The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1915-11-25
LAWS FOR CHILDREN
Much New Legislation Enacted in
Past Year.
Commissions Appointed to Study and
Prepare for Future Legislation
Social Betterment the General
Aim In LaWmaking.

Washington.-Fort state and
territorial legislatures and the con-
gress of the United States in 1915
passed laws affecting children, ac-
cording to the children's bureau which
has just completed it's survey of such
legislation during the current year
Special reference is made to the I'M
pressive bulk of children's laws and
to the number of commissions ap-
pointed to study and prepare for III"
ture legislation.
Arkansas, Florida and Utah have
commissions to report on the needs OF
the feeble-minded; New Jersey, COM
mission to prepare a state program
for the reorganization of public care
of detectives, dependents and delin-
Quents; Missouri and New Hampshire,
commissions on the needs of the
blind; Delaware, commission on vo-
cational education; Idaho, commits
sion to report on the need for mini
mum wage law; Florida and Indiana,
commissions on the need for mothers
pensions; and California, a commits
sion to study social insurance.
The bureau says that the appoint
ment of these commissions indicates
a growing realization that benevolent
intent cannot safely be accepted as a
substitute for the careful formulation
of statutes for social betterment. The
subjects to which study is directed
are all of immediate concern to chill
dren, and the states are thus fairly
committed to the policy of selecting
and harmonizing provisions which
lead plainly toward the collection and
codifying of all laws relating to chill
dren.
AS showing the great amount of
childrens legislation, the bureau says
that twenty-seven states have amend
ed their provisions for dependent chill
dren; eighteen have improved their
treatment of juvenile delinquents; six
teen have strengthened their child-ls-
Dor law; fourteen have concerned
themselves with the needs Of the mer-
tally defective or feeble-minded; three
states and the District of Columbia
were added to those specifically per-
hitting the use of public school build
ings as social centerS and nine amend
ed or for the first time passed play
ground law, and four states passed
model vital statistics law in which the
children's bureau is interested be-
cause it considers complete birth reE-
istration of fundamental Importance
to child welfare work
A few of the forty-five states made
notable advances. Alabama, for ex-
ample, whose legislature meets only
once in four years, enacted new
child-labor law, a compulsory school
attendance law, an excellent desertion
and non-support law and a statewide
juvenile court law. Florida remodeled
it's treatment of juvenile delinquents,
recognized the principle of compul-
sorry school attendance, passed the
model vital statistics law, and ap-
pointed two of the state commissions
already referred to- Kansas estab-
lished an industrial commission to-
regulate hours, wages and conditions
of work for women and minors, and
division of child hygiene in the state
board Of health: it also enacted q
playground law and a. mothers PEN
sion law.
The children's bureau has included
in it's review the outlying territories
OF the United States, and reports
that Alaska has forbidden the en-
ployment of boys under sixteen un-
derground in mines; Hawaii has
passed curfew law for girls under
sixteen in Honolulu; the Philippines
have provided for dental clinics in
the schools and created q public well
fare board to establish and maintain
social centers; and Porto Rico has
passed modern Juvenile court law.