Evening journal., 1913-02-14

ii'NAI muses. ana apartment houses
some are not fit laces morally. for
children to work"
Labor Law Enforcement a .Faree.~
The child labor law as enforced in
Wilmington is a farce pure and sim
PIE, said Miss Bissell "Any parent
can make an affidavit for quarter
that child is IA years old. and il You
I ueprlVe us OF the power 10 20 behind
me aihdavit the law would be nuuli
hed. She said the Commission had
TWO physicians who had consented TO
examine free of charge children
whose age was in doubt If no birth
registration certificate was to be found
the physician is to say as nearly as
possible what he thinks the child's
age is, in the bill now pendink. Miss
blssell said the greatest trouble with
birth records would be among Ameri-
cans, as such records generally are
preserved by foreign-born parents
Taking up the provision that the chill
dren should be able to read and write
the English language. which the
CamDer OF Commerce desires to cut
out of the bill. Miss Bissen said "The
Constitution of Delaware requires that
voters shall read and write. Is II Of
interest TO the State TO have the child
English?7
Taking up the subject Of children
IN the street trades, Miss Bissell said
the manufacturers want the same law
10 apply to a town Of 5000 inhabi-
tant as TO Wilmington. The child in
the small town is not subject 10 the
same temptations as the child i'm the
large city, she said. and remarked
that II IS cheaper to have inspectors
70 look after boys and girls on the
| street than for the community to
maintain them after they are commit
TED 10 industrial schools" The pro
vision against the employment of i'm
mature children on the streets was
put IN at the suggestion OF. Humane
Agent Stout, Miss Bissell said.
Taking up the amendment propos-
cd TO insert the word knowingly" as
applied to the employment of children.
not conforming to the law, Miss Bis
sell said she didn't know of any other
law that has such provision in it.
II a violation should occur. It would
De easy Tor the employer to say that
ne didn't know il was a violation
!
| Senator Gormley asked Miss Bes-
sell whether conditions as to news
boys in Wilmington would be the
same as those in New York. Miss
Bissell said that the New York law
make distinction as to the size of the
city and towns, and the pending bill
merely applies the New York law to
Delaware.
Miss piccol1 eofd al, ,.f,. r A.
American Tobacco Company is well
ventilated and well maintained" Sh,
said that the records of the Anti-Tu-
berculosis Society show that there
have been more cases of tuberculosis
among persons employed in the to
bacco Industry than i'm any other as
shown by their card index records.
but she didn't know whether the
cases were in the plant that MIR. Ca
bannis represented. The second great.
est number Of deaths from .tubercu.
losis, the records show, is in the
leather indutfy Miss Bissell said.
Senator Reinhardt asked what pre-
sent abuses there were that it was
hoped to remedy by the pending bill.
There is absolutely a nOn-enforce-
ment of the law in many particulars
I
system is extremely poor"
What children are being hurt. by
1t, what children are being over
worked and where" asked Senator
Reinhardt
Miss Bissell said that many times
when she had gone to factories she
met with delays before she was ad-
mitted and didn't know what was go-
ing on inside during the period of
delay, but after she was admitted she
found all to have certificates that
they were at least fourteen years old.
Factory Inspector Kitchens hasn't
made a single prosecution in the
three years he has held the positions
Miss Bissell said She cited an in
stance where a boy she claimed was
under the legal age was kept in a
job because "his father was a friend
of the inspector" 1t was at this
Juncture that the clash occurred over
Miss Bissell's statement that 500
children under the legal age were
being employed in Wilmington.
Mr.. Garrettson remarked that Mr..
Corey and himself went over the child
labor law subject with Miss Bissell.
and made some suggestions to her
about it, but only one suggestion was
incorporated-that relating to em-
ployment where there we're poisonous
gases. In response TO a question as
to whether she had notified all the
manufacturers Of the various meet
ings OF the Child Labor Commission,
Miss Bissell said she had sent letters
to George b. Miller. for the Manu-
facturers' Association, but Mr.. Gar
rettson said the notice was not sub
mitted to the committee having the
/ matter in charge. The manufacturers
were not notified individually, but
through the Manufacturers Associa-
! ton and Board Of Trade, Miss Bissell
, said.
Mr.. Cabannis said the only inform