Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-02


agitation and watchfulness upon the part
of the trades unionists and labor organiza-
tons to accomplish this feat Some or
these laws are enforced. but usually they
are passed over with softly worded excuses
for their non-enforcement.
1T appears to me that laws are barren
and inefficient aids to human progress
when the spirit of man is overrun with in
Satiable greed for power and conquest ac-
quired by the sweat of these infantile
brows. so that manhood which respects the
lives and environment of fellow creatures
! Is more needed than unenforced laws.
Take our sister state, Pennsylvania, with
its laws and Its officers to enforce them
how recreant to their trusts have they
proved! Recently I came in contact with
large numbers of these little children in the
mining regions Of that state. and while the
law Is supposed to protect children within
the legal limitation of thirteen years of
age in the mills and factories, numerous in
fants were to be found who were as young
as ten years toiling both by day and night
in 1nsanitary surroundings. Little girls at
the age of twelve were paid from 81 80 to
$40 per week, receiving this miserable pit
lance at the end of two weeks. What sort
OF mothers will these conditions bring
forth? They are being starved bodily men,
tally and spiritually. The capitalistic and
mercenary spirit of commercialized America
Is responsible for this horrible outrage-and
| 1t must be held up to the scorn Of all men,
| Its growth has been stealthy, and so skill
| fully has it been fastened upon our indus
trial system that 1T will take an avalanche
of indignant protests and many horrible ex-
amples will have to be brought to the pub
| lie notice before that tickle jade, public
| opinion will see that these deadly germs
! are forever destroyed. l say that society
owes an education to these children, and
| they must have 1t; the self-preservation Of
| the human race demands It'll
We must have uniform labor laws In all
| of the industrial states.
| Sixteen years should be the minimum
| age for factory life
| The factory inspectors should be capable
! and efficient men who will enforce the laws.
Inc practical politicians must be eliminated
| from factory inspection.
| we must support the American Fedora
ton of Labor in it's humane efforts to free
these little slaves. That is our duty as men
| and as trade unionists.'
Along this line Henry George, jr.. writes
| in part as follows:
| when 1t becomes subject of serious
depate-indeed, of protracted and stubborn
| be suffered to toll in body-stunting, soul
killing factories. the United States of
america has come to an ominous stage in
| Its existence.
| That any body of citizens finds nee
| esslty today to engage in heated agita-
| ton against child labor in the south;
and that labor the labor Of white children,
gives proof that the great and bloody war
| of thirty years ago did not settle the whole
question of slavery, but that there exists
| in the south an industrial bondage that in
HldIly respects Is IdT worse than that state
| of things when black flesh was treated as
| understandable property and sedulously
protected as such.
These southern parents are made Of
the same kind of flesh and blood as we
| ourselves, whose heartstrings tighten and
| whose blood courses hot as we hear these
| stories of children in the tread-mill of la
| Dor. True the grind of hard monotonous
| toll, month in and month out, year in and
| year out. may have dulled those eyes and
| ears a little. as one can to some degree
get accustomed to suffering. But this is
| certain, that those parents, as a mass,
| would lift their children out of the slough
| of poverty and despair in which they them
selves are struggling, If they could.
| But what can we do: we who are free
to take up their cause? For one thing, we
| can stop this mill and factory slavery of
| the Dab1es. The man or woman who dares
assert that the labor Of these little ones is
necessary to our civilization blasphemes
| If such thing were necessary to advance
| ing civilization, then the Maker of the
world. the orderer Of civilization. would
be devil. and not a benevolent creator
| and all-father.
! The current Issue Of the American FEEDER
ationist. the official journal of the American
| Federation Of Labor. contains the text Of
child labor laws enacted recently In several
states. Under the heading Of Oregon" the
| following appears:
Section 1. No child under fourteen years
! of age shall be employed in any factory,
| SlOIc, WOTASLOp, III ABOUT any NINE, or
| in the telegraph. telephone or public mes
senger service
| Section 9. No such child shall be employed
| in any work or form for wages or other
compensation. to whomsoever payable. dur
! ing the hours when the public schools Of
| the towns district or city in which he or
she resides are in session.
! Section 8. No child under sixteen years
of age shall be employed at any work be-
| fore the hour of in the morning or after
| the hour of Z at night, nor employed for
| longer than ten hours for any one day, nor
more than six days in any one week. And
every such child under sixteen years Of
age shall be entitled to no less than thirty
minutes for meal time at noon but such
meal time shall not be included as part Of
| the work hours of the day; and every en-
ployer shall post in conspicuous place
where such minors are employed printed
| notice stating the maximum work hours
required in one week and in every day OF
the week from such minors.
Section q. No person shall employ any
minor under sixteen years of age and no
parent, guardian or custodian shall permit
| to be employed any such minor under his
control who cannot read at sight and write
tegibly sentences in the English language
while a school is main aimed in the town
or city in which such minor resides.
| Section 5. 1t shall be the duty of every
person or corporation employing child I'M
der the age of sixteen years to keep a reg
lister, in which shall be recorded the name
i
every child under the age Of sixteen years
employed; and 1t shall be unlawful for any
person or corporation to employ any child
under the age of sixteen years unless there
| is first provided and placed on file in the
factory, store, workshop or mine in which
| such child Is employed an affidavit made
by the parent stating the name, date ana
place of birth and place of the school at
tended by such child. The register and
affidavit herein provided for shall, on de-
| mahd, be produced and shown for inspec-
ton to whomsoever the enforcement of tue
labor law Of this state may be delegated.
The person or persons to whom the enforce
| ment of the labor laws of this state may be
delegated shall have the power to demand
a certificate of physical fitness from some
regularly licensed physician in the case IF
child under sixteen who may seem phys
ically unable to perform the labor at which
such child may be employed, and no child
under sixteen shall be employed who cam
not obtain such certificate.
Section 6. Any person corporation who
shall employ a minor contrary to the pro-
visions of this act. or who shall violate
any of the provisions thereof. SHALL upon
conviction, be fined in the sum of not less
than SO nor more than S25 for the first
offense, not less than S25 nor more than $50
for the second offense. and be imprisoned
for not less than ten nor more than thirty
days for the third and each cceed:ng
offense.