Newport daily independent., 1914-09-04
CHILD LABOR LAW
 A D FARM WORK
PROPOSED LAW PERMITS CHILL.
 DREN TO WORK FOR PARENTS.
L. H. Moore of State Federation of Labor, Who Helped Draft Law, Ex- plains Provision Which Has
 Caused Misunderstanding.

There has been some doubt in the minds of people who are interested in agriculture as to the application of the proposed child labor law to the work of children on farms. The law states that mo child under IA years shall be permitted to work in any re- munerative occupation in this state except that children under IA years during school vacations may be em- ployed by their parents or guardians on work owned or controlled by them"
 "This means, of course" said MT L. H. Moore of the Arkansas State Federation e Labor, that any child may work or farm owned or con- trolled by his parents, outside of school hours" MT. Moore took an active part in the drafting of the child labor law, and hence has a thorough understanding of it's provisions.
 Arkansas Law Flexible.
 We did not word the law so that certain specified occupations were forbidden to children under 14," con- tinued MT. Moore, because it has been found that this method gives rise to serious difficulties. If certain occupations only are listed as forbid den, it means that occupations which are not so listed are exempt from the operation of the law. It is this very thing which has caused the greatest difficulty in states where the child labor laws are worded in this way, such as New York. After the law has been passed, child labor abuses arise in occupations which were not included in the law, because children were not largely employed in such occupations at the time the law was passed Nothing can be done then to eliminate these abuses until the law is amended to include such operations. This usually takes several years to accomplish and in the meantime chill dren continue to work under condi- tions which should not be tolerated for moment.
 "The new Arkansas law was draft ed with view to overcoming this difficulty It was made elastic so that it could be. applied to new abuses as they arise, instead of having to wait until the law can be amended The enforcement of the law rests with the commissioner and deputy commission CT of labor. They will apply it to the establishments where, in their judg- ment, the child labor evil is really serious"
 Need for Such a Law
 There can be no doubt about the great value to Arkansas of such a law" said MT. Moore. People are awakening at last to the frightful and unnecessary loss of child life through too early employment, with it's far reaching influence over future gen erations mentally, morally and physi- cally. We have proof of this awaken ing in the stringent laws which many states have passed governing the em- ployment of children, and providing a suitable education for them. Ark ansas has been backward in the work. but will redeem herself if she adopts this new child labor law
 A 16-Year Limit for Dangerous Occu-
 pations.
 Under the present child labor law in Arkansas there is 8 14-year limit for children in mines, and no limit for children at work in other occupa- tions which are generally classed as dangerous A study of the child la bor laws of other states reveals the fact that 26 states prohibit children under l6 from working in mines or in other dangerous occupations
 An investigator for the National Child Labor Committee, who has made a thorough study of mining, makes the following statement about it:
 ''The slate falls, the live wire which supplies power to the electric motor, the explosions, the accumulation Of gas, the rapid movement of cars through narrow entries, and the blast ing of coal all contribute to make min ing a dangerous occupation, and 1t IS only reasonable that the age limit for employment in such work should be raised ffom IA to 16 years.
 "Aside from the dangers, mine Is a poor place for growing boy. Many of these boys who spend 10 hours daily in the blackness of mine are undeveloped, some are anaemic. and all apparently show some effects of being deprived of health-giving sum- light. The tasks at which boy is employed are monotonous. He may be required to open trap door fifty times a day, or perhaps only dozen, and the rest of the time he sits idle. When it is considered that the work begins at 2 a. m. and ends at 5:SO D. m, some idea of the deadening in duence of the work may be had" Tn commenting on the other danger ous trades in which the children oi Arkansas are engaged, this same in vestigator finds that the greatest mum Der of children engaged in any indus try of the state are to be found ir 1 the sawmills. The abundance of ma 1 chinery in these mills makes the ern 1 1R oHH1ror, ovcaoIip O1 IT,