The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-02-27


-.
: parts OF the state in performing their
I duties according to law, tcrtlOCates
!. are issued without ascerta nment Of
i the child's age in manner prescrib-
: ed by Law and. as result many chill
50 dren under the legal age are employed
= In factories and other establishments
4 In the ate
:. Mr. noherty expressed the detrrmin-
: alton to have the laws more thorough
ly obeyed and To impress upon no.
& taries their duties in the premises.
"All the notaries are not negligent
Z in the performance Of their duties, ~
said Commissioner poherty yesterday,
{ "but very many Of them are"
= All Over state.
I Asked If his statement applied to
I any particular section % tn state, ne
\ replied that there are enough OF
! them In Richmond, hut no more in
y proportion than e,sew here The
! trouble Is all over the State
The law prohibits The employment
7 OF children under fourteen years Of
age and places limitations upon the
I employment az those under sixteen. II
: then provides That specified employers
: of children under sixteen must keep
: on file an employment certificate.
showing the child's age and issued
by notary public OF the city town
or village In which the child Is en-
ployed.
This part Of the law is enforced to
q great extent. the trouble, according
to the Department of Labor. being the
laxness with which notaries issue the
certificates
: : The law provides against fraud on
the part of the child and OF his par
ent or guardian and specifics how
the age of the child must be proven
! to The notary. There are four clauses
telling what evidence the notary may
accept and they are these:
What L. Evidence.
fa1 4 duly atteSted transcript Of
the birth certificates filed according
to law with "A registrar Of vital sta
tistics. or other officer charged with
the duty OF recording births. which
certificate shall be prima facie evil
dence OF the age Of such child.
(b) A passport or duly attested
transcript Of a certificate Of baptism
showing the date az birth and place
OF baptism Of such child
tc} In case none Of the above
proofs of age can be produced. other
documentary evidence Of age which
shall appear TO be satisfactory to the
officer issuing the certificate may be
accepted In lhu thereof, In such case
q school census or school record, duly
attested may be used as proof of age
In the discretion or the officer issuing
the certificate.
ID In case no documentary proof
of age of any kind can be produced
the officer issuing the certificate may
receive and file an affidavit signed by
the pa rent or guardian or custodian
Of the child which shall contain the
name, alleged age, place, and date OF
birth and present residence Of the
child, toget her with such further facts
as may be Of assistance in determin-
ing the age of such child. and shall
Z contain a statement certifying that
the parent, guardian or custodian
signing such application is unable TO
produce any of the documentary
proofs Of age specified in the proceed
ing subdivision OF this section.
wherein Notnries Fail,
The negligence or many notaries con-
sists In accepting the affidavits OF
parents as TO the chtlds age without
seeking such further facts as may he
of assistance" or in accepting such
affidavits and further facts, without
ascertaIning whether or not there is
in existence any OF the documentary
Z evidence enumerated in the first three
clauses. Many of them overlook the
fact that affidavits and testimony oi
Individuals as to "a chlld's age are
/. acceptable. under the law only in cases
when documentary evidence is in eX-
iatence.
The Commission OF Labor has In
= strueted his inspectors to use their ef-
forts toward correcting this abuse and
In the meantime, he is considering the
best method of procedure In case his
warning Is Lnheeded.