The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-01-31
CHILD LABOR LAW
Of State of Georgia Declared
a dead Letter.
OPINION OF BEVERIDGE
In Senate Speech, lndianian Makes As
sertion, and is Promptly chal-
lenaed by Bacon, Carmack
and 7iIiRan.

ana iiitldT.
1.-The child labor law Of Georgia Is
dead letter. There is no system
of mill inspection provided, and no
means of enforcing it," said Senator
Beveridge, in his discussion OF child.
labor in the senate Monday When ne
began TO pay attention to conditions
in Georgia and other southern statess
the southern senators began to be
heard from. Among them were Sena-
tors Bacon of Georgia, Carmack OF
Tennessee and Tinman Of South Car
| clina.
Senator Bacon asked that the child
labor act, passed by the Georgia Leg
islature, be admitted in the published
report of Senator Bereridge's speech,
in connection with his remarks dealing
| with Georgia. This the senator from
Indiana declined to allow done, and S
the senator from Georgia gave notice
that, at the conclusion of Senator Bev-a
erdige's remarks, he would ask the at
tention OF the senate long enough to
call attention to the Georgia child La
Dor act approved August /, 1906, III !
order that it might go in the record
immediately following the Beveridge
address.
Senator Beveridge declared that 4
| since this law went into effect, on s
January l, forhdding children be-
tween 10 and IL years of age being
employed in mills, unless they were
| orphans Or. children of INDECENT pa
/ rents, more than 1900 applications for
permission 70 work children in the
mills OF Fulton county had been re-s
ceiyed by Ordinary John r. WiIktn-
son of that county.
How many have been granted e"
| asked Mr. Bacon. 3
All of them
Mr. Bacon then explained that the
law prohibited children '1nder twelve
years of age from working after jan
uary 1, 1867, 80
Yes" responded Mr.. Beyeridge,
but there is not an inspector in
the state, and no means Of enforcing
that provision. What good is a meas
ure of that kind!' :; rs 4,
Senator Bacon haG made the point
that the specific instances cited by
Senator Beveridge were isolated cases.
and not indicative OF conditions gen-fi
orally prevailing. In reply the adVo-
cate of national child labor law bill
said that the fling of applications af- /
fecting 5000 children in one county,
was not cT;Gence sustaining the
scarcity claims of such cases.
Senator Bacon made clear the point
that he was heartily in favor OF rea-s
sonable regulation of child labor, aad
said that his objection to the Beyer-
idge national child labor law was
based upon the ground that it con-
fiicted with state authority.
+ So far as the evils of child labor
were concerned, Senator Bacon adj
mitted that there was probably great
deal of force in the arguments pre-
sented, but that Georgia was in th&
way to correct it, and that condi-
tions would improve siEce the pass
age of the state child labor law. He
thought state legislative action the
only way to deal with the question.
Mr.: Reveridge stated that three
fourths Of the cotton factories OF the
south were opposing the bill; that the;
railroads of the south We're opposing
it, and that the coal mine operators
OF the south were opposing It, lIe
presented an illustrative map showing
tie location of the opposing indus
tries, and said that in anticipation OF
this weighty opposition he should de,
vote the major portion of his speech
10 setting forth, evidence Of the de-
plorable conditions lie had pictured.
This evidence, he said, was al! sworn
to and in the form of afidavits.
i