The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1907-05-07
REPORT ON CHILD LABOR
Over a Million Children
Breadwlnners I'm 1000.
LEGAL RESTRICTIONS.
OF the Total t,O54,448 Were Em-
ployed on the Farm-tn 20,4o2
Families 8n,7 Per Gent. Of the
Breadwinners Under 15-Familios
Dependent on Child Labor.

Dependent on Child Labor.
A recent Bulletin published by the
Census Bureau In regard to child la
Dor says that according to the census
of 1900 there we're 1,760,17S chill
dren 10 tolls years of age employed
In various occupations In the United
States. OF the total, 1,054, ,446 were
employed on the farm, and most of
these children we're members OF the
farmers families.
Next in Importance to agricultural
laborers comes domestic service, or
the occupations of servants and
walters or mattresses In which 1885,
065 children were employed, most
Of them being girls. The children
returned as laborers. the kind OF
labor not being SO specified as to ad-
NIT OF any more exact classification.
make up the next largest group. the
number OF these children being 12S,-
GIT, OF whom all but 1909 were
boys. Most Of them are children
living in cities or suburban COM
munities.
The extent OF the evils Of child
labor, the bulletin says, depends
partly upon the age OF the child and
partly upon the character of the oo-
cupation in which the child is en-
ployed. About one-third of the chill
dren employed In gaiuful occupa-
tions were 10 years Of age, and more
than one-half were Ia or Is years.
The number under II was 790,023,
or 45.2 per cent. OF the total.
OF the total number OF child
breadwinners 10 to IL years Of age
1872 per cent were boys and 27S per
cent. girls.
In most States the employment OF
young children Is more or less re-
stricted by laws limiting or prohibit
ing child labor and requiring school
attendance But there nre few legal
restrictions applicable 70 children
who are over IA years OF age. BY
the time the children reach the age
OF 10 years 50.6 per cent. or one-half
of the boys and 21.4 per cent. or
more than one-hfth of the girls have
become workers.
The percentage Of breadwluuers
among negro children In a compari-
son covering the entire Ulited States
Is much higher than that for any
class OF white children. But the
percentage of negro children em-
ployed In pursuits not connected
with agriculture is comparatively
small.
The cotton mills furnish employ
ment to children to greater extent
than any other manufacturing or
mechanical industry. In 1900 the
number OF cotton mill o! eratlyes 10
TO 10 years OF age was i4,i27, and
they formed lS per cent. of the total
number OF persons more than 10
years of age In that occupation.
or tho 1892 messengers and
errand and Office boys in the United
States in 1900, so per cent. were
district and telegraph messengers
and errand boys. 23.3Ier cent were
office boys, and 14.7 per cent were
bundle and cash boys or Girls. Nine
tenths OF the children employed in
such service are boys. Chlldren OF
foreign birth or parentage make up
the bulk OF the messengers ana err
rand and once boys.
The total number of families with
children employed In gainful occu-
pations for which statistics we're
specially compiled was 20,462. This
number is less than the total number
of child breadwinners, because OF the
cases In which two or moro OF these
child breadwinners were living In the
Same family. The total number OF
persons, or total population, living
in these2G.+b2 families was iSS.sos.
At the other extreme there were
284 families with no dependents. all
the older members, as we'll az the
children being breadwinners. OF
these families rs had only 1 older
bread winner, while 81 had Q. and
the others mad 8 or more. 20 having
not less than each. In such fami-
lies child labor would appear to be
entirely unnecessary.
In the families with child bread
winners schooling rarely extends be-
yond the age Of IS. OF the children
IL years of age s7.& per cent, were
employed and only 1.6 per cent. were
at school. The percentage OF school
children Is a little higher In the aext
older years. II is evident that a
considerable number Of the families
that had children 10 TO IL years OF
age at work had older children at
landing sahanI