New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-08
Overman Tells Senate 1t
Keeps Children Out
of Jail.
CITES STATISTICS
TO PROP UP CLAIM
Urges Submission of the Issue
to the Various
States.


Washington, Aug. Child labor is
good thing because it keeps children
out of Jail.
Dropping for a moment long legal
argument, in which he was attempting
to prove that the pending child labor
bill was in direct violation Of the Con.
stitution, Senator Lee S. Overman, OF
North Carolina, to-day advanced TINS
as a reason why children OF sixteen
years and under should be allowed to
work in mills.
Mr. Overman brought statistics 70
support his contention. He showed the
Senate that the proportion OF children
between fourteen and sixteen who were
sent 10 Jail in North Carolina was only
fifteen 70 100000. But in Massachu-
sets. ne declared, the number scars TO
279. in Rhode Island il reaches lsy and
in Missouri il is 122. Senators favor
ing the bill commented afterward that
perhaps the children in North Carolina
were so tired when they got out of the
mills at night they had not energy
enough for anything but bed.
Senator Works, Of California, did not
seem TO relish the way in which he was
"kept out of jail' when little fello"'
Works Attacks Claim
"All my life there has been IN
delibly impressed on my memory" he
said. 1.-THE picture of that little dark
room where | slept when a small boy
the memory of being walked up from
the deep sleep Of boyhood at 1 o'clock
in the morning and taken forth for a
long day of full sized mans work.
Nv muscles, morning after morning
were so sore and stiff from the hard
work of the day before that IL panied
me 70 walk until they had gotten
warmed I'D. Never, in the long life
have lived have | entirely recovered
from the hard work ! did when | was
a small BOY"
Senator Works added that no one
need tell him child labor was good
thing. He said, however, he believed
the pending bill was unconstitutional,
as he did not think the Federal gov
eminent had the right to regulate
hours of labor in the individual states.
81 shall vote for this bill" he said,
despite my belief in its unconstitu-
tionality, because | want the Supreme
Court to pass on il, once for all II
l lNe supreme 0OuEl snouAu upnOih VA .
bill. there will then be no dividing
lire between the sovereignty OF the
states and the sovereignty of the Fed
eral government. We are driving ir-
resistibly toward a centralized gov
eminent, and, think. a despotism
for a centralized government eventu-
alg ,neans a one man government"
Want States to Decide.
! Senator Overman, in attacking the
constitutionality Of the bill, insisted
| that the issue should be submitted 70
! the states as a constitutional amend
ment. Senator'S Bryan and Fletcher,
of Florida, also argued that the states
and not the federal government should
deal with the question.
Senator Kenyon predicted that the
next step to follow the child labor
bill, should it be upheld by the Su-
preme Court, will be bill TO bar
from interstate commerce products Of
factories in which women work more
than eight hours. He was asked by
Senator Hardwlck if this would not be
followed logically by a bill to bar
products of labor employed more than
eight hours, whether men or women.
1.-THE question is whether such a
thing would be desirable" replied
Senator Kenyon. Probably it will
come in time"
Most of US favor the eight-hour day
now" retorted Senator Hardwick.