The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-03-08

IS the one &ao5mos b leeds tle school:
This is the child the State ought to
1elp because Of his telplesshesss The
ooor child must work, but 1t Is neither
light nor humane that he should be
1enied' his share Of his inheritance, in
rider that be may be a bfead:winnar
or selfish father. as is so often the
ase. In few Instances It was a sac.
iEice to take the child from the fac.
cory and put him in school; but in the
cases of worthy widows. phianthropic
,eoplc came forward and helped the
amily go that the children could be
iept in school. In cases where the pa.
.ents looked upon their children as
apitalist looks upon his money, and
onsidered the income the children
could contribute of greater Importance
han their health and welfare, they
vere brought into court. In ia number
If these cases the fathers fought hard
or their children to work, trying IN
many ways to secure working permits
or them. even testifying that they
Yere several years older than they
we're; but the mere word Of q parent
Jr a child as to his age is not always
accepted. The exact age is ascertain
cd wherever possible. and when 1t can
not be obtained the examiner consld.
ers very carefully the physical condi-
ton and the educational qualifications
OF child before giving him permit
to work; so, any child who seemed too
,uny to work or so delicate that hard
abor would prevent his proper growth,
tas refused a permit; and, even if a
10Y had passed his fifteenth birthday
nd could not read and write intelli-
emily, he was not given a permit.
AT the beginning OF my work the out.
ook was verydiscouraging; so many
PARENTS were openly defiant that It
eemed as II there would be court
asses the rest OF the year, and con,
inual fight TO keep the children from
working; but by keeping up with each
Individual case, all OF those eighty.six
hildren were enrolled in school by
he first OF January, 1912, and in every
Instance, unles the child cane under
he deficient class, these children re-
NAMED in school the rest OF the year.
Some of them were fourteen years Of
ge and only in the second grade, but
one were truants. Much to my sur
rise, at the beginning of this school
ear number OF these children, with
whose parents had had 50 much trou-
re, returned to school OF their own
'ccord, and are now making good rec
.rds. This proves that the rigid en-.
0rcement Of the school attendance
aw will bring about the results We de.
ire. In one OF my cases father
ought for several weeks TO have his
4-year.old boy receive a permit. The
10Y had not gone to school for years,
md the father thought the boys wages
necessity to the family income,
hough there were three grown work.
RS in the family besides this boy. For
time the boy worked in open def
tnce of the law, but after bringing the
ather into court n few times and argu-
ng with him, he finally permitted the
10Y to be enrolled in school. But, for
,eYcral weeks, he worked at night in
he glass factory, going to school dur.
ne the day. ! could not stop this, as
re have no law that PROMPTS night
work for boys. However, the boy soon
grew interested in school, stopped
working and went to school steadily
rom January until June. doing excel.
ent work He is in school again this
'ear and is Il very studious boy.
This year have had very few such
.ases; the parents understand that the
aw compeIs them to send their chill
lren to school, and | have had littl"
roublc; when children have been kept
nut, a notice to the parents has been
efficient. OF course, the home life OF
many OF these children is hindrauce
their school work. and even to the
:rowth of the children themselves.
III conclusion, T!ould make the TO!
owing suggestions:
~ We should have laws fixing the
;ge limit for all kinds Of work for
children, with absolutely no night
work.
(2) We should have compulsory
Of births and 1t should be
necessary to present the birth certiG'
ate when child wishes a Working
permit. This would put stop to the
oerjury of many fathers aud mothers.
80 We should endeavor to improve
he home surroundings by educating