got a severe slap a few days ago when Congressman Victor Berger grabbed a bill from a hat that was being passed for the benefit of the child textile strikers from Lawrence, Mass., who appeared before the house committee on rules, and hurled it into the face of its donor, J. H. Cox, a mill owner of Lawrence.
“We don’t want your money; it’s blood money,” cried Berger, indignantly. “We’ll take care of our own without your help.”
If it were possible to Bergerize the public conscience and cast the frown of public disapproval on the Cox kind of charity—the bribe of industrial bandits to satisfy society—Lawrence episodes would become less frequent.
In the same room in which only a month or so ago Andrew Carnegie complained bitterly because he had been paid only $320,000,000 for his properties by the steel corporation; where Judge Gary confided to a committee from congress that the steel trust had $75,000,000 in cash always ready to meet an emergency, child strikers in the mills at Lawrence laid bare their scars to pitying congressmen.
Presented by Representative Berger as an exhibit of what “one of the most highly protected industries in America does to human life by which it is served,” thirteen sallow-cheeked, thin-lipped, hollow-eyed, poorly-clad children, and six adults marched up Pennsylvania avenue and filed solmenly into the capitol.
In the room where attendants hurried to wait upon the smallest wish of Carnegie, Gary and Schwab, nobody had arranged for the comfort of these “exhibits” and they stood along the wall until Representative Henry, accompanied by his own little son, of eight, took pity on their plight.
“Get chairs for these children,” commanded Judge Henry. “Arrange them any way you want and take your time,” he added to Mr. Berger.
Before the witnesses began Chairman Wilson of the committee on labor pleaded for a federal investigation on the ground that in refusing to permit children to leave Lawrence several days ago the state authorities had violated the federal law.
Hellraisers Journal – Friday March 8, 1912 Children of Lawrence Strikers Appear before House Committee at Washington
From The Washington Times of March 2, 1912:
[Inset: Miss Tema Camitta, Philadelphia Sunday School Teacher.]
From the Washington Evening Star of March 2, 1912:
Child Tells Her Story.
There was Camello [Camella] Teoli, a little Italian girl, who stood up when she was told and who said she was sixteen years old, although she didn’t look it. She started to work in the spinning room of one of the American Woolen Company’s mills in Lawrence two years ago and three weeks later had her hair caught in a shafting and her scalp torn off, just as did Miss Houghton, at the census office, more than twelve months ago. But little Camello Teoli was the oldest of seven children and, with her father, the support of the family.
She earned several dollars a week when “speeded up,” and her father, when he was lucky, made seven. She is still under treatment as a result of the horrible accident of which she was a victim, but lately has been working just the same, she said, for her father has been on “slack time” and has been making $2.80 a week.
There were other children there, too, who, while they showed no scars, looked even to the untrained eye as if they had been “speeded up” beyond the limit of juvenile endurance.
Cheeks sallow, lips pinched and eyes that seemed to have looked upon all the misery of the world, the children sat unmoved throughout the hearing, presented by Mr. Berger as an exhibit of what “one of the most highly protected industries in America does to the human life by which it is served,” as he declared.
The children, with several adult strikers as guardians, and accompanied byGeorge W. Roewer, the Boston attorney, who has defended in court the strikers arrested in Lawrence, reached Washington last night several hours behind schedule time, and were met at the Union station were escorted to the accommodations that had been provided for them by a big crowd of local socialists and labor sympathizers. All of the Lawrence delegation wore little cards, bearing the inscription “Don’t be a scab,” and although weary from their journey, marched to their lower Pennsylvania avenue hotel singing and cheering.
Today they marched to the Capitol in the same way, and outside of the House building had to run the fire of a battery of cameras and moving picture machines stationed right outside of the entrance.
[Note: Camella Teoli was introduced to the Committee on March 2nd. She made her full statement before the Committee on March 4th.]
—————
