The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-28

United to jails and reformatorIes re-
turn thereto, what occupations ara
most responsible for sending children
to these institutions. and SO on. 1t
mas been said that nearly half of our
boy delinquents have occupations keep
ing them upon the streets. and that 90
per cent. of our delinquent children,
as whole, como from cities. also
that one-ifth of the boys in some M
our cities go TO jail before they are
o. age. Jane Adams says that four
a..ns o. al arrests in the Chicago
criminal courts are of youths hstweon
nttch ana twenty-five, Of whom a
ia.Sc majority are under nineteen.
e enid at work constitutes the
.ouith OIL the chief classes OF juveniles
whose ., problems Will be sifted out and
, T"osc needs VIII be given publicity.
nc act constituting the chlldren's
bureau charges it with special inves
t'sation of Complement" and "dar.
Scrous occupations" OF children n
VIII DC one of the prime duties of the
once TO perennially turn the light unon
aii OF the iniquitics OF child labor
IS estimated that between 1.75o.-
o9o and 100000 children under sixteen
are required to labor in this onitght
cneu country. The bureaus eynerta
VIII make Il careful computatton or
inc actual numbers, will investir.tc
.ne conditions under which they labor
ana VIII gather other facts bearing
upoh their special problem. The COM
parativc effects of different Stas.
RAZOR laws upon the health and vitality
oil children will be studied All auch
iacts VIII be furnished to associations
Working for child welfare.
10 Count Our Child Lubor.r..
9uch organizations as we'll as legis-
ialors VIII then know for the first
tiine how many American children are
employed in manufacture. agriculture
commerce and the messenger service
ana now many work underground. In
dustrial diseases of children will he
thoroughly probed. as will the related
problem of childrens compensation 70,
occupational diseases
All o. our states now have china
laoor laws save one, Nevada. ana IN
mat commonwealth it is proposed to
Pass such law at the next session
OIL the Legislature. Maryland has
passed an excellent child labor law
III the past year. and both Kentucky
ana mississippi have passed good ones.
w."er states which according to the
national child labor committee. now
nave good laws OF this character arc
New york, Ohio. Illinois, California.
oklahoma and Massachusetts, while
those which have the poorest laws re-
spectinS the child worker arc the
tafolinas. Georgia Florida and Ala
bama. Fourteen years is now the
standard age limit for child laborers
In all of the States EXCEPT Texas and
Montana, which have raised tho limit
10 fifteen; North Carolina where il Is
thirteen: South Carolina Georgia.
Florida and Alabama, where 1t is
twelve. In Georgia children or de-
IN MT
as young as ten. Thirty-six OF our
states have already restricted night
work by children and forty-two have
established maximum number of
hours for a child's working day.
The total cost of the children'a
bureau will be s29,440 per annum to
begin with. 1t will be established nm
der the Department OF Commerce ano
Labor and Miss Lathrop will have
the aid of an assistant chief
statistical expert. two special
agents and clerical force OF
eleven people. So. you will see that
This new government institution vii!
not be heavy burden upon the tax.
payer, especially when you take into
consideration that, as David Starr Jor.
dan puts 1t:
Every child has tho inalienablt
right 10 be born free from disease. free
from Geformity and with pure blood IN
ITS veins and arteries. Every child
has the inaIiennblc right to be loved;
to have its individuality respected; to
be trained in mind, body and soul; to
be protected from disease, from evil
influences and evil persons. and to
have fair chance in life.
That people is delinquent which
does not increasingly strive to secure
these inalienable rights to fits chill
dren."
Copyright. 1912. by John Elfreth-
Watkins.)