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

| NiooOl, I,IIo,OUU. All tHcSc HStIeS are
much less than at the present time.
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and New Jersey
have laws appointing inspectors as to
age, and as to the employment being
dangerous to life, limb or health, and in
New Jersey, in October, 1904, about 400
children under legal age, were dicharged
as the result of proper inspection. Nine
| ty-One per cent of children under six
| teen employed in factories in the entire
south, are in four states, being the
| two Carolinas, Alabama and Georgia
Of $4,000 illiterate children in the
United States, 100000 are in the south
ern states, where truancy and compul-
| sorry education laws are few and lax
In 1908, after a long struggle, a
compromise law was passed in Alabama
prohibiting children under twelve from
working daytime in factories, and under
thirteen at night.
In all glass making states, laws pro-
hibiting children from working at night,
have been defeated by the jealousy and
lack of cooperation of the unions and
factory owners of the different states
In glass blowing, when the furnaces are
heated, the work must 60 on continu-
ously until the prepared material is all
used.
Colorado forbids child labor under
fourteen, but has no system of inspec-
ton. Iowa child labor laws are fairly
good, but the appropriation to the labor
bureau, which has charge of factory in
spection, is only $4,000 per year. On
the other hand, Kansas appropriates
$4,000 per anum to it's bureau of labor.
but has no child labor laws The last
labor commissioner of Minnesota
thought it useless to enforce the re-
strictive laws as to chi Id labor, because
they "ran counter to the law of sup
ply and demand" 1 quote this from
New York Evening Post, copied in Vol.
ume %, Current Literature, page 2l3
In 1903, the Georgia legislature de-
feated a bill for a good child labor law,
because its author was Tom Watson,
and had the support of the populist
members-a great democratic triumph.
The same session passed law provid-
ing heavy penalties for idle fathers cal
lowing their little children to support
them"
Before closing, I want to outline
good general child labor law, approved
by very high authorities, including Miss
Kelley, in Annals of American Acad-
envy:
First. All children under fourteen
years of age, and in all cases age to be
determined from records, or by careful
investigation, as in Illinois,
Second. All children under sixteen,
who do not measure sixty inches in
height or weigh less than eighty
pounds.
Third. All children under sixteen who
cannot read and write the English Ian
guage fuently.
Fourth. All children under sixteen
except between the hours of 7 a. m
and p. M, and not over eight hours
in twenty -four.
Fifth. All children under sixteen
from occupations designated as danger
Gus or unhealthful by proper inspection
boards and agents.
Number l, as before stated, is now
inforce in many states.
Number is not in force in any state,
but is advocated in many.
Number 3 is in force in New York.
Number 4 in Ohio
Number is in force in Massachusetts
and some other states
AS l have stated, many of the laws
have referred to, have been modified
or added to by recent legislation.
In such paper, with the time at my
disposal, 1 could only give general
view of this great subject. Our inves-
tlgation shows us that more and more
interest is being taken in the welfare
of the children, and more and more of
our people are coming to realize that if
our American manhood and womanhood
is to be improved or ever preserved as
at present, our children must have the
benefit of the passage and enforcement
of stringent laws looking to the pro-
lection of their bodies, the development
of their minds and the elevation of their