Labor organizer Mary G. Harris "Mother" Jones led a protest march in 1903 from Kensington, Pennsylvania to President Theodore Roosevelt's summer home on Long Island. The march, known as the "March of the Mill Children," drew attention to child labor laws and the exploitation of young textile workers. According to Mother Jones' account, at least 10,000 children under the age of 12 were working in mills in Kensington, with many more girls and boys suffering from injuries such as missing fingers or thumbs. The protest resulted in a public outcry, with local papers reporting on Mother Jones' speech denouncing child labor and the officials who allowed it to continue.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.85, but every quote it verified points left, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 6742: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-07
[The tenth chapter of The Autobiography of Mother Jones—a 1925 collection of sketches from the life and career of labor organizer and urban reformer Mary G. Harris “Mother” Jones—offers this account of the “March of the Mill Children” she led from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt’s Long Island summer home.
asserted
she → offer → home
]
IN THE SPRING OF 1903 I went to Kensington, Pennsylvania, where seventy-five thousand textile workers were on strike.
asserted
workers → go → strike
The workers were striking for more pay and shorter hours.
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workers → strike → pay
Every day little children came into Union Headquarters, some with their hands off, some with the thumb missing, some with their fingers off at the knuckle.
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some → come → knuckle
Many of them were not over ten years of age, the state law prohibited their working before they were twelve years of age.
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they → prohibit → age
The law was poorly enforced and the mothers of these children often swore falsely as to their children’s age.
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mothers → enforce → age
In a single block in Kensington, fourteen women, mothers of twenty-two children all under twelve, explained it was a question of starvation or perjury.
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it → explain → starvation
That the fathers had been killed or maimed at the mines.
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fathers → kill → mines
I asked the newspaper men why they didn’t publish the facts about child labor in Pennsylvania.
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they → ask → Pennsylvania
They said they couldn’t because the mill owners had stock in the papers.
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owners → say → papers
“Well, I’ve got stock in these little children,” said I, “and I’ll arrange a little publicity.”
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I → get → publicity
We assembled a number of boys and girls one morning in Independence Park and from there we arranged to parade with banners to the court house where we would hold a meeting.
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we → assemble → meeting
A great crowd gathered in the public square in front of the city hall.
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crowd → gather → hall
I put the little boys with their fingers off and hands crushed and maimed on a platform.
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hands → put → platform
I held up their mutilated hands and showed them to the crowd and made the statement that Philadelphia’s mansions were built on the broken bones, the quivering hearts and drooping heads of these children.
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mansions → hold → children
That their little lives went out to make wealth for others.
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lives → go → others
That neither state or city officials paid any attention to these wrongs.
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officials → pay → wrongs
That they did not care that these children were to be the future citizens of the nation.
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children → care → nation
The officials of the city hall were standing the open windows.
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officials → stand → windows
I held the little ones of the mills high up above the heads of the crowd and pointed to their puny arms and legs and hollow chests.
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I → hold → arms
They were light to lift.
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They → lift → ?
I called upon the millionaire manufactures to cease their moral murders, and I cried to the officials in the open windows opposite, “Some day the workers will take possession of your city hall, and when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of profit.”
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child → call → profit
The officials quickly closed the windows, as they had closed their eyes and hearts.
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they → close → eyes
The reporters quoted my statement that Philadelphia mansions were built on the broken bones and quivering hearts of children.
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mansions → quote → children
The Philadelphia papers and the New York papers got into a squabble with each other over the question.
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papers → get → question
The universities discussed it.
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universities → discuss → it
Preachers began talking.
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Preachers → begin → ?
That was what I wanted.
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I → want → what
The matter quieted down for a while and I concluded the people needed stirring up again.
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people → quiet → while
The Liberty Bell that a century ago rang out for freedom against tyranny was touring the country and crowds were coming to see it everywhere.
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crowds → ring → it
That gave me an idea.
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That → give → idea
These little children were striking for some of the freedom that childhood ought to have, and I decided that the children and I would go on a tour.
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children → strike → tour
I asked some of the parents if they would let me have their little boys and girls for a week or ten days, promising to bring them back safe and sound.
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me → ask → them
They consented.
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They → consent → ?
A man named Sweeny was marshal for our “army.”
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man → name → army
A few men and women went with me to help with the children.
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men → go → children
They were on strike and I thought, they might well have a little recreation.
uncertain
they → think → recreation
The children carried knapsacks on their backs which was a knife and fork, a tin cup and plate.
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which → carry → backs
We took along a wash boiler in which to cook the food on the road.
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We → take → road
One little fellow had drum and another had a fife.
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another → have → fife
…and 120 more, not listed.
