The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-09-07

child q mental and oft bodily deform-
ity.
Florida in comparison with those
states stands ht@h. Her laws provide
sixteen years the unconditional age
at which children may enter mills, fac
tories, etc. though Il does permit
child to enter messenger service. de
Partmont stores or sell papers on the
streets at the 0To II twelve during
school hours. child of five may do the
same out of school hours. But a child
under fourteen, working in factory,
must hold a certificate from the county
superintendent of schools, testifying as
to age and that the child can read and
write and has passed a CTeditable eN-
animation in arithmetic through frac-
tiors. An employer must hold this Ger
tificate and post near the entrance Of
his shop a list of names of employees
Anyone dissatisfied as to infringe
ments Of this law may summon the
labor Inspector from Tallahassee, who
may appoint an officer of the town to
act in his stead. The fine for such
violation is not more than $4,000 for
each days violation after notification
by labor inspector, a fine Of not more
than $50 or less than IS is imposed
Altogether this IS not a bad child
labor law, as such go, but as TO
whether the law is enforced is for de-
monstra ton.
1t does seem the child Of twelve and
younger should be eliminated on the
streets whether or not during school
hours: infants have no rightfuI place
in the commercial world.
The states of Georgia has recently
had up for consideration a similar
child labor law which passed the SEN
ate
At this time. when the whole world
must face the greatest economic prob
lem the ages have ever presented, the
labor question is one that must doubt
less suffer as great eruption as any
other vital issue of the dav, and it
seems scarce the time to advocate the
reformation of so long established US
age as that of child labor but the
Georgia statesmen in whose state this
evil has so long been entrenched are
waging the fight for it's abolition, and
I quote Hon. Samuel Olive in his pow
erful speech before the House of Geor-
gia Representatives, when the distinc-
ton of having carried the Sheppard
bill for the abolition of child labor to
successful passage was recently &C
corded him:
How Farmers are Hurt.
The financial interests that con-
troll the marketing Of cotton have dis
covered that cotton products can be
manufactured on the basis Of a child's
labor, and low wa ges paid to the clild
mean low prices for the producer of
cotton Tnc low prices for southern
cotton goods are in part prediCated on
the cost of production, and this cost
of production was estimated on
basis Of child labor pay. The COM
mercial world would take CogniZanCe
OF child labor and child labor inva-
riabIy means low prices to the pro-
Queer and high prices to the con-
sumner.
THE adjustment Of child labor has
become an economic necessity if the
farmers of the state, who raise the
cotton thai is oIr staple crop, are to
prosper as they deserve.
when child labor is abolished
there VIII be a change in the methods
of determining the cost of production
and the result can nov be anything
but higher and better prices for the
producer of cotton goods in the
South"
This. at a time when The southern
cotton mill men are running night and
day shifts the first time for more than ,
eighteen or twenty years. seems most /