The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-22

The Kuchler child labor bill will be-
come law. Governor Spry signed the
measure Tuesday forenoon and in sixty
! days IL Will become operative.
The enactment of this law gives Utah
one Of the most comprehensive child la
| Dor laws in the United states. Many of
| tho provisions arc drastic and Will affect
certain lines OF business within the state
moro than others. However. the bill is
general in its application and it is de-
clsred by educators and others particu-
| larly interested in the welfare Of chill
| drcn that il will be one of the very best
| child labor laws on the statutes Of any
state. They expect II 10 accomplish a
| great deal for the children OF the state.
| To be protection for the health OF the
| children and OF great assistance in the
| education Of the children Of the state.
| The law makes many provisions To-"
| the compulsory school attendance OF all
children under il years of age and pro-
| vidcs for the Issuance of employment
certificates only In case of emergency
where such employment is absolutely
necessary
Bars Child From Factory.
Under the provisions Of the law no
| child under II shall be employed in any
| factory. Other occupations arc specified
and the state board OF health is given
authority TO designate occupations which
are injurious to the health of the chill
dren. and no children shall be employed
| at any OF the occupations so designated.
Children arc not permitted TO work at
| any of the occupations permitted under
the bill in the school year except upon
the issuance OF employment certificates
by the superintendent Of schools Any
! person employing children VINO have not
secured employment certificates shall be
guilty OF a misdemeanor. The truant
officer is given power To inspect all
places where children are employed and
TO require a list OF the children en-
| ployed at such places.
One of the features OF the bill to which
i objection was made was the provision
| forbidding the employment OF any chill
dren under II years at any theater.
| owners of theaters and others asked the
governor 10 veto the measure on the
ground that this would prevent the pro-
| fessional appearance OF children on the
| stage. The author of The bin. however.
| declared that there was no intention TO
| bar the appearance of children In con-
necUon with dramatic performances. but
| that II was designed TO prevent the en-
ployment OF children programme boys
and vcnders of candy at theaters
Another feature to which objection
| was made was the clause forbddlng the
employment Of girls under IS al any re-,
| sort or other place where intoxicants are
| overruled. Senator Rudolph Kuchler de-
ciaring that one Of The purposes of the
| bill was to cover just such cases aud
TO prevent such employment
To Protect Messengers.
| Some objections were raised as to the
feature Of The bin forbidding the employ
mcnt OF anyone under u In CARRYING
messages between the hours OF . o'clock
in the evening and o'clock in the
| morning. Senator kuchler said that
| youthful messengers often were required
| tn go to questionable places at night and
| this provision would go far toward cor
| recting this evil and protecting mcssen-
ger boys from evil influences,
| The bill Is modelled after the child la
Dor laws OF other states, the best fea-
| tures of the laws OF the various states
having been used in tie drafting Of Ills
| bill. Most OF the features have been
construed by the highest courts Of 9th
er states so that the measure. although
a new one in this state, has already
! legal construction and has been sustained
| by many authorities.
| Practically all the womens organiza
measure and many OF the prominent
club women OF the state personally urged
| its passage by the legislature and the
| signing Of the bill by the governor
Author Is Gratified.
Speaking OF the bill Tuesday night
Senator Kuchler said
II am very gratihed In know that the
child labor hill will become law /
have taken great interest in the meas
urc and ] regard II as a great step for
ward for the state. To my mind il is
one of the most important laws enacted
by the state legislature.
Iherc are some questions on which
there is wocflIl lack OF legislation In
| Utah. Among tho most important of
these is the protection Of the children
OF the state. Every provision should he
| made TO guard the health and to provide
for the education OF the children. The
| ch,ld labor bill does not comprise all the
| legislation needed ON the subject. hut
IL goes Il long way toward protecting the
children.
"'Thc enactment Of the child labor law
is victory for the charitable and pro-
Gressive women of Utah. who aided ma
lerlally in the passage of the bill. IL has
been charged that the lack OF reform
le2isla tion In states where women have
the right 10 vote Is "a strong argument
against women's suffrage. The indorsc-
mcnt OF this measure by all the promi-
nent womcDs organizations OF the state
makes that charge not applicable To
tah. Thcy have aided materially I'm
placing Utah In the first rank among
the states Of the union lo enact whole
| some and progressive legislation for the