Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-28
State Labor Commissioner Brig
ham Lays Emphasis on Cor
rect Age Statistics
SWEAR TO AGE BEFORE NOTARY
Brigham Believes One Of Principal
Needs in the Way Of Legislation is
to Require Of Parents, Certificates
Showing That This Has Been Done -
News From the Capitol.
to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
| Des Moines, March 2S.-While in
Dubuque last week State Labor Com
missioner E. D. Brigham found that
| the people there We're very much IN
| terested in the movement to get a
childs labor law in Iowa. The presl-
| dent of the woman's federation of that
| city called upon Mr.. Brigham at the
hotel. and secured from his a vast
amount Of information and statistics
bearing on the question. Mr.. Brigham
| has found this same condition to pre-
vail in other sections of the state and
| the laboring men and the State FEEDER
| alton of Labor are also taking great
| er interest in the movement. Mr.. Brig
| ham proposes to spend great deal OF
effort from this on in bringing to the
attention of the people of the state the
true condition as to child labor in the
| factories Of the state. One Of the prin-
cipal needs in the way of legislation
Mr.. Brigham believes. is the need of a
law giving authority to require OF
parents certificates sworn to before a
notary as to the age of the child. He
finds that in many places the efchildren
give the age as 16 when he knows they
are under that. If the parents are ask
ed they too will state that the child is
over Is, but when asked to- go to a
notary and take an oath as to the
age Of the child, 1t is different mat
| ter. In the last report of the labor
commissioner there was Incorporated
bulletin by Professor Frank Herriott
upon vital statistics. Mr.. Brigham
believes that If the vital statistics of
the state were taken with greater care
and accuracy this would very mater
Tally assist in arriving at the age Of
the child in manner concerning
which there could be no question. He
proposes to lay some emphasis on this
in the agitation for a child labor law.
Adjutant General w. II. Thrift pro-
poses to put the target practice work
of the guard on plane where there
will be some competition and will
seek to adopt scheme whereby entf1u-
siasm will be aroused in that branch
of the service. General Thrift as has
been stated, is warm advocate of
target practice work. He says 1t is
we'll enough to have we'll trained troops
for dress parade, but when 1T comes
to war, if it ever does come to war, the
best soldier is the one that can shoot
straight. In a general way General
Thrift has determined to; put the issu-
| ing of ammunition on a1competit1ve
basis. The companies that do the best
target practice will get the most am
munition. The companies that do not
use their ammunition and make a good
showing will get little. In this way he
hopes to. get the guard on the anxious
seat.
It is one of General Thrift's ideas
that the adjutants office should not
do all the work in the guard and leave
none for the other officers to do. For
this reason he will leave the detail
work of issuing the ammunition to the
inspector general of small arms prac-
tice. In like manner the various reg
iments when they are summoned to
camp at Camp Crocker, will receive
very brief orders. General order No.
S, issued last Friday, gives nothing
but the date for each company and the
place for the encampment and length
of the time for each company to stay
in camp. He proposes not to usurp
the work of the colonels and these Of
ficials will be allowed to show their
ability to get their regiments in camp
in proper shape. That will be one of
the tests of the efficiency OF the COL
onels in fact. They will furthermore
work out their own programs while in
camp.
In this respect Iowa's guard is far
ahead of that Of some states of the
union. Ohio, for instance, has all the
regimental officers appointed on the
recommendation of the colonel who
| names his family physician or some
close friends for surgeon without re-
gard to his military ability. Iowa's
guard is organized with these DEPART
ments divorced from the regiment. The
regimental inspectors of small arms
practice are under the inspector gen
eral of that department and appointed
on his recommendation. They can be
detailed with one regiment one year
and with another regiment the next
year. This same plan follows thru the
entire guard.
| The Anamosa Prison Press thinks
| that the $500 diamond robbery IN
Anamosa the other day was the first
occasion where so many suspects We're
| in towr and all able to prove alibis
An item Of interest in the last issue
| is the fact that the hogs at the Ana
mosa penitentiary besides taking care
of the penitentiary and supplying meat
and lard have supplied 1000 pounds to
the soldiers orphans home at Daven-
port
Since the inauguration of the new
rule under which the supreme court
divides the work Of the terms into per-
iods with breathing spell in between.
the court has practically caught up on
itself and hereafter cases submitted at