"I would rather that children were allowed to run in the streets than have them working in factories at a tender age," said Miss Addams. "They would then be stronger physically and mentally, and I do not believe their morals would be injured as they are by confinement and toil in places where they see nothing of the brighter side of life."
"Illinois requires," she said, "that children between 7 and 14 years of age shall attend school sixteen weeks of each year, of which but twelve weeks need be consecutive. Children under ten years of age must enter school in September, but those between 10 and 14 years need not begin until January.
"During the remaining thirty-six weeks of the year parents are under temptation to violate the law by setting children to work who are out of school, arguing that 'they are better at work than on the street.'"
"The compulsory education law," she said, "is supplementary to the factory law, and if either was strictly enforced the other would take care of itself."
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