OCR Text |
Show LABOR COMBATS ILLITERACY. At the recent convention of the American Legion in St. Paul, Minn., it was announced that a united campaign is to be carried on by the Legion and the American Federation of Labor in an effort to eliminate illiterarc y in the United States. The statement was made before the conv ention that "approximately one-third of the tots voting strength 'in presidential elections in the United States is unabh to read and vr'ite." It was announced that the American Legion and the America xi Federation of Labor have found that this illiteracy i; caused by, or is due to, two conditions. The first of these is said to the ey.ploitation and the use of children in factories, shops and mines, 'and on. farms, or in other words, the commercialization oi child life, says The Christian Science Monitor. The other is ar unregulated, or poorly regulated immigration. It "would hv difficult, even in these days when so many unselfish un-selfish persons claim to be striving to formulate panaceas for th; political ills they believe they have discovered, to conceive of a more impcrtant constructive work than that which the Legion and the Federation of La tor have outlined. It is basic and fundamental Possibly some wi!,l charge that Labor's interest is selfish rather thar patriotic Bet even though this might be proved, it in no way detracts de-tracts from ibs importance. The ballot in the hands of the inorar.! voter is a weapon often usecf unwisely, if not selfishly. The colonization colon-ization in the lar ger cities and in manufacturing sections, of thos: who vote as dire :cted by ward or district political bosses is subversive sub-versive of den ioiv cracy's ideals. |