The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-10-21
European Countries Farther Ad.
vanced u in Factory Labor
Laws, Than We Are.
AGITATION STARTED IN
ENGLAND 100 YEARS AGO
Legislation for Care Of Women
and Children Is Sadly Lack .
ing in This Country.
BY Mary e. Garbptt.
+. CHAPTER T..

,l ..s. Chapter l.: \
The United States is deficient in
protective legislation as compared
with the most advanced European
countries.
Remedial agitation for the child
and the woman in the factories Of
England began to sweep over that
country in 1902. 1t was between 1915
and 1880 that We may date In this
country the establishment of women
wage earners as definite, recognized
economic factor, while that of the
child reached no large dimensions be-
fore 1870.
The wonderful developa1eht Of ma
chinery, the marvellous growth Of our
factory system as result, in a COM
lparative short time, theFenormous ia
flux of immigrants, from where the
large army of wage ktarning women
and children were constantly re-
cruited, the greed of employers for
cheap labor, and the poverty of the
incoming hordes, these have forced
these serious and menacing profile ms
upon us in an acute form before We
had any proper realization of their
enormity which helps to explain our
hardness in graphing with them as
promptly or as efficiently as might
have been done had our manufactur-
ing development been slower.
Labor Legislation Enecting Children.
According to the census of 1900, we
have. nearly 100000 children under
the age of 16 who are wage earners.
In some of the industries,.. as the tex
tile factories of the south, the rate of
increase in child labor is in excess
of that of adults. From 187Q-1880
the number of men increased 81 per
cent; number Of women n per cent:
number of children 140 per cent.
From 1S90-1S90 number of men 21
per cent; number of women 269 per
cent; number of children 1O6 per
cent. From 1890-190O the number aof
men increased 79 per cent; number
of women 1853 per cent; number of
children 27O per cent. Thus we see
ing the last decade in the southern
textile mills is more than so per cent
in excess of total increase in adult
labor.
In North Carolina, according to Of
f!cial report, out Of 10000 textile
workers, 5000, or one fifth are
children under IA years of age; in
Alabama the number of workers en-
ployed is estimated at $4,000 with 81
per cent of them under - yeasr Of
age; and 10 per cent under, 10 years
These children work IL hours day
and tie Oldest get so cents and the
youngest get 9 cents. =
We need not take moment Of time
to depict the financial loss to the
state and the nation which accrues
through exhaustion of the labor pow
e1 of these children long before they
have reached maturity; one should
not, even in this material age be JUS
titled in considering this evil, from
its pecuniary side. But when we stop
for; a moment to consider how capital
ism squeezes the life blood out of the
child of tender years and throws it
remorsely upon the scrap heap, when
we realize that this vast army Of boys
and girls with a right to Joyous
care-free life, are simply cogs in the
wheels of commercialism, it seems as
If we should resort to methods more
drastic. than remedial agencies to
wipe the whole accursed thing out Of
existence. The day is not far distant
when this will be done. In the mean
time, we are interested in every step
that is taken to curb this slaughter
of the Innocent" by legislation.
The manufacturing states of the
north have made notable gains in
child in industry and steady i'm
provement in the enforcement Of
these laws. But the legislation in the
southern factory states ID like the leg
islation of England in 1871, except
that the English laws made factory
inspection Imperative, while the few
inadequate child labor laws Of the
south are largely ineffective owing to
the failure to make such provision.
The laws which have been most ad-
vantageous against child labor have
been compulsory education, and the
difficulties interpoaed by law to OBJ
tain the required certificate before
the child could legally begin to work.
For instance. In New York since 1896.
the affidavit of the parent in regard
to the child's age, which before that
date was the sole requirement, must
be supplemented with the written
statement OF the teacher that the
child has regularly attended school.
| in which the common English branch
es were taught and also with the
statement Of an official Of the board
lfof health, that the child Is OF normal
development and IN sound health.
BY q comparison Of the states 4 of
New. York and Pennsylv ylvania made by
! 8 Cantinusd q Frs sss5S