Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-03-06

state with the single exception OF
limit higher than IA in employment in
the common kinds OF work other than
| agriculture and domestic services
1t may startle people who think
child labor is a thing of the past in
America to learn that it has spread
to all parts OF our land and is growing
| rapidly under present demand for la
Dor. The wheat fields, cotton fields,
factories, mines and piece work, all call
for child labor. These helpless child
toi1ers are not confined to any one
geographical section of the country.
They may be found in:
Tenements of New York and other
Eastern cities where the very small
children spend hours beading dresses
that we purchase from our shops here
i'll town.
Making our sanitary milk bottle
shoppers.
In one of the flats of 3 small rooms
in Jersey City lived a family, father
mother and seven children There
were also four boarders cats and II
chickens in the flat. Sanitary condi-
tons were unspeakable. The children
were making toys of tin for boys and
girls happier than they. working long
hours with no rest.
( Textile establishments of New Eng
land States.
Cotton fields of the South.
Coal mining regions.
Oyster and Shrimp canneries.
Conditions in Georgia, Florida.
Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida
Most of the cannery work is done
in dirty, danny, drafty, sheds. The
employees are housed in camp-like
buildings. Many families occupy the
same house. These canneries are us
ually located in isolated places with no
church, no school, no physician and
railroad, away from everything. Chill
dreV and years old work in these
oyster canneries. Three fifths of the
families reported injury. including
cuts, burns, infections, sores, rawhess,
caused by acid in the shrimp. The
most common injury. cuts from oys-
ter shells, sore hands from running
shrimp thorns in them. The shuckers
usually wear gloves but they wear out
quickly, the smaller children being un-
able to get gloves small enough for
them so consequently work without.
A child years old cut her hand
with an oyster shell the week before
Christmas and in March when the in
spector came around it had not healed
but had abcessed.
The work in the canneries is very
unpleasant and the whole families are
forced to work on account of the very
low wages.
Sugar beet growing areas from Ohio
to California;:
Many children start child labor here
but what OF it? Why all this contin-
ued stir? What harm is done children?
Children are in the open, and that is
the excuse oftenest offered for their
employment. But much of the time
they are crawling on "all fours" just
like dogs, with sore knees, wrists,
swollen faces scorched, eyesight dam
aged and this posture they maintain al
most steadily from 3 to 7 days week
and from II to IS hours daily
Twice Congress passed a bill for
the silent army of child workers now
numbering over a million and as
many times it has been declared I'M
constitutional by the Supreme Court
of the u. S.
Some states are working "for at
least a, minimum standard" iOnly
eight states have improved child labor
laws. In 81 states child may be en-
ployed before he has completed a
common school education. In some
states the law makes no educational
requirements whatever beyond de-
handing that the child be able to read
and write. Child labor has increased
43 per cent.
The first Federal Child Labor Law
enacted on Sept |, 1916 to become eff
fective one year after its passage, pro-
hibited shipment in interstate and
foreign comerce of goods produced
in mines or quarries in which child
rem under 10 were employed, or in
mills, canneries, workshops, factories,
or manufacturing establishments in
which children under II years of age
were employed or in which children
between fourteen and sixteen worked
more than eight hours daily. This
law was declared unconstitutional by
the u S. Supreme Court on January
3rd, 1918
| A second Federal law known as
I"Child Labor Tax Act" was passed in
February 1919, and put a premium on
the observance of the same standards
by imposing a tax upon the profits of
all mines and manufacturing estab-
lishments employing children in vio-
lation of the standards. Although
since declared unconstitutional May
Is, 1922, this law was in effect at the
time of the 1920 censure.
Now it is up to EACH STATE to
provide laws to protect the children,
and states have organizations which
help along these lines Our Woman S
Club has done a great deal and it is
left to the women to see that these
child labor laws are made and en-
forced
VIRGINIA MARTIN.
49, d