New-York tribune., 1907-01-22
FOR CHILD WORKERS.
Labor Societies Working for Bill
PrOriding Eight-HOur Dag.

The Church Association for the Advancement Of
The Interests OF Labor, OF which Bishop Potter is
president, is cooperating with the State Fedora
ton Of Labor in effort TO get eight-hour law
for children through the present Legislature. In
der the existing law children may be employed for
nine hours a day. while strong men-freestone cut
tiers, marble carvers. carpenters ornamental plas-
tereTs ana brickay yerS-work only eight hours.
Moreover, the law permits the children to work
their nine hours tor rather. be worked for that
period between o'clock in the morning and at
night. This makes the law almost non-enforceable
the inspectors say, because they cannot tell at
what hour the children began work. and hence
cannot know whether they are working more than
tho legal number OF hours or not Many OF the
factories in New York begin work at 640 o'clock
Ia the morning. and operators must be at their
machines i've minutes before the power is turned
and some Of the children live at least hours
ride from rle dacrOry The DropOsed measure If
Il becomes law, win forbid the employment Of chill
cioek 9e9T i6 fe az eI1e1 IN 'ie morning
The bill was introduced on the first day of the
present session Of the Legislature by Senator Al.
fred r. Page, of the 18th District. and the fact
tor children in MS message IS regarded as most
encouraging oTnen Nevertheless a bitter struggle
The nannfaoturers are going to say. in the first
place. that they don't need the children; said one
OF tho members CT the Church Association for the
Advancement OF the Interests Of Labor, They will
cause the mothers beg them TO do SO, and they VIII
oouldn't hurt any one IN give you Some examples
Of this light work, all cases that have come up in
IN one case that came up last summer the in
spector, Miss Ely L. Foster testified that she found
lighted and badly ventilated rooms. The irons
which weighed from five pounds, had 10
be carried twenty feet TO the pressing table ana ana
.imsy holders did afford sufc mt protection to
their hands Under these conditions child OF
thirteen pressed twelve gross OF dresses IN day.
and some OF them did as many as eighteen gross.
The children stood so close together at the press
burned by frequent contact with the iron Of the
adjoining worker. They worked ten hours day
and earned about 50 so a week
INJURIOUS TO THE EYES.
Then there was the case OF buttonhole marking
which came up in Jefferson Market Police Court
week or so ego. The defendant was large manu-
brought out the fact that children sat all day long
simply marking buttOnholes. This is light work
certainly in one sense Of the word but consider
eyes ana nerves To- sit all day and mark button
holes Surely eight hours is long enough for
cnilc 10 be employed al such work.
"A similar case is that Of boy who sat ten hours
q day IN & small eiosetlike room lighted by gas,
with a stick in his hand. watching a stream Of
70 guide the cloth II It showed tendency 70 go 20
the employers had 10 do Il themselves they might
think that they had enough Of Il after eight hours
The embroidered patriotic enblems that We see on
chidrens dresses sn seem 10 me 10 be coloTed
with the blood Of the children who have threaded
broidery machines are threaded mechanically, but
many OF them have 70 be threaded by hand. This
work Is done by children. who thread many as
suenty-fve hundred needles day. Now, cam
brio needle is dif1cut 10 pick UP and difficult to
thread can any one imagine that IT IS easy 70
roouns that not any too well lghted2 II Is ter
Eibly exhausting and is death TO the eyesighL Yet
The needle threaders earn about SO a week and are
fined II there are knots in the thread.