MARCH OF THE MILL CHILDREN
100TH ANNIVERSARY
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
JULY 1903 – JULY 2003
MARY HARRIS "MOTHER" JONES
WAS A CRUSADER FOR WORKERS’ RIGHTS. SHE LED SEVERAL HUNDRED CHILDREN WHO WORKED IN THE TEXTILE MILLS ON A MARCH FROM PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA TO PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S HOME IN OYSTER BAY, LONG ISLAND. THEIR DEMONSTRATION PUBLICIZED AND PROTESTED THE UNSPEAKABLE CRIME OF CHILD LABOR. MOTHER JONES CALLED UPON PRINCETON’S MAYOR, H. L. ROBINSON, ASKING FOR PERMISSION TO SPEAK OPPOSITE THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS. SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO SPEAK ON HIGHER EDUCATION. THE MAYOR AGREED. A GREAT CROWD GATHERED: PROFESSORS, STUDENTS, AND THE PEOPLE. MOTHER JONES SHOWED THE CROWD JAMES ASHWORTH, WHO WAS 10 YEARS OLD AND STOOPED OVER LIKE AN OLD MAN FROM CARRYING BUNDLES OF YARN THAT WEIGHED 75 POUNDS. "HE IS PAID $3 A WEEK AND HIS SISTER, WHO IS 14, IS PAID $6. THEY WORK IN A CARPET FACTORY 10 HOURS A DAY WHILE THE CHILDREN OF THE RICH ARE GETTING THEIR HIGHER EDUCATION."

IN 1906, NEW JERSEY PASSED A LAW PREVENTING CHILDREN FROM WORKING IN THE MILLS BEFORE THE AGE OF 14.

DEDICATED BY THE NEW JERSEY STATE AFL-CIO
JULY 9, 2003

The sign commemorating the centenary of the march of the children who worked in the mines and the textile industry, a protest march organized by the workers’ rights leader, teacher Mary Harris Jones. In the parade she organized, children marched from Philadelphia to President Roosevelt’s hometown, demanding that child labor be stopped and that children go to school instead. The march was for a distance of about 190 km, and lasted 3 weeks.

The sign is located near the 20th century recognition walk Click for sign's details