Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-05-24
Pearl Button Manufacturers Of
Muscatine Learn This By
Experience
AND PARENTS FINED
Factory Owner. Waited Until After
the Legal Inspection, Then Dis
charged Old Employees and Put On
Children at Reduced salariss-6ut-
ton Factories tho Worst violators.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Special to Tlmes-Republican.
Des Moines, May 24.-That the child
labor law is capable of enforcement
was ascertained by the pearl button
manufacturers Of Muscatine Four or
them We're fined in court there FOR
violating the law and three parents
were each fined 81 for their assist
ance in the violation and for allowing
their children to work In the factories
and making false returns as to the
childrens ages.
Recently when the factory inspector
inspected the pearl button factories
of Muscatine everything was foYnd
to be all right. The young women
employed in the factory were all over
16 years of age and were drawing from
SIS to IS a week. AS soon as the fac
tory Inspector left these were all dis
charged and little slips Of girls Of 10
to IL years hired at $3.50 a week. Some
Of the parents conspired with the
factory owners. The matter was
L. D. Brigham and the very next day
when least expected the factory In
spectors were back to Muscatine and
four of the factories were caught red
handed.
Quite uniformly the factories Of
Iowa have been cooperating with
the state labor commissioner and have
shown a desire to Hive up to the pro-
visions of the law Button factories
along the Mississippi river are the
worst violators Of the law. The law
prohibits the employment, of children
under IA Years of age and prohibits
the employment of children under 16
years of age at dangerous machinery
That the machinery in the button fac
tories Is dangerous is evidenced by
the fact that young women and girls
with finger or thumb off are to be-
found frequently in button factory
towns.
The work Of cutting out the blanks
Is the work of men, for it Is diff
cult. The sorting is done by children
and machines are used for the purpose
of punching the holes for the threads
and for trimming and polishing the
buttons In operating the machines
for punching the holes children, If en-
ployed, are liable to look about the
room and get their fingers in the ma
chimes instead Of the buttons. and the
result is an amputated finger
The child labor law is past the stage
Of experiment and it Is assumed now
that all factory owners are thoroughly
familiar with its provisions. Hence
there may not be shown the leniency
in the future that was shown IN the
phst when the law was new and the
operators unfamiliar with its provis-
ions.
The Iowa osteopathic association
concluded its ninth annual convention
at the Chamberlain yesterday after
noon with the election Of the following
officers:
PRESIDENT. R. Bullard. Marshall
town.
First vice presidents. S. Still. Des
Moines.
Second vice president-U. s.. Parish,
Storm Lake.
secretary-T. B. Larrabee. Anita
Treasurer. o. Thompson, Red
Oak.
= Trustees-s. B. Miller, Cedar Rap.
ids;s Roy Dysart, Webster City; A. G.
Brown. Council Bluffs; S. /. Wyland,
Charlton.
The committee appointed Wednesday
night to consider the plan Of dividing
the state into eight districts reported
favorably yesterday. The districts will
correspond with the health districts OF
the state, and a local association VIII
be formed in each one.
The retiring president, DR.. U. an:
Hibbitts Of Grinnell. delivered his an
nual address at the morning session,
and papers were read by DR.. IS. /. Wy
land of Charlton, Dr.. S. B. Miller OF
Cedar Rapids, DR.. S. s. Still Of Des
Moines, and DR.. T. j. Ruddy OF Des
Moines. Dr. j. S. Baughman of Bur-
lington, DR.. j. R. Billiard Of Marshall
town and DR.. ]. S. Maddux Of Fair
field led the discussions.
The feature Of the afternoon was a
round table discussion. Different tech
nicaE topics were Informally discussed
by the delegates. DR.. George G. Farm
er of Oskaloosa also read q paper In
the afternoon on "Incipient Tubercu-
losis" and DR.. S. H. Runyon Of Cres-
ton. led the discussion which followed.
The meeting was considered the best
ever held by the association. 1t will
meet in Des Moines again next year.