The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-03-13

The Congress shall have power to limit,
 regulate and prohibit the labor of persons
 under Is years of age.
 This is the wording of the child labor amendment and some persons appear to have become sincerely alarmed by the of the powers that they believe it grants Most of the opponents of the measure n- deed no longer attack the mere prohibition of child labor itself by the Federal Government Their objections rather concentrated on the extent of the powers which they contend the amendment unnecessarily would grant to Congress Some of them even picture Congress, under this amendment, regu- latng the details of the lives of all persons under IS deciding for example, where they shall be sent to school ordering them to work at particular tasks separating them from their parents and passing other very extraordinary laws.
 These fears have real foundation. The amend ment grants to Congress powers that the State Legislatures do not already possess and Congress may be expected to use powers with at least as much wisdom and discretion the State Legislatures have shown.
 Two specific objections have been made to the phraseology of the amendment. One IS the insertion of the broad power to regulate" But the reason for its inclusion is clear As originally drafted the amendment merely conferred the power on Congress to limit or prohibit child labor But suppose, It was asked at the time, Congress wanted to make some regulations regarding the employment III hazaroous occupations of minors considered old enough to work The courts might hold that these were in themselves neither limitation" a prohibition" of child labor The power to regulate was therefore inserted to provide for such contingencies.
 The other objection has to do with the age speci- fled the amendment It held that l6 and li-year- ods are not children and should be permitted 10 work This criticism can result only from a mis- lconception The proposed amendment is not legis- lation but simply grant of powers. The framers of the amendment their discussions showed, did not seriously propose prohibit the labor Of persons l6 and IT years old But they held that with rising labor standards it might ultimately be deemed de- srable to put certain restrictions on the labor of these young persons therefore Congress should have the power to do this without submitting amend ment
 Some clue regarding the type of law that Congress would be likely to pass under the amendment may be obtained the terms of the Federal Child Labor Law passed 1916 and later declared unconstitutional It prohibited the shipment interstate commerce of goods produced in mines and quarries in which chil- dren under years of age employed or in work shops or factories in which children under IA were employed or in which children aged IA to Is worked more than eight hours day or six days week or between pm and am. Such restrictions hardly seem excessive On the contrary they necessary to safeguard the health and mental growth of oui children Many State laws fall deplorably below these standards while States which maintain decent stand ards often do only by putting their manufacturers at competitive disadvantage with the States that dc not A national law alone impose such standards uniformly The ratification of the child labor amend men necessary give Congress the power to pass such law.
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