Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-09-07

ing their children. But when employers are sub
ject to fine and Imprisonment every time they en-
ploy a child under fourteen years old, it is prac-
tically certain that they are not going to take
any chances. Thus the child labor law places the
responsibility upon the employers. 1t reads:
THAT no producer, manufacturer, or dealer
shall shin or deliver for shipment in interstate
foreign commerce any article or commodity, the
product of any mine quarry, situated IN the
United States in which within thirty days prior to
the time of removal of such product therefrom'
children under the age of sixteen have been en-
ployed or permitted to work.; or any article or
commodity the product Of any mill, cannery, work
situated in the United States, ETC..
, But in enforcing this law, Miss Lathrop and
Miss Abbot of the children's bureau Intend 10
leave no loophole uncovered. They are going to
investigate the registration Of children by parents
we'll their employment Birth certlncates or
other absolute evidence must be produced Oy
parents show that their children are OF employ
ment age, and these will be closely scrutnlzed by
public inspectors. Only the other day parental
fraud was disclosed by a vigant inspector in
small manufacturing town. The parents mad
brought an old decrepit family bible as evidence
that their little daughter fourteen. On the
fy-leaf was the neat inscription Marina La ooa
The child was rather large, and the inspector
would have passed her except that it occurred to
her strange that the birth of only one child should
be recorded on the fly-leaf-and that in a. fine
Spenceran hand-when there were eight; children
in the family. Besides the ink looked exceedingly
fresh She decided to do a little third degree
work.
what did you say your daughters name was
Martha?" she asked.
"Ya," replied the mother.
"Well, / sorry, but there Is some mistake
The name here is not Martha"
She pushed the bible towards them but they
made no effort to look at the name. As she sus
pected, they could neither read nor write English
And they angry with the Amerlcanized
friend who had made the mistake for them that
they confessed the whole thing quite nafvely.
The need for such restriction as the present
child labor law has been felt for many years One
nv one states themselves took the matter into their
own hands and prohibited the employment or
children under fourteen in various occupations
and in some states even greater restrictions have
been placed upon the employment OF children imam
are contained in the federal law. CALIFORNIA,
for example has an age limit of ten years for boys
and eighteen years for girls engaged In any sStreee
occupation of fifteen years for both If employed
bv mercantile, manufacturing or mechanical es-
tabshment, workshop, office, laundry, place or
amusement restaurant, hotel apartment house, er-
rand delivery and messenger service, and OF SIX
teen years If engaged in any dangerous occupa-
ton Moreover, the eight-hour day, 1orty-elSnt
hour week. is sustained by law.
On the other hand, North Carolina sets the
age limit for employment in mines at twelve years;
AFT thirteen years for employment in factories and
sustains eleven-hour day, or slxty-nour week.
The state objected to the federal law on the ground
that the work of children was necessary to the
support of their families yet investigation made
of one mill district disclosed the fact that the aV
erage family income was $3.50 a week. In one
family where the father was a rowing hauler, the
mother stayed at home and four girls and one boy
worked in the MILL the weekly income was $47.98
a week.
economic necessity in most cases, and where IL Is
hand For from the children's bureau Is
n1edged to keep every child under fourteen In
school, and give him his chance no matter what
NAV be the ideas Of his parents.