Note 126 — Chapter III
Henry P. (Henry Pomeroy) Horton translation
As a cause of the demoralization of young girls we must note, finally, child labor. In the first place there are children who are sent to sell flowers, matches, etc., and this causes them to be neglected and to frequent bad company. With regard to this Hirsch says: “One has only to get into conversation with the children who sell flowers, matches, and the like on the streets of the great cities in the evening, or to overhear their talk, to be astonished at their sophistication. One would hardly believe with what shamelessness such boys speak of sexual matters with growing girls in the same situation, without blushing and quite as a matter of course, since they have been accustomed to it from earliest childhood. It is no wonder that from these circles a considerable contingent is furnished to the ranks of prostitution and crime.…”126