The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-12-26

taken to regulate the employment o
children, that the innovations brough
about shall be salutory, and not ag
gravate the already existing evils.
In much of the work that is beini
done in our factories, purely mechani
cal work requiring little skill othel
than a natural skill, the adult has ne
advantage over the minor. In fact
when the work requires deftness ant
speed, the girl of II years or IS years
| of age can compete successfully, il
she really does not have a marked ad
vantage over an adult. Such is the
case when it comes to packing and
wrapping and labelling of crackers
candies and spices. Your large mer.
camille mailing establishments show a
surprisingly large percentage of work
ers who are minors under our law.
In fact young girls are pressed into
service wherever it is economically
advantageous to do so.
This brings us to our problem. Ac-
cording to the Oregon industrial well
fare ruling girls and boys under IS
years of age must be paid at least Sc
per week in mercantile establishments
and 1925 per week must be paid an
adult with one years experience. This
ruling places the minor and the mex
perienced adult on the same competi-
tive plane; but supposing the nature
of the work is such as just described
work requiring little eXperience-will
not the preference be given to girls
under IS years of age? Take for in
stance, in the mercantile business; no
line of stores has been so severely
criticized for their wage conditions as
the stores commonly spoken of as
"The Ten Cent Stores" The nature
of the goods sold requires little eX-
perence, if any, before the saleslady
is efficient. She wraps the article
which you have selected perhaps from
one of the tables, makes the change
and her work is done. There are GER
tain lines of work IN all department
stores equally simple and hence COM
mand a comparatively small wage.
Will the girl be dismissed when she
reaches 1S in order to fill her place
with a girl who is a minor under the
law? Employers admit this is what
will happen if the girl in question is
not an unusual girl, and considered of
sufficient economic value to the firm
to warrant paying her 1925 more than
a new and untried hand.
1t is true there are many occupa-
tions that can be classified as chill
dren's occupations since the work is
adapted to children and do
not enter into competition with the oc-
cupations of adults. l mean the work
of messengers. and errand boys and
girls. Practically no boys or girls are
found in these occupations after reach
ing the age of IS years.
1t is where the young people enter
into direct competition with their old
er sisters and brothers and parents,
that danger of aggravating a social
evil arises.
The problem is being met in two
ways elsewhere. European legislation
shows a tendency to cut down the
of hours children can work,
below the number of
hours adults can work. In this man.
ner the child is handicapped as to
hours when competing with adults.
A restriction is placed on the num-
ber of minors who can be employed
in one industry. The percentage of
minors to adults employed is fixed.
The third method, which is combin-
ed with the firstVa shortening of the
hours of children-is that of requir-
ing the employers of minors to send
such minors to combinations schools
a definite number of hours per week.
1n6S6 hours Vi SClOOitu6 uluSt UC oup-
tracted from the total number of
hours a child can be employed in a
week. This is the German system,
and the Wisconsin child-labor law is
patterned thereafter. 1t reads as fol-
lows
"a minor working in an occupation
for which a living wage has been
established for minors, and who shall
have no trade, shall if employed in an
occupation which is trade industry,
be indentured under the provisions of
sections 2977 to 1886 inclusive"
This clause in the child labor law
is a safeguard against the employment
of children under the child labor law
as a means of evading the provisions
of the apprenticeship law.
The child-labor law reads further:
"All minors working in an occupa
tion for which a living wage has been
established for minors but which is
n t.odo ;,,J,efr1r shall he