The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-02
ns FRED H. GoRMLEN
Montgomery Bureau, The Age-Herald
 22I-2 First National Bank Build


 e21-2 First National Bank Building. Montgomery, January 1.-(Special)- Stories of discouragemen but of nope for the new year are written freely and fully in many pages of the first annual report of tho state child welfare depart ment submitted to the child welfare com mission and made public Saturday by Mrs. l.. 5. Bush, director of the depart ment.
 The stories of Encouragement result from the lack of interest shown by the public in many of the most important features of the law regulating the enn- ployment of children in industry, but the stories of hope come from renewed in- terest being manifested by citizens, school officials and persons charge with enforcing the law and from the fact that the legislature recognized the iln- portance as well as the magnitude of the work by making such an appropriation at the special session which will per- init the employment of other trained workers
 COMMISSION PLEASED
 This annual report attracted chief att tenton at the first annual meeting of the commission and brought forth com mendation for the director of the depart lnent, as we'll as full support for the cn. iarged programme outlined to the ccm- mission
 Throughout the, typewritten pages are stories of the disappointmehts over the manner child life of Alabama IS now regarded bv many persons. For in- stance specific reference is made to the provision of the compulsory education law, which requires children to have at tended school at least 120 days during the preceding year or to have completed the fourth grade before accepting em- ployment
 X survey was made in certain cou1- ties. iAcludilg Jefferson, Montgomery and Mobile and the educational quail fications of group of working children listed Thirty per cent had completed no grade. in school, i per cent the tirsl grade, l per cent the second, 2 per ceill the third, Fer cent the fourth, 25 pei cent the firth, 15 per cent the sixth, l. per cent the seventh and Il per cent tiie eighth A light in the future is seen by the director m the fact that after Sep tember, 1921, child cannot accept ein ploynlent until it has completed tn' fourth grade The l2Q-day school atteiia anee provision will be stricken rom ti' law at that time
 DEPARTMENT BUSY
 During the first 10 months of the exist ence of the department, which was ere ated by the legisature at it's adjourned session in 19l9 and which absorbed thu York which had been side line, if no the avocaton, of the state orisoil oe partment. $50 inspections of manuiae turing establishments have been maue Mbi eS5 miscellaneous inspections haV been completed, a total Of l,SSo. Repre sentatives of the department traVo'e' lf.4S7 miles and AS violations of the cnu' labor laws weTe corrected.
 One interesting development Of the re hort is that many more girls are em nloved in the cotton mills than boys This is true of mercantile establishment also. while boys take the lead in al other occupations. In the cotton mil s30 boys under IS and 694 girls under are employed.
 In investigatng the employment Q 9children. an especial effort was made | determine why so many children ente trades and industry and 1t was fouh that % per cent are employed to supper widowed or deserted mothers,. l pc cent to support self, per cent dis satisfied with school and B per cent | earn spending money.
 tE MOBILE-ANNISTO
 But in street trades conditions zare ia different A great majority of cnildre engaged in street trades in Mobile an Anniston, the two cities where studio were cempleted do not contribute ana thing to the family income. In Mobil A per cent contribute to the family, per cent wasted their earnings, 2l pc cent failed to make their grades in schoo while 75 per cent were graded poor bot