New Britain herald., 1922-12-16

that l,6o0,ooo American children are
 now the victims of premature toll in
 the mines and mills and factories and
 fields and homes of this country. This
 Is all wrong. The great problem of
 our childhood is of the utmost im-
 portance to the perpetuity Of the na-
 ton Our children are entitled to a
 life tbat win conserve their strength
 while young and that will educate
 their minds and hearts so that they
 may be efficient when they grow to
 maturity.
 "Forty-two states out of the forty eight have adopted so-called child -la-
 bor laws, some of which are highly
 developed and rigidly enforced. 9th CTS are rather rudimentary and indif-
 ferently enforced. The manufacturer
 In the state where children under the
 age of 16 years are not permitted to
 work at all and where those above 16
 and below IS are permitted only to
 work under certain restricted condi-
 tons and regulations complain that
 they are subject to unfair competition
 by competitors who manufacture in
 states where there are no laws on the
 subject of child labor or where the laws arc not comprehensive and prac- tically not enforced. A remedy must
 be found to meet this condition. There are those who advocate uniform child-labor laws by the states, believ- ing that it Is a subject which should be dealt with only by the states On ho Il, advocate the adoption of an amend ment to the federal constitution giv- ing congress exclusive power to deal with the subject. Regardless of which method may be adopted, 1t is urgent that some method should be adopted which will forever blot from the es- cutcheon of this nation the black spot of child labor which still exists in some form in some places.
 Long continued hours of toll at a time when the bones and the muscles of the body of the child are unde- veloped bring about Q condition which retards it's development. We are told that at times in some places children of 12 years or whereabouts are con- peled to labor and 10 and 12 hours per day in employment which so ex- hausts them that their nerves are when night comes and they are unable to sleep. The destiny of | such poor victims seems clear. When | they reach the age of manhood or instead of being able to | do their share of the worlds work | and do 1t effectively and efficiently, | hey are wrecks, physically, mentally l and morally, a large percentage of | them landing in the poorhouse, or tic | or the jail, or the grave. | There is not single defense that can l pc urged to this awful system, and | every instinct of humanity prompts | ts abolition. But beyond the instinct | 'f humanity. ordinary wisdom and | prudence of any government wiV l prompt it to conserve the physical 1 mental and moral fiber of it's growing childhood merely from the standpoint If insuring the perpetuation of the government.
 The decision rendered by the Unit d States Supreme Court on May Is.
 922. in the case Of Bailey & Bailey s. the Drexel Furniture O.. to the fleet that the child labor tax was un- constitutional, has provoked wide bread discussion as to what shall be |. he next step in the control of child abor. In previous decision (Ham- ner vs. Dagenhart) the Supreme ourt declared unconstitutional an act which closed they channels of inter- tate and foreign commerce to the roducts of child labor. The court eems to have made the issue clear it ither to give up the plan of a fed ral minimum and rely solely upon heSstates. or to undertake to secure
 federal amendment definitely giving congress the power to pass child- ibor law. Both the first and second 1 ederal child labor laws sought only
 minimum national standard. State l' lws that were higher were still op- ratlve and were enforced by state lachinery. An amendment giving to ongress the right to establish a fed ral minimum and leaving to the ate the right to raise and not lower andards, thus securing to the chil- ren all the advantages of our federal orm of, government, is being advocat- by the most representative organ atlons of women, trade-unions, the ational Consumers league, and the Iational Child Labor committee"