Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-25
STATE HOUSE.
Inspector Atwood on Child
Laborand TruancyP Problems.
The Years Catch Of Lobsters and the
Pack Of Sardines.
A Total Of 1894 Licenses Sold to Non.
Resident Hunters.

The annual report of the Hon.
Charles b. Atwood of Biddeford, State
inspector of factories, workshops,
mines and quarries, has been submit
TED. The report is an interesting one
and says in part as follows:
Inc question of child labor leads all
the rest. Fourteen states have enact
ed child labor laws, but in not one of
them has the climax of success vet
been reached. At the annual meetings
OF the international Association of
FACTORY inspectors the question of
cnlld labor has yearly been the burn
ing issue. The wisest labor men agree
as TO the proper age limit for children,
out the point in which most State la
Dor laws fail is the method of ascon.
tanning the child's age in every case.
1t is here that the law is evaded and
rendered of little effect by self-inter-
ested mill owners and crafty parents.
more largely by the latter.
Marked changes for the better of
the department have been broug
about solely by agreement between the
only two parties thereto, the manufac-
turer and the inspector; but in the
question of child labor there appears n
thlrd factor, the parent. AS I study
this problem in the light of experience,
am more than ever convinced that
| this whole veXed question could be set
led easily and settled right if it could
De lett to the factory owner and the in
spector, minus the parent
On its face our State law as to OBJ
! Gaining the age of the child laborer
seems fairly good one and it is if
parents and mill owners will be hon.
ISL. our law requires the mill over
seer to keep on file a certificate of the
chllds age, place of birth and school
attendance, to be signed by a member
II the school committee, or whoever
he may authorize to sign. Owing to
ne disposition of greedy parents to
alsify these certificates they may and
often do become of very little value.
Inc certificate that would carry
weight, and the only one fit to bank
upon in these cases would be certified
'opy of the official record of the child's
birth and place of residence. Until
our law requires such a record the in
Spector has no definite data to rely
upon in the prevention of employment
Of illegal child labor.
And yet in face of these difficulties.
the number of children in our Maine
factories has been less during 1903 than
II any other time in recent years. OF
the more than $4,000 wage-e arners in
our State, only 5S5 children under 1G
nave been constantly employed, which
| is very small labor contingent. with
| the nl1rh nnalnJ la Fl,
| fled copies of the official records of
births, the number of child workers
would be reduced to the minimum
! But the child labor question in
| Maine is quite insignificant when COM
pared with the child non-la Dor or tru-
! mt question. In this State there are
| 100000 children between the ages of
| i've ana 81 years 10000 of which do
not attend school, and this in the face
If the most strenuous compulsory
| school law that could well be framed.
| with general State Superentend-
ent of Schools, 1900 experimenting
school committeeman and 500 truant
| officers. 1000 sworn officials in all, be-
hind an up-to-date compulsory school
law, to which may be added a contin-
| gent of $500 teachers, who are or who
| should be personally interested in it's
| success, surely we have in this State
| m educational force Of ample proper
| tons and power to make Maine n mod
| Il of intelligence and good morals. But
| the lamentablc truth is that our COM
pusory school law is so slackly en-
forced that today it is practically a
dead letter upon the statute book. In
| ot- a W., sod Fa pt hnf IN
day there are 10000 Maine children out
of school. in further evidence we have
| the still sadder fact that our petty
| criminals are today made up largely of
| boys who are allowed to loaf around
street corners and back alleys during
school time. A study of the municipal
court records of the State will confirm
this. Is there no remedy for this de-
moralizing tendency of things?
"WhiIe / am not ambitious for a more
complicated line of official duties than
| now have. I may be allowed to make
Ia suggestion which certainly would
not hinder but would, as l believe ma
tcrially helpsin bringing in better
condition of things. First make the
compulsory shool law and the labor
law Identical is to the age limit. Then
turn the enforcement of the school
llaw ever to the inspector of factories.
with a CORPS of assistants, with au-
thority to serh idle boys to the COM
mon school, tothe work-shop or to the
State School f,r Boys. This would be
practicable andlbusiness-like.
Or what might be more effective, APP
point a State traant officer, to have i'm
mediate contros of all truant officers,
with all the power necessary to reduce
the non-schooIping surplus to proper
proportions.
The crying reed Of the hour is that
it shall be mae so unhealthy in the
streets of our ities and villages, by
somebody, for lille boys from II to 16
; years of age, thst they will henceforth
, pc found in theschoolroom every day
in the week during school hours. 1t is
a simple proposition, entirely prac
5 and if promptly sccepted could not fail
to accomplish beneficial results. These
l suggestions call q course for a radical
amendment of our compulsory school
law. AS it STANDS its teeth lose their
L edpo for +bo ro, s,il that it now seems