The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-10-02

are. the more manual labor there IS
available.
This is especially true in sections
where only one crop is cultivated 1t
is very frequently the case thar the
amount of land apportioned to ten
ant for cotton or tobacco is determined
BY the number of children he has. A
child eight or nine years old is con-
sidered a hand" but even younger
children are also pressed into service
One seven year old girl in Texas picks
as high as s5 pounds of cotton day,
according TO a recent report of the
National Child Labor committee. In
the beet fields of Michigan tots Of
seven and eight work on an average
of II hours a day.
These boys and girls on farms have
never been considered in the popular
mind as connected with the child la
Dor problem. To the average person the
term child labor calls UP an immedl-
ate picture of the pitiful little wage
Garner In the factory or the store or
the tenement work-room. The farm
Why that is an ideal place for chiid.
is the usual attitude. What IL he does
stay out of school once in q while to
help around the placer Outdoors IN
the sunshine and fresh air--that does
him lots more good than book learn
ingi
But does It? In Tennessee. for ex-
ample. recent examinations made un-
der the direction of DR.. Sweet, of the
University of Tennessee. showed that
IN the rural schools of q single county
- - -,
considerably under weight. and OBJ
observations in other Tennessee
schools suggest that mainutrition Is
probably equally prevalent through
out the state.
Eminent authorities in the field Of
medicine and sociology have asserted
that. even considered from the purely
physical standpoint, farm work does
not give well rounded development IN
the army camps during the recent war
practical experience proved that city
boys exce1led country boys in symmetry
of body in quickness and sureness of
action. and in resistance to fatigue.
Two million children between tha
ages Of 10 and 10 years were engaged
IN '.gainful occupations" in the United
States at the time of the last official
reckoning. Approximately ~ per cent
OF those children were reported IS
agricultural laborers. And there is no
federal tax to protect children in agri-
culture in the factories and mines.
Tho burden of making a living
makes the tenant parents feel that he
must have the labor of his children.
Even in cases where the father OF the
family owns his farm, he often feels
that there is no other way to make
both ends meet" except by raising a
large crop, in which, Of course. the la
Dor of the children is q useful asset.
The fact that there are many kinds
of farm work that children can do
is all too often conclusive proof to
their parents that they should do t.
school or no school. recreation or M
recreation.
The result is shown in the school at
tendance in rural districts In one
school district in Michigan in the beet
raising region, not a single child was
in school by November 90 and none
was expected until some time in De-
cember, according to an investigation
by the National Child Labor commit
leS. Ii OhtdnOiua the average dairy a.
tendance was only slightly over half
the total enrolment. In Tennessee. out
of number Of families questioned. 19
per cent Of the owners and So per cent
of the tenants said frankly that they
did not send their children to school
regularly.
So let's amend that advertisement T
at the beginning by adding: Hard +
work. long hours and a minimum Of I
educational opportunities positively
guaranteed"