THE CHILD ACTOR'S LOT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1222, 2 September 1911, Page 11

THE CHILD ACTOR'S LOT.

In New York the law is against the employment of children in theatrical periormances. Tho .N'ew i'ork "DrixuUc Mirror," in a recent issue, published this protest by William C. Ddgar against the ex . c .m cn . °f children from the stage:— "Ihe feeling against allowing /hildren to appear before the footlights is tho result of colossal ignorance concerning the ways of theatrical folk and tho duties which these childish performers render. .Duty and service are as important parts of education as books. Discipline, regularity, systesi, and order are learned on > t !'i ß as ' c;lln ''. v as in the schoolroom. I ho idea that tho children oi' the stage are ill-treated, ill-nourished, over-worked, ill-cared for or taxed beyond their strength is altogether preposterous. It is born of ignorance and perfectly senseless sentiment, and has 110 foundation in fact, it seems strange that people who are quite willing to concede that the actor and actrcss can portray successfully the most tender and touching parts in the drama could, in private life, be such inhuman brutes as to neglect and illtrcat the children in their care. Anyone even superficially familiar with theatrical life knows that tho child of the stage leads, as a rule, a very happy existence and is looked after far more carefully than the average child. Theatrical people, both men and women, are the kindest-hearted and tenderest of folk". The little children who travel with tiicm and tako part in their plays are the object of the solicitude of all their associates. Usually they havo a special attei.dant who sees to their health and comfort. It is absurd to imagine, that ill treatment or exposure would be tolerated for a moment by members of tho companies in which these little people appjar. Tho mothers of stage children ore good mothers, proud of their offspring, zealous for their wellborn?, solicitous and careful. As a rule, they are far more tender and painstaking with their stage children than the average mother of the same class. Sometimes, it is true, the children are obliged to travel long distances, to be up late and to live in lodging-houses and cheap hotels; even so, the circumstances surrounding their lives arc as healthful as if they were living at homo under ordinary conditions. Their manner of living is different, but it is no less healthy than that of other children. While they may be "p late at night, they can sleep late in the morning, and every care is exercised to provide them with good, nourishing food, plenty of exercise and innocent amusement. Undoubtedly the employment of children .011 the stage should be properly safeguarded by the passage of reasonable laws: beyond that, however, it is perfectly safe to leave the care of the children of the stage to their actual guardians,, who may be counted upon to look after them with the greatest care, and actors and actresses with whom they associate, who would be quicker to resent and punish illtreatment and exposure of child actors than any representative of tho law could possibly be."