Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1916-01-01
ANNUAL REPORT Of
CH|LDREN'S BUREAU
What Has Been Accomplished In This
Department of the
Work

WORK.
The need of developing standards
Of rural child welfare. physical stand
ards for children in industry, and
standards of law for the protection OF
all children, is the keynote Of the
third annual report of the ChiIiren's
Bureau Of the u. 5. Department OF
Labor just made public
Three-Ffths of All.
"Three-ffths of the 3OOooOOO chill
dren in the United States are rural
children. What are the facts as TO
rural child welfare? They. are not
known. But it is noteworthy that the
percentage of illiteracy in rural com
munities. according to the 1910 cen
sus. is double that in cities. Where
the rural child labor is great, the per-
centage of child ilhteracy is high.
The juvenile delinquency laws on the
statute books OF most of our states
are ineffective over the greater part
of those states because rural proba-
ton officers are lacking; and the fig
ures of correctional institutions show
that the country is largely represent.
ed.
Thine and money are required to
secure the facts about the physical
social, and economic conditions sur
rounding rural children, but these con-
ditions must be understood if we are
to be sure that we are making prog
ress in securing fair chance for
every child"
Physical Dangers Never Measured.
As a general rule compulsory
school attendance ceases at the age
of IA, the crucial point of maturing
life. which educator and psychologist
well know to be the most critical per-
iod of growth. Yesterday great au-
thorities We're experimenting on the
best methods of training their minds
of developing their bodily powers. To
day the same children are beyond the
reach of all this costly solicitude-
they have gone to work"
After quoting the opinion of vari
GUS scientists, the report continues
Full and intelligent protection of the
physique and mental powers of the
youthful workers of this country re
quires costly and laborious studies in
laborator yand in workshop. The
Ehildren's Bureau desires to submit
the reasonableness of spending money
to make them so that we may secure
just standards for the use of labor
as new standards for material are be
ing developed"
Standards Needed
Various states have secured com
missions to review and modify the
laws relating to children. The needs
of unfortunate children have first en-
gagged the attention of philanthrop
lie persons. But in preparing a com
plete code for the children of any
state. the rights of all children must
be considered The study of legisla
ton affecting children in the various
states and territories which the Law
requires the Children's Bureau tc
make should afford an increasing body
of Information at. the service of those
engaged in codifying the chiIdren's
laws of any state"
Work of Bureaus Third Year.
The bureau reports year of ac
tivity dealing with eight different
phases of child welfare. 1t has been
studying the social causes of infant
mortality. doing constructive work for
child hygiene, coopering in a general
test of birth registration. preparing a
report on social care of mental de
fectives and of illegitimate children
reviewing the principles of community
provision for recreation, compiling
laws relating to children, and analyz
Ai6 t1iC VI Clillu ldDOl
laws and street trade regulations il
selected typical states. 1t has also
begun certain experimental actiVi
ties which viii prepare the way fol-
the detailed studies ofrural child wei
fare and the physical effects of child
labor which it will undertake at some
future time when staff and equipment
permit
High Death Rate Among Babies.
No one knows how many fathers
or how many mothers there are il
the United States. No one knows
how many mothers are at work fol
gain outside their homes" The Chill
dren's Bureau of the U. S. Depart
ment of Labor brings out this fact il
its third annual report made publ,
today, and says that it is impossible
to determine the relative importanc,
of The high death rate among babie
OF working mothers until we know