Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-26
GROWTH IS SHOWN
In Enrolment of Children at
Rock Island Public
Schools.
ADDITIONAL ROOM Is PROVIDED
Compulsory Education and Child
Labor Law to be
Enforced.

The city schools completed the sec
ond week of the fall term yesterday
with a total enrolment of 5000. This
attendance is distributed as follows:
Hawthorne school, 607; Washington,
1856; Kemble, 22S; Lincoln, SIC; Eugene
Field, 295; Irving, 343; Longfellow.
| 1856; Horace Mann, 306; Grant, 147;
total of 2.9SS in the graded schools,
which, with 321. the present enroll
ment in the high school, makes the
aggregate enrolment 3.3O9. This re
port is somewhat in excess of the
number enrolled at the close of the
second week last year, and shows
steady, healthy growth in our city
| schools.
At the Lincoln school it has been
| found necessary to reopen the room
which was vacated at the time that
the high school used a portion of this
building. The Lincoln is now running
with its full number of IA teachers.
| The enrolment at the Horace Mann
school has made it possible to open
an eighth grade room, so that now
the people on the bluff have a full
| school of eight grades available to
them. of which assurance was given
them by the board at the time of their
petition last winter.
The class of deaf children at the
Irving school has recognized with
seven pupils, the same number as
last year.
Superintendent Hayden reports
that the work of reorganization in
the various school rooms of the city
has been accomplished with unusual
promptness and that the work of in
struction has been taken up effective
| ly by the teachers from the very
start.
Enforcing Child Labor Law.
The school attendance. so far as
can be seen at present, has not been
| affected by either the compulsory ed
ucation law or the new child labor
| law. The truant officer has. however,
| located quite a number of children
under the prescribed age who are not
yet in school. The compulsory edu-
cation law. as passed last winter. re-
| quires that every person having con
troll of any child between the ages of
| : and IA years shall cause such child
school for the entire time during
which the school is in session. EXcep-
ton is made in regard to children
whose physical or mental condition
renders their school attendance inn
| pra ctical and prescribes a penalty
upon the parent of from s. to $40 and
| costs for neglect to comply with the
| law or for making a false statement
! concerning the age of a child in order
| to evade the law. In compliance with
| this statute, report will be made to
the board of education at their next
meeting Of children in the district not
attending school
Superiutc ndeut Hayden has recently
received from Edgar T. Davies. the
chief factory inspector at Chicago. Il
| letter stating that deputy factory
inspector would be sent to Rock ISL
and in the near future to look through
the various places of employment in
| the city to determine whether chill
drcn under Is who are working are
properly supplied with age and school
| certificates. In a circular accompany
| ing his letter, Mr.. Davies gives a di-
geSt of the law. No child under II
| wears of age shall work for wages.
| No child between II and 16 years of
age shall be employed or permitted
to work unless there is first placed
on file with the employer an age and
school certificate issued by the school
authorities to the child on statements
made under oath by the parent. En-
pIoyers are required to keep a regis
ter of all children in their employ I'M
der 16 years of age.
Requirements of Law.
The presence of any child in an es-
tablishment constitutes prima facic
evidence of his or her employment
therein. Every employer is required
to keep posted on the wall of each
room in which minors are employed
a time table containing the names OF
children under 10 years of age en-
| ployed in that room, their ages and
places of residence and the hours EN-
| ployed. together with time allowed for
meals. These several records must be
kept on file for all children hired on
or after July 1, 1908. The statute pro
vides a penalty upon the parent who
| allows his child to work in violation
of the statute and upon the employer
who permits the child in his estab-
lishment without the proper certifi-
| cate. All the necessary blanks are
now on file at the office of Superin-
tendent Hayden in the high school
building. and special communication
has been expressed by the state fac
| tory inspector at the complete system