March of the Mill Children
100th Anniversary
Princeton, New Jersey
July 1903 – July 2003
Mary Harris “Mother” Joneswas 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
Marker is at the intersection of Nassau Street and Palmer Square, on the right when traveling west on Nassau Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
