The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-12-26
LABOR TO The FORE
Trade Unions Firm Stand For
Child Labor Legislation.
PIONEERS IN THE MOVEMENT.

Organized Labor Has lnsistently Ad-
Vocated Laws to Help the Children,
Important Part Taken by New York
Workinemen.
George A. Hall, secretary of the New
York child labor committee, in re.
cent letter to the New York Evening
Post said:
Representing an organization which
has been in close touch during the past
ten years with all child labor legisla
ton in this state, l desire to submit
ii statement apropos of your recent
editorial upon the attitude of opera
tives toward early child labor legisla
ton.
BY stating that "in the early days
of child labor legislation, employers
and operatives were ii dual source of
opposition, improvement coming large
ly through disinterested reformers"-
an assertion which so far as New York
state is concerned the facts of history
do not confirm-you have inadvertently
deprived workingmen of credit justly
due them for the important part which
they had in the enactment of early
child labor legislation. Whatever in
dividuals may have done, workers os
class must be judged by what they
have done in their organized groups.
Organized labor from the early years
to the present time has Enthusiastically
stood for child labor legislation.
Although New York's first child labor
law was not enacted until 1886, this
subject was actively discussed in labor
circles twenty years previously. Re
ferring to the activity of the Working
mems assembly, the New York So
ciety For the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children, the New York Children's Aid
society and the New York State Medi-
cal society, DR.. Fred Rogers Fairchild
in his Factory Legislation of the
State of New York." repeatedly de-
scribes how workingmen either in
itiated or Joined with these organiza-
tons in an attempt to secure such
legislation. A few extracts will make
this point clear:
'The labor unions were first in the
field and had been at work trying to
secure some kind of child labor law
for several years before the matter
was taken up by others. As
early as 1864 the organized laborers of
New York were agitating for
the prohibition of child labor. The la
boring mems convention of 1869 draft
ed a Child labor bill. which was pre-
scented to the legislature and for six
years failed to receive even the con
sideration of the committee"
Year after year, without success, the
Workingmen's assembly and later the
Society For the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children in conjunction with other
organizations. continued to seek from
the legislature a child labor law, as
appears from the following quotation
from Dr. Fairchild's study:
Sin 1884. however. the Workingmen'S
| assembly of the state, which had been
steadily growing in political power at
Albany. joined forces with the Society
For the Prevention of Cruelty to Chill
dren. A number of factory bills We're
before the legislature in that year, the
leading one being drafted by Mr.. Ger
ry and being cordially supported by
the Workingmen's assembly"
again, in 1885, bills were introduced
by the Society For the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children and the Working
mems assembly working in co-opera
ton"
I'm 1886 substantially the same bill
which had been drafted by Mr.. Gerry
and pushed by the Society For the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Children and the
Workingmen's assembly in 1884 and
1885 was again introduced, and after
a long discussion and debate the legis
lature finally passed bill embodying
the main demands of the society and
the laboring men,
Between 1886 and 1908 important
amendments and additions to this first
law were enacted, in all of which
workingmen had a more or less active
part This is particularly true of the
Reinhardt commission legislation of
1896.
In the campaigns since 1902, in
which the New York child labor com
mittee has taken an active part, our
records show. with but rare exceptions,
the continued cooperation on the, part
of laborers in the support of child la
Dor bills advocated In certain phases
of labor legislation these workers have
been the pioneers. This is notably
true in connection with the fifty-four
hour week law for minors and WON
en-. finally enacted in 1912, after more
than ten years persistent effort of
workingmen
The reported opposition Of operatives
in Massachusetts toward an eight hour
day for children is in direct contrast 70
the support given here by workers to
exactly this legislation in 1907. It j.
not unlikely. furthermore. that invest
CATION would show that the opposition
mentioned represented individuals and