Imperial Valley press., 1914-02-11
Child Labor Bill
Is Called Good
Omitted Press Day service)

tUnlted PreSS l)ay oerVlce)
Washington, Feb. 1.-THE intro (
duction of the Palmer child labor bill,
according to Mrs. Florence Kelly,
member of the board of trustees of
the national child labor committee,
is long step forward in the fight to
free children from factories and send
them to school. The bill, which pro-
poses to prohibit interstate commerce
in goods produced by children under IA
years of age or by children under 16
who have worked more than eight
hours a day, is declared to be the most
important Of any similar bills that
have been introduced. Mrs. Kelly has
prepared the following article explain
ing why this is so:
Bv Mrs. Florence Kelly
written for the United Press)
The child labor bill introduced in
congress by Representative A. Mitch
ell Palmer of Pennsylvania on Janu-
ary 26 last, is more comprehensive
than the Kenyon child labor bill in
which hitherto / have been deeply in
terested. 1t applies to manufacturing
establishments, factories, mines and
uuarries. mills, canneries and work
shops. 1t is more extensive than the
Kenyon bill in that it regulates the en-
ployment of children between the ages
of ID and 16 years, restricting their
working hours to eight in one day and
to the daylight hours from a. M to
7 p. m. Like the Kenyon bill it ap-
plies to interstate commerce.
The enforcement Of the proposed
law is made the duty Of each district
attorney to whom the secretary of la
Dor shall report any violation. 1t is
quite new in providing that prosecu-
tions must be begun when a state fac
torv inspector. commissioner of labor,
state medical inspector, school attend
ance officer or any other person shall
present satisfactory evidence of vio-
lation of the law The penalty provided
is fine of not more than $1,000 nor
less than $1OO, or Imprisonment for
not more than one year or both such
fine and Imprisonment.
The bill marks a long advance over
the proposals contained in both the
Kenyon bill and the old Beveridge bill
because it applies to wider range of
employments, and to older children
i (between ID and 16) for whom it for
bids night work and establishes the
eight hour day. In short it applies to
more occupations, and more children,
contains more provisions and author
ICES more officials to begin suit upon
complaint of more different sets of
people.
The question is often asked whether
an interstate commerce provision
would supersede state laws and munic-
ipal ordinances. 1t could not do this
for the following reasons: 1t can in
the nature of things apply only to
goods manufactured, mined or quar-
ried; it leaves untouched the messen-
ger service, employment in depart
ment stores and other forms of retail
trade; all agricultural work such as
cotton picking, berry and hop picking
weedinp in the beet fields, and all 9TH
er kinds of agricultural and horticul-
tural work in which children are en-
ployed in ever increasing numbers.
Such law cannot interfere with
street work, such as newspaper vend-
inc peddling, boot backing and SER
vice as delivery bows on wagons which
have to be dealt with by state laws or
municipal ordinances. Furthermore,
there are certain dangerous trades
which by score of existing state laws
have been forbidden to all children
under 16 years or 18 years. The only
feasible attempt to touch upon this
important point by federal legislation
is the prohibition of work in mines
and quarries by children under 16
years.
Such a provision is included in the
Palmer bill, but no protection is af-
forded to children in other dangerous
trades for dangerous machines and
various occupations involving the lives
Of others are not and could not be in
cluded.
We have an analogy in the case of
the pure food law. The states and cit
les have never been so stimulated to
enact and enforce legislation with re-
gard to foods prepared for sale within
their own borders as since the enact
ment of the pure food and drugs law,
and there is every reason to believe
that the proposed federal child labor
law would work the same way
/ believe that the educational work