Arizona republican., 1910-11-19

The labor delegates in the consti- tutional convention felt last night that something had been handed to them by their friends whom they mad so readily assisted in getting re form" measures through.
 half dozen or more propositions which had been reported by the labor committee the day before were con sidered yesterday afternoon in the committee of the whole. Some of these measures were of an innOcuous character; that is, they were such measures as even the special inter ests'' would not vigorously oppose.
 But when a bill which appeared to be slightly radical was brought up, the democratic members were pro fuse in their protestations of sym pathy with it but for one reason or another it was not quite in form and efforts were made to shunt it into a committee.
 Child Labor Bill.
 That was especially the case with the Keegan child labor proposition. This provided that the legislature should enact a law prohibiting the employment of any minor under fif- teen years of age in mines, mills, factories of manufacturing plants.
 Everybody was in accord with the righteous purpose of the bill, but etc. one member feared that the breadth of it would result in its abuse It might be so construed as to prevent children from working in vacations or after or before school hours. If a widow was engaged in the manufacture of butter the house in which the butter was concocted might by strict construction be held to be a butter factory and therefore the poor widow would be deprived of the assistance of her offspring of tenderer years than fifteen.
 Or. it might be held that a news paper was a manufacturing plant and then the carriers would be de prived of employment.
 It was also pointed out that the minor might be without parents or friends He too would be deprived of the privilege of helping himself and under this provision he would necessarily become an object of char ity
 MT Colter pointed out also that the man was frequently made before the age of fifteen: that is, his habits were formed before that time The industrial growth of the boy would be repressed.
 It was suggested to the labor dele gates that they meant well but their scope had been broader than they had intended it o-be. If they would amend it or submit to it's amendment in few particulars their democratic brethren would be pleased to write it into the constitution
 1t Meant What It Said.
 But the labor delegates informed their friends that they had not gone off at half cock in the matter of this bill. It needed no amendment It meant just what it said and precisely what they wanted it to mean. They wanted an utter prohibition of em- ployment of children under the age of fifteen and MT. Connolly, now that his attention was called to the need of amendment proposed to amend it by including in the prohibited em ployments every calling of which he could think. His heart had bled, now that he recalled his sufferings at the sight of young girls who were acting as waitresses in hash foundries
 MT. Sims tried to have railroads and telegraph lines included. MT. Cunniff assisted in lengthening the prescribed industrial list and some member was about to make a bid for juvenile gratitude by prohibiting the carrying in of wood by a youth under the age of fifteen when Mir. Short said he would consent to an amendment prohibiting a boy of the impressionable age of fifteen years or younger, from carrying the Arizona Democrat.
 Mir. Feeney taunted his democratic allies with duplicity; with pretending to favor the measure while looking for excuses for not supporting it. The labor delegates insisted that on all votes the roll should be called and there were two labor representatives in the gallery making record of all votes to be used in future cam paigns.
 Finally MT Winsor offered an amendment amounting to a substi tute, the Oklahoma provision, pro- hibiting the employment of children under fifteen years in hazardous or unwholesome occupations or in Occu patiOns not conducive to good morals and recommending that this be re- feTred back to the committee on labor.