Evening star., 1937-05-30
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Sponsoring the legislation to carry into
effect the mandate of President Roose-
velt in a special message on Nav "a for
abolition of the evil of child labor is
an honor of which Representative
William P. Connery, Democrat, of Mas
Sachusetts, chairman of the Committee
on Labor, is extremely proud. for he lines
up with the century old traditions of his
native State and one Of its grand old
men. philosopher, idealist, humanitarian
as well as jurist-Mr. Justice Holmes
The President quoted from a dissenting
opinion by Justice Holmes in 1918, when
the Supreme Court by decision of FIVE
to-four, invalidated the child labor act
OF 1916. commenting that although he
spoke for minority OF the court he
spoke for majority of the American
people"
Chairman COnnery recalls that Massa-
chusetts by law in 1886 prohibited en-
ployment in factories of children who
had not attended school for three months
In the preceding year, setting an ex-
ample followed fourteen years later by
Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Mean
while, nlnety-fve years ago, Massachu-
setts prescribed tenhour day for chill
dren under twelve years and Connecti-
cut for children under fourteen. Penn
sylvania was the first State to Ak a
minimum age for child labor in l848 by
barring from work in factories children
under twelve years. and the following
year this was raised to thirteen Five
years later Rhode Island set a minimum
OF twelve years of age for factory work,
and two years after that Connecticut set
minimum Of nine years. In 1866 Mas
sachusetts fixed ten-year minimum age
in manufacturing occupations Last year
Rhode Island became the first State to
adopt a forty-hour week for workers
under sixteen in factories and stores.
Now all except seven States-Alabana
Colorado. Florida, Idaho Illinois. Iowa
and West Virginia-limit the maximum
work week of children aged sixteen and
seventeen, although in large number of
States this limitation applies only to girls
Nevada and South Dakota are the only
States which fail to prohibit employ
ment Of children under sixteen in fac
tories and stores at night. Child labor
is indirectly regulated through compul-
sorry school attendance laws General
minimum wage laws covering children of
both sexes, as we'll as women, have been
Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massa-
chusetts. New Hampshire, New York.
New Jersey. North Dakota. Ohio, Okla
homa, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah,
Washington and Wisconsin. The Okla
homa law, enacted this year, applies also
to men. No State has enacted legisla-
ton meeting all the minimum standards
for child employment recommended in
1Q2S ~ 20 Yy,fo Acc IF
Governmental Labor Officials. Rhode
Island, with forty-hour week for chill
dren under sixteen, and Pennsylvania,
with a forty-four hour week for those
under eighteen, are the only States which
approximate the recommended standard
"a forty-hour week for all persons under
eighteen. Ten States prohibit the en-
ployment of children under sixteen dur
ing thirteen night hours.
There are now nearly two million chill
dren under eighteen at work. Govern
ment figures show that 80 per cent of
the employed children ten to thirteen
years of age are in sixteen Southern
States, in spite of the fact that these
States contain only 35 per cent of all
the children between those ages in the
entire population of the United States.
Turn back the pages Of history-that
Is what members of Congress frequently
do for better understanding Of trouble
some matters in these our days. Last
week Representative Fritz Lanham,
Democrat, of Texas, during debate on
the relief measure, when various House
blocs we're busy ''earmarking' the funds,
recalled that several years ago Repre-
sentative (MajoD A. j. BulWinkle, Demo-
crat, of North Carolina had inserted in
the Congressional Record quotation
from speech made in the House lis
years ago by Henry Clay, which describes
in the more ornately eloquent phrase
ology Of those days our recent depression.
Mr.. Lanham was emphasizing that there
have been recurring depressions and that
the country has Weathered them all, and
warned that ''it behooves us to avoid
by every possible safeguard any perma-
nent weakening of the stamina and SELF
reliance of the American people,
* ~
Preparation of the World War per-
sonnel records, Maj. L. P. Worrall has
advised Congress, has been delayed be-
yond the original three-year estimate,
due to the fact that the contemplated
annual appropriations have been re-
duced. The appropriation for the fiscal
year beginning July next for this work
has been reduced to the extent of six
special. employees. So that with the
budget allowance of $4,000, there will
still be required Sl23,54o to complete the
wosk,