The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-04-06
AH Commentator
Debunks Attack On
Child Labor Laws

Washington (LPA)-Frank Ed
wards, AFL radio commentator,
iebunked a veiled attack on the
child labor laws in his nationwide
broadcast March %. The attack
was an article in the Saturday
Evening Post entitled "The Fed
eral Shoppers Are After Me-"
Robinson McIlvaine, editor of the
Downington, Pa. weekly Archive
and head of the Chester Valley
Press, Inc, complained of being
badgered about his jolly company
IF happy youngsters, of snooping,
of being told to pay himself SAL
Try; of being forced to buy larg-
ar press, discontinue letting high
school youngsters fold the paper;
having to pay up back wages for
overtime, and raise the wages of
other youngsters. McIlvaine also
said a 19-year-old linotype opera
tor made as much as $110 a week.
Edwards pointed out that he did
what the giant Satevepost could
have done, but failed to do-check
the facts with the US Dept of
Labor. Edwards did. He found that ::
the Department did not suggest
McIlvaine pay himself salary;
The young linotype operator made
S1.60 an hour for 40-hour week; ;.
McIlvaine, in his jolly little story,
eft out few interesting details.
The official US report shows
hat McIlvaine was asked if he
employed any boys under 16, and
ne said flatly, "No, but we do have
some young boys come in after
school to fold papers" lin his
SEP article McIlvaine had written
I'VE usually let five or six join the
folding party and give them cider,
cookies, radio programs and lots of
chatter for two or three hours two
days weekly Although the US.
agent had told McIlvaine it was H.
.egal to employ children under 49,,
investigation showed that between
June and October of 1949, Nc
Ilvaine had been employing ten
Boys ranging in age from IL to ID,
and that he continued to employ
Them after being told it was
against the child labor law. The re-
.ords show one boy worked as late
as 11:30 p. m. and another worked
until II p. m. and that their wages
,anged down to 16 cents an hour. 4
What McIlvaine did not say in
his magazine article, also, was that
the US agents pointed out that he
was not only violating the child
labor law but also the law requir-
ing payment for overtime, and the
aw requiring him to keep records
like other printers and publishers
keep. Gle had to fork up $156.60 to
me man for back overtime.)
"That's what the record shows"
Edwards said on his broadcast,
and that record was available to|
che Post, just as it is to you, and
you, and you. As they say in theI
cigarette ads, It's fun to be fooled
out it's more fun to know"
The Saturday Evening Post inl
1947 ran an article by j. M. Swig
ert, a law partner of Senator Taft,
on the Taft Hartley law. So biased
was it that AFL President William
Green asked for space to reply
The Post refused, saying "wel
frankly take sides on many import
ant questions" Recently it ran an
editorial saying that propaganda
was "a monopoly of the Left,
a dark picture of what is
going on. That was followed by an
editorial attacking the Labor Ex-
,ension Service bill, and labelled
Must the Public Pay to Teach
Strike Tactics ?" And now, thcI
Snooper" article.
Edwards promptly answered the
monopoly of the Left" editorial,
md promptly debunned the Nc