Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-02-09

is little or no child labor let us state
the facts. In 1910 there were $780,
,225 children between the ages Of 10
and Is were found at work. This
means 1 in 6 children Of that age.
Almost half OF them were under Ia
years cid. cut of the total number
1,412,5G6 children. We're il Agriculture
al pursuits.
Is child laOor an evil? Some arc
prone to say it is a good thing for
children, it builds up character. Yes,
it is when it does not prevent tae
child from developing his mind, body
and character. 1t is a good thing to
have children reared in habits of in
dustry. But much Of the child laoor
tears down and destroys. That IS
the kind which needs to DE prevented,
Evils of Child Labor.
Investigations show that child labor
increases il%literacy, criminality, over
taxing of energy and consequent
stunning and disease, besides depriv-
ing childhood OF its rights Of child
hood. Relative to illiteracy, it is
shown that in ates having the high
est per cent cr children at work Tilt
eracy is hich st. Thus, Mississippi
has as pcr runt if its children f:on.
10 to - years old at work and an it,
literacy CT g per cent; for AlaHama
the figures are 1853 and 22.9; for KeE-
lucky, ia and FL; for Virginia, No.:
and Is q: for Iowa, 81 and IL; for
North Dakota, SO and 80. 1t alsJ aI-
paars that working children wheli
compared with nol-Working children,
are arrested much Oftener for crim1-
nal offences, commit the more serious
off, nces to a greater extent, and be-
come 'repeaters.' that IS, return to
crime mere often. Among the work
ers it is noteworthy that the unsu-
pervised callings, such as ~neWsb0y5,
errand boys ana delivery boys, are
most productive i'm crimiIality. Like
wise, it is shown that juvenile street
workers are more subject to fatigue,
anemia, heart strain, nerve strain, and
deformitics tnan other workers and
other children, and that the .afflic-
items increase as hours Of work i'll
crease
1t is unfortunately true that many
country children are unfortunate
workers. They are kept out of school
frequently and get behind in their
classes. dropping out early %uneducat-
ed. They are likely to be taken ou;
Of school altogether. Often they hava
to work at tasks too heavy for them
and too many hours a day.
Law Has Defects.
We have a good law in North Da-
kota against child labor, but it is de-
fective. 1t is a goodW law but it doaS
O work. 1t should he amended in
at least two respects. First, it has u
conflicting statement as to hours Of
work. It provides for a maximum o:
co hours a week, or s hours a day. 1t
should be made to state not more
than s hours a day. Second, it places.
the administration Of the Jaw wiz
school officers and peace officers. AS
a matter CT fact. neither set of OIL
GERS hayn enforced it. We need o
labor commissioner who will super
wise the operation of the law and III
sDectors whose duty it is to see that
the law is enforced. There may be
other defects, lut these are the ol:'
which most need remedial action
Good citizsns throughout the state
should ask for these provisions. North
Dakota should sand in the front rank
CT states for tHn protection Of child
mood.