Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/104

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THE CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR.

is the complement of the other. Neither, however, furnishes an explanation of the hosts of working children in all parts of the country. The public may demand tawdry products; the machinery may be built to accommodate a child; the manufacturer may advertise, "Small girls wanted," but why do the small girls come? For the explanation search must be made elsewhere.

IV. Necessity and Child Labor

"When I was a boy of seven, I went to work, and I don't see any good reason why boys shouldn't do it now. I learned my business that way, and from my point of view, it's better to learn it by starting at the bottom and working up." This attitude is a common one, but much less common than it was ten years ago. Men are learning that their doing things in a particular way furnishes no good reason why the next generation should do things in the same way. Progress can be made only when each generation does things a little differently.

There are still a few people who use the