American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-08-31

THERE is no subject of more vital i'm
portance to a nation than the rearing of
the young to perfect development, physi-
cal as well as mental. Unless children
are protected by good laws rigidly en-
forced the necessities and avarice of pa
rents and caretakers conspire to stunt
their growth, break them down, and pro-
duce, if they even live solong, manhood
| or womanhood of disease and imbecillty.
Some countries of Europe long ago felt
| this scourge of life, and health, and made
| statutory provisions to protect their man.
hood. There may not be the same neces-
sity for such laws in this country. but
| there is the necessity, and laws regulating
children's labor ought to he enacted where
they do not already exist, and enforced
everywhere. France has suffered terribly
from overworked children. The latest
law of the French empire for the regula-
ton of the labor of children was passed
in 1S41. 1t fixes the minimum age at
which children can be employed at eight
years-and from eight to twelve their
days work was not to exceed eight hours
from thirteen to sixteen, twelve hours.
Children under thirteen, under the terms
of the law, were not allowed to work at
night, and Sunday work was forbidden.
The law itself contained so many leaks
that it would not hold anything of the
principle involved, utterly failed of its
purpose, and became dead letter. 1t could
only be enforced in workshops containing
more than twenty artiZans, leaving out
side of its pale the places where the hard
est work was. The penalty was not laid
on the parent, but the employer, and no
inspectors were appointed to see that the
law was enforced, this duty beingimposed
upon other officers of the Government
without additional salaries.
Military statistics throw some light up
on the effect of the law and the extent to
which France has suffered from want of
an operative regulation. In securing TO-,
600 conscripts fit for duty in ten agricul-
tural districts, there were 1923 rejected
on account of physical incapacity, while
in obtaining the same number for the in
dustrial departments $3.50 were rejected
as incapable of performing military duty.
In other districts where manufacturing is
almost the exclusive business, Ia, 451 were
rejected before 10000 able bodied young
men were obtained. In all France in one
year, out of 1875 900 youths who appeared
for examination, 109,O 600 were rejected
for feebleness of constitution, deficient
height, or other defects. So much for
the boys. Doubtless the girls are equally
weak and stunted by overwork. The
moral nature must also suffer from such
physical defects.
At present in France, children of nine
years VI aye are " WOIh lWclSc
hours day, without hindrance, while
there are many instances where children
of from four to eight years are kept at
work fourteen hours out of the twenty
four.
In views of these facts the French as
sembly has in the midst of its military
and financial questions taken up the sub
ject of overworked children, and gone to
work in the right spirit to pass law for
their protection.
They could learn good lesson from
their German neighbors. The law of the
old North German Confederation, passed
in 1869, forblds the employment of chill
dren under twelve years of age in work
shops, while the maximum hours of labor
are six until the child is fourteen years
old, and ten until sixteen. In Austria,
Sweden and Switzerland the age of ad
mission to certain branches of industry
is put at thirteen years. In England the
law is still more strict and vigorously en-
forced. We might go into many of our
own workshops and find innumerable in
stances of such cruelty to children and
just outside the door probably could see
a member of the society for the proven
ton of cruelty to dumb animals arrest
and take off to prison a man on charge of
overlooking his brute.-4Niss0u7t Rep,tbti