Evening star., 1937-06-08


act, Washington minimum mao.
idD and other NeD Deal measures
sdm'ristrotion rushed present. leo
tslntior before Congress.
Open hearings are scheduled to
end neat Monday.
ny JOHN c. HENRY.
Outspoken disagreement over tho
most effective means OF achieving
Federal regulation OF child labor in the
pending wage-and- hour bill developed
before the Senate and House Labor
Committees today.
BY the bill AS it now stands. such
regulation would be sought mainly
through application OF the prison.
goods law recruitment of labelling, to.
gether with q prohibition against ship.
ment, under certain conditions, In
interstate commerce
Today, however, several witnesses
joined in criticizing this proposal and
suggested. instead. reliance on the
work certificate system of the 1915
child labor act.
Testimony was unanimous in favor
OF continued efforts for adoption OF
the child labor amendment.
Miss Lenroet Heard.
Miss Katherine Lenroot, head Of the
Chlldren's Bureau, appeared hrst 10
indorse the bin. Although not criticiz-
ing its present provisions, Miss Len.
root did suggest more specific author.
1ation Of the certificate system.
In her discussion of the problem
she disclosed that recent studies in
non agricultural pursuits show:
A decided shift in the employment
OF boys and girls under Is from fac
torres. where child labor abuses frst
attracted public attention, to miscella.
neous occupations in trade and service
industries. in which child labor is more
dlfncult to regulate than in larse in
dustrial plants and in which the old
evils Of long hours and low wages per.
sist.
Regardless Of the kind OF work.
however, the hours of work tended to
be long and the wages low" Miss Len
root continued Nearly one-fourth
Of the children under Is were found
to be working 60 hours a week or
longer and only about one-third had
. work week OF 40 hours or less.
Wages ~ Low As 5. Weekly.
Earnings were very low; the median
weekly wage for children under Is wss
only slightly over s4, and nearly one
hfth of tha child ran An~AA L.. <h.-
81 for q weeks work
Information obtained by the Chill.
dren's Bureau regarding the conditions
| OF work for boys and girls OF Is and
II years indicates that in non-manu-
featuring jobs. in which almost hall
| Of the is and II year-old workers
were engaged, the median weekly earn.
inss were only $500. and even IN
manufacturing occupations half earned
less than $3.50 . week
"Of the entire group Of l6 and II
year-old workers. a NTH earned less
than 81 for a weeks work: hours Of
work tended to be long: ~ per cent
Of the l6 and II year-old workers re-
ported = work week OF 50 hours OF
more. 1t was significant, however,
that hours of work were longer and
earnings lower for the children under
Is than for those Is and II years
Of age
The provisions of the pending bill,
administered on the principle of the
same minimum for men and women.
boys and girls, with properly safe
guarded provisions for learners and
apprentices. will not only eliminate
the labor Of children under Is In the
occupations covered, and under lS In
especially hazardous occupations. but
will shorten the hours and raise the
wages OF those Is and II years OF
age
The large portion of the children
engaged in intrastate industries makes
1t essential that the movement for
| completion Of the child labor Amend
ment be continued until ratification
by eight additional States is COM
pleted"
Following Miss Lenroot, Mrs. laru.
Brown OF the National League of
Woman Voters indorsed the objective,
OF the child labor provision, but OBJ
1ected to their application by the
prison codes principle OF prohibiting
shipment into States having reeula-
tions
THE administration of such
principle would be extremely com.
plicated," she said 1T would neces-
state new legislation in all but three
States and might, therefore, hamper
ratlncation Of the Federal child labor
amendment It also is an unsound
governmental policy because 1t would
have the effect Of setting up trade
barriers among the States"
The League OF Women Voters, Mra
Brown said, would prefer to have the
Children's Bureau sole administrator
OF the child labor provisions instead
OF It's sharing responsibility with the
proposed five-member board.
Urges Civil Service.
Mrs. Brown urged that all employees
OF the administrative board be ap.
pointed In accordance with civil sery.
ice laws.
Likewise urging continuance OF the
hight for the child labor amendment
ana supplementary prohibition by law,
Courtenay Dinwiddie Of the National
Child Labor Committee joined in criti.
cism OF applying the prison. goods
principle as means Of such child
labor regulation.
The assumption Of 4 sound analogy
between the control Of prison-made
goods and the control Of child-made
goods is fallacy," Dinwiddie declared.
Instead he urged the effort should
be made through legislative provisions
similar to those Of the 1916 child labor
law.
Lucy Randolph Mason Of the Ma
tional Consumers League also joined
with those advocating employment OF
the work certificate system Of the 1916
child-labor bill as most effective means
OF re0ula ting such labor