The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-30

be punished by a fine of not less than
$50, or by Imprisonment in the county
jail for not less than thirty days, or
by both.
Cruelty Towards Children-Every per-
son who shall torture, torment, or cruel
ly OF unlawfully punish any child under
the age of sixteen years, or shall COM
pei any such child to labor more than
ten hours iii any day in Il factory,
workshop, or mercantile or manufacture
ing business, or who shall commit any
act of cruelty toward such child, shall
be guilty of a lnisdemeanor."
Not many cases have been taken to
the courts of last resort as to the val
idity of the prohibitory laws referred
to- One reason is the fact that a ma
jority of such laws are of recent en-.
actment In cases so submitted, how
ever, the courts have almost uniformly
held such laws to be constitutional
Many of the laws referred to are not
enforced. while some are only partially
enforced. There are many reasons for
this In most states, children are by
law. required to present to their en-
ployers, certificates signed by their pa
rents, that they are of the proper stat
utory age to engage in the respective
employments. Careless, lazy and i'm
provident parents are often only too
willing to pad" the ages of their chill
dren, i'm such certificates, in order to
obtain the small income obtained from
their labor. The burden falls most
heavily, of course, upon the children of
drunken and dissolutc parents. In diff
ferent part of the United States and
England, children of ten, eleven and
twelve years of age, have been certified
by parents as being fifteen and sixteen
years of age, Many employers know
well of the falsity of these certificates
but screen themselves behind them, and
merciessly take their pound of flesh
from the wronged but helpless children
Illinois requires record evidence as to
age, when obtainable
The places and occupations where the
child labor laws are most outraged and
disregarded, are the collieries and cotton
mills, in both of which child labor can
be greatly utilized to the profit or the
employers. Both of these calings, how
ever, are very destructive to the health
of children I'm the coal mines, many
children are employed as ''trappers,"
down where daylight never comes; and
in culling stone, slate, copperas and
other foreign substances from the coal
while being screened. On account of
the hardness of this labor and the dust,
this calling has been very unhealthful.
Of late years, however, many coal COM
panies have process of sprinkling the
coal before screening. thus settling the
dust. The same trouble is found in the
cotton and lint mills.
Despite all the commendable efforts
of legislators, many children are still
employed i'll one way and another, in
and about disreputable houses, and
places where intoxicants are sold. This
is all much more destructive of morals
than the occupations before mentioned.
The pay being greater and the labor
lighter the temptation is great for chill
dren and minors generally, to drift into
these cmployments.
1t is gratifying to know that more
and more attention is being paid to this
subject. The United States government.
through the bureau of labor, is doing
much to root out the evil of child
labor. and most states are moving in