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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

CHILD REN ’ S BUREAU
GRACE ABB O TT. Chief

CHILD LABOR
IN THE UNITED STATES
. „-»îo

t îx j

IIB A L &

BUREAU PUBLICATION No. 114
{FOURTH EDITION)

AUGUST, 1926

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1926

3 k 2 ‘l
IL
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SINGLE COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE
OBTAINED

FREE

UPON APPLICATION TO THE

c h il d r e n ' s b u r e a u

,

a d d it io n a l c o p ie s m a y

BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF
DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
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AT

* 10 CEN TS P E R C O P Y


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CONTENTS.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

How many children in the United States are at work?.................................... ^ 5
In what occupations are children engaged?...............................................
g
In what sections of the country are the largest numbers of children at work ?
9
Is the number of children at work decreasing?...................................................
jj
Is the decrease between 1910 and 1920 real or apparent?...............................
12
What progress has been made in legal regulation during thist period?...........
13
Legislation and child labor in mines.........................................................
14
Legislation and child labor in mills and factories.......................................
lg
7. What were the provisions of the first and second Federal child-labor laws?.
18
- 8. What is the proposed Federal child-labor amendment?....................................
19
ft 9- How is child labor regulated b y the States at the present time?....................
20
Age minimum for children entering employment......................................
21
Educational requirements for children entering em ploym ent..................
22
Physical examinations of children entering employment.........................
23
Age minimum for work in mines...................................................................
24
25
The length of the working-day........... . ..........................................................
W eekly hours for working children................................................................
26
Prohibition of night work for children............. ............................................
27
State regulation of child labor in street trades............................................
28
29
Compulsory school attendance........................................................................
Compulsory part-time school attendance.....................................................
30
Legal regulation of the employment of minors 16 years of age and over.
31
10. What are the minimum standards for children entering em ploym ent?.........
32
Publications of the United States Children’s Bureau on the subject of child
labor.......................................................................................... f ....................................
34
(3)


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C H A R T I. P R O P O R T I O N O F C H I L D R E N 10 T O 15 Y E A R S O F AG E, IN C L U S IV E , IN EA CH
P R I N C I P A L D I V I S I O N O F O C C U P A T I O N S , 1920.

61%
Agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry.

647,309

Extraction of minerals.......... ................ ........

7,191

Manufacturing and mechanical industries...

186,337

Transportation.................................................

18,912

Trade.................... ............ ..............................

63,368

Domestic and personal service.......................

54,006

Clerical occupations........................................

80,140

Other.


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4,595

CHILD LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES.
TEN QUESTIONS ANSWERED.

1. HOW MANY CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES ARE AT
WORK?
In the United States in 1920 over one million (1,060,858) children
10 to 15 years of age, inclusive, were reported by census enumerators
as “ engaged in gainful occupations.” 1 This number was approxi­
mately one-twelfth of the total number (12,502,582) of children of
that age in the entire country. The number of child workers 10 to
13 years of age, inclusive, was 378,063. These numbers reported by
the census do not include children merely helping their parents at
household tasks or chores, or doing irregular work about the home
farm, for the census enumerators were directed not to count such
[children as employed;2 and as the census was taken in January
children employed only during the summer vacations on farms or
at other seasonal work were not included.
The census does not report the number of working children under
10 years of age, but it is known that such children are employed in
large numbers in agriculture, and in smaller numbers in many other
occupations such as street trading, domestic service, and industrial
home work.
Table I shows the number and proportion of boys and girls
reported as gainfully employed in 1920:1
T

able

I . — P er cen t o f children engaged in ga in fu l occu pation s, by se x : 1920.
Children 10 to 15 years of age,
inclusive.
Sex.
Total.

Engaged in gainful
occupations.
Number.

Both sexes...................................................................................
Female..........................................................

12,502,582

1,060,858

8.5

6,294,985
6,207,597

714,248
346,610

11.3
5.6

1 Fourteenth Census of the United States, Population, 1920, Vol. IV , Occupations, p. 476.
1Ibid., p. 30.

(5)
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Per cent.

6
2. IN WHAT OCCUPATIONS ARE CHILDREN ENGAGED?
Of the child workers 10 to 15 years of age, inclusive, in the United
States in 1920, 647,309, or 61 per cent, were reported to be employed
in agricultural pursuits, the majority (88 per cent) of them as laborers
on the home farm. An even larger proportion, 87 per cent, of the
working children 10 to 13 years of age, inclusive, were at work in
these occupations. There were 185,337 children, or 17.5 per cent
of the total number of working children under 16, employed
in manufacturing and mechanical industries— cotton, silk, and
woolen mills; cigar, clothing, and furniture factories; and can­
neries and workshops. Over 80,000 children were engaged in some
type of clerical occupation; approximately 63,000 were in trade;
54,000, the majority of whom were girls, were working at occupations
classified under “ domestic and personal service” ; and 7,191— almost
all of them boys— were employed in the extraction of minerals.
Almost 25,000 children 10 to 13 years of age were reported as employed
in trade and clerical occupations, over 12,000 in “ domestic and per­
sonal service,” and almost 10,000 in manufacturing occupations.
The occupations of children 10 to 15 years of age employed in nonagricultural pursuits are given in the following table and in Charts
k
II and III:
T a b l e I I . — Number and per cent distribution, by occupation, o f children 10 to 15

years o f age, inclusive, engaged in selected nonagricultural pursuits, f o r the United
States: 1920.1
Children 10 to 15 years
of age engaged in non­
agricultural pursuits:
1920.
Occupation.
Numher.

413,549

100.0

48,028
41,586
30,370
22,521
21,875
20,706
12,904
11,757
10,585
10,023
7,545
7,077
5,850
162,722

11.6
10.1
7.3
5.4
5.3
5.0
3.1
2.8
2.6
2.4
1.8
1.7
1.4
39.3

1 Fourteenth Census o f the United States, 1920: Children in Gainful Occupations, p. 30.
2 Except telegraph messengers.
2 Includes clerks in stores.


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Per cent
distribu­
tion.

CHART

C H I L D R E N 10 T O 15 YEA RS O F AGE,

I N C L U S IV E , E M P L O Y E D AS LA B OR ER S A N D S E M I S K I L L E D O P E R A T I V E S IN M A N U F A C T U R I N G A N D
M E C H A N I C A L IN D U S T R I E S , 1920.1
(All branches of the textile Industry grouped together.)

T e x t il e s
I ron

- - - - - .................. 64,649

and

steel

- - - - - -

12,904

C l o t h i n q ......................................11,767
L u m b e r a n d f u r n it u r e - • 10,586
F ood - ....................
9,934
Sh

o e

...............................................7,645

B u il d in q 2 - - - ...............Cla y,

g lass , s t o n e

7,476

- - - - 4.968

ClQAR ANDTOBACCO......................4,938
P r in t in g

a n d p u b l is h in g

C h e m ic a l - -

• 4,023
- 2.158

R u b b e r - ..............................-

2.106

E l e c t r ic a l

s u p p l y ..................... 1.892

Paper

bo x

-

1,790

Paper

pulp

-

|,273

T a n n e r ie s -

731

Ot h e r

m etal

- --

-- -- -

3,706

ALL OTHER INDUSTRIES - - - 21,619


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C H A R T II I. BOYS A N D G I R L S 10 T O 15 Y EA RS O F AGE, IN C L U S I V E , E M P L O Y E D AS L A B OR ER S A N D S E M I S K I L L E D O P E R A T I V E S IN M A N U F A C T U R I N G
A N D M E C H A N I C A L I N D U S T R I E S , 1920.1
(Each branch of the textile Industry shown separately.)
1^50

2,500

3,780

SjOOO

SO

7,500______ 8,780_______IQPOO

C o t t o n ....................... ..........ili3 T ? 7%
I ron

an d steel

C l o t h in q

T a n n e r ie s
Ot h e r

t e x t il e s

Ot h e r

m e t a l ................-

-

's s///ss//.'/ssfs//s/.vs///s//A //s/s////s///f////i’///f///s/iV /x//////fS /M


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11^250

»2^06

13^50

9

3. IN WHAT SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY ARE THE LARGEST
NUMBERS OF CHILDREN AT W ORK?
Child labor, as Table III indicates, is confined to no one section
of the country. According to the 1920 census the proportion of the
total child population 10 to 15 years of age, inclusive, “ employed in
gainful occupations” ranged from 3 per cent in the three Pacific
Coast States to 17 per cent in the East South Central States, com­
prising Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. In Missis­
sippi more than one-fourth of all the. children 10 to 15 years of age
were at work; in Alabama and in South Carolina, 24 per cent; in
Georgia, 21 per cent; and in Arkansas, 19 per cent. Of the New
England States, Rhode Island had the largest proportion of children
from 10 to 15 years of age, 13 per cent, “ employed in gainful occupa­
tions.” Except in the South no other State had so large a percentage
of employed children as this. When all occupations are taken into
account the proportion of children at work was much larger in tl^
South than in any other section of the country; but when nonagricultural occupations alone are considered the proportion was con­
siderably larger for New England and for the Middle Atlantic States,
^ a n d slightly larger for the East North Central States— Ohio, In­
diana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin— than for any one of the three
southern geographic divisions.
Detailed statistics on the occupations in which children were en­
gaged in 1920 in the different States of the United States may be
obtained from the United States census reports,1 particularly the
following:
Fourteenth Census of the United States, Population, 1920: Volume IV , Occupa­
tions (especially Chapter V, Children in Gainful Occupations ,2 pp. 474- 688; Chapter
IV , Age of Occupied Persons, p p. 374-472; and Chapter I, Enumeration and
Classification of Occupations, pp. 8-23).

A brief summary of these statistics may be found in the leaflet
Occupations of Children, Fourteenth Census of the United States,
Population, 1920.
1Published by the Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce.
2 Reprints of each chapter of Volume IV are published separately.

7522°— 26-----2


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10
T a b l e III .— Per cent o f children engaged in gainful occupations, by States: 1920 . 1

Children 10 to 15 years of age, inclusive.
Engaged in gainful occupations. .
Division and State.
Agricultural.

Total.
Number.

All o

Per cent.
Number. Per cent. Number.

United States.............

12,502,582

768,131
New England......................
82,829
Maine.............................
New Hampshire............
45,691
Vermont........................
38,579
Massachusetts...............
394,026
63,739
Rhode Island.................
Connecticut...................
143,267
Middle Atlantic................... 2,397,736
New York...................... 1,059,635
341,185
New Jersey....................
Pennsylvania.................
996,916
East North Central.............. 2,312,711
596,741
Ohio...............................
323,979
Indiana..........................
699,310
Illinois...........................
384,213
Michigan........................
308,468
Wisconsin......................
West North Central............. 1,477,363
277,528
Minnesota......................
270,217
Iowa...............................
395,682
Missouri.........................
North Dakota...............
87,883
South Dakota................
78,427
155,920
Nebraska........................
211,706
Kansas...........................
South Atlantic..................... 1,911,574
Delaware.......................
23,809
164,546
Maryland.......................
35,230
District of Columbia---311,915
Virginia.........................
West Virginia...............
191,299
373,484
North Carolina..............
260,204
South Carolina...............
427,235
Georgia...........................
123,852
Florida...........................
East South Central.............. 1,267,275
318,408
Kentucky......................
323,548
Tennessee......................
349,537
Alabama........................
275,782
Mississippi.....................
West South Central............. 1,449,764
259,593
Arkansas........................
258,052
Louisiana.......................
289,533
Oklahoma......................
642,586
Texas.............................
393,563
Mountain..............................
60,045
Montana.........................
54,641
Idaho..............................
20,387
Wyoming......................
104,790
Colorado.........................
48,032
New Mexico...................
38,278
Arizona..........................
60,675
Utah.............................6,715
Nevada...........................
524,465
Pacific...................................
138.645
Washington...................
81)500
Oregon...........................
304,320
California.......................

1,060,858
59,239
2,585
1,526
1,277
33,723
8,569
11,559
131,541
49,846
26,024
55,671
100,801
18,119
16,911
36,933
13,154
15,684
57,906
8,271
9,121
22,587
2,816
2,555
5,286
7,270
273,981
1,406
12,300
1,871
25,493
7,431
62,162
63,520
88,934
10,864
221,342
26,754
39,837
84,397
70,354
184,267
48,140
32,274
22,981
80,872
15,612
1,402
1,608
608
4,558
2,195
2,711
2,361
169
16,169
4,650
2,462
9,057

8.5
7.7
3.1
3.3
3.3
8.6
13.4
8.1
5.5
4.7,
7.6
5.6
4.4
3.0
5.2
5.3
3.4
5.1
3.9
3.0
3.4
5.7
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.4
14.3
5.9
' 7.5
5.3
8.2
3.9
16.6
24.4
20.8
8.8
17.5
8.4
12.3
24.1
25.5
12.7
18.5
12.5
7.9
12.6
4.0
2.3
2.9
3.0
4.3
4.6
7.1
3.9
2.5
3.1
3.4
3.0
3.0

647,309

5.2

413,549

3.3

3,053
823
215
510
831
119
555
8,922
2,401
.998
5,523
23,425
3,721
4,844
5,801
3,588
5,471
29,722
4,698
4,184
9,622
2,364
1,928
3,171
3,755
214,906
393
3,168
5
15,501
4,112
50,582
56,920
77,105
7,120
196,620
21,036
32,326
77,395
65,863
158,187
45,686
23,718
19,752
69,031
8,950
678
1,092
307
1,955
1,418
1,981
1,477
42
3,524
1,024
668
1,832

.4
1.0
.5
1.3

56,186
1,762
1,311
767
32,892
8,450
11,004
122,619
47,445
25,026
50,148
77,376
14,398
12,067
31,132
9,566
10,213
28,184
3,573
4,937
12,965
452
627
2,115
3,515
59,075
1,013
9,132
1,866
9,992
3,319
11,580
6,600
11,829
3,744
24,722
5,718
7,511
7,002
4,491
26,080
2,454
8,556
3,229
11,841
6,662
724
516
301
2,603
777
730
884
127
12,645
3,626
1,794
7,225

7.3

.2

.2
.4
.4
.2
.3
.6
1.0
.6
1.5
.8
.9
1.8
2.0
1.7
1.5
2.4
2.7
2.5
2.0
1.8
11.2
1.7
1.9
(2)
5.0
2.1
13.5
21.9
18.0
5.7
15.5
6.6
10.0
22.1
23.9
10.9
17.6
9.2
6.8
10.7
2.3
1,1
2.0
1.5
1.9
3.0
5.2
2.4
.6
.7
.7
.8
.6

2.1
2.9
2.0

8.3
13.3
7.7
5.1
4.5
7.3
5.0
3.3
2.4
3.7
4.5
2.5
3.3
1.9
1.3

1.8

3.3
.5

1.4
1.7
3.1
4.3
5.5
5.3
3.2
1.7
3.1
2.5

2.8
3.0
2.0
1.8
2.3
2.0
1.6
1.8
.9
3.3
1.1
1.8
1.7
1.2
.9
1.5
2.5
1.6
1.9
1.5
1.9
2.4
2.6
2.2
2.4

1Compiled from Fourteenth. Census of the United States, Population, 1920: Children in Gainful Occu­
pations, p. 13.
1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.


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11

4.

IS THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN AT WORK DECREASING?

W
Once in every 10 years the United States Census Bureau reports
on the number of working children 10 to 15 years of age, inclusive.
No complete count of employed children is made between these cen­
suses. The most recent decennial census was taken in January, 1920,
\
at the beginning of a period of industrial depression and at a season
of the year when employment in many occupations, especially in
agriculture, was at its lowest ebb. Moreover, in 1920, the employ­
ment of children was discouraged b y a Federal child labor law.1
Since the census of 1920 was taken this law has been declared uncon­
stitutional, the industrial depression has been succeeded by a period
of increasing employment.
The census of 1920 records a considerable decrease since 1910 in the
number of children reported at work. Although the total child pop­
ulation 10 to 15 years of age, inclusive, increased 15.5 per cent during
this period, the number of working children reported decreased almost
half (46.7 per cent). A corresponding decrease took place in the
proportion of all children of these ages who are employed in gainful
occupations, from 18.4 per cent in 1910 to 8.5 per cent in 1920. As
Wshown b y Table IV, the decline is most striking in connection with
W
agricultural pursuits, in which the number of children employed
decreased 54.8 per cent.
T a b l e IV .— Relative changes in numbers o f children and o f all persons 10 years o f age

and over employed, 1910 to 1920, by occupation and age.2

Per cent of increase or decrease,
1910-1920.
Occupation.

Total population...............................
Total gainfully employed.................
Agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry___
Farm laborers (home farm)...................
Farm laborers (working out)...........
Nonagricultural pursuits.....................
Extraction o? minerals..............
Manufacturing and mechanical industries........
Transportation..........................
Trade...............................
Public service (not elsewhere classified)........
Professional service...................
Domestic and personal service.................
Clerical occupations.....................

All persons Children 10 Children 10
10 years of to 15 years to 13 years
age and
of age, in­ of age, in­
over.
clusive.
clusive.

+9. 0

—13.5
-44.1
-22.1
+20.2
+13.0
+20.6
+17.4
+67.8
+26.6
- 9 .7
+80.0

-5 4 .8
-5 0 .8
-7 5 .4

-5 8 .9

—<55! 2
-2 9 .0

-7 1.1

+110.’ 4

+142! 9

-5 L 9

1 The Federal child labor tax law was effective from Apr. 25,1919, to May 15,1922.
8Compiled from Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920: Children in Gainful Occupations, pp.
65, 68; Occupations, Age o f Occupied Persons, p. 378; Thirteenth Census of the United States. Vol. IV
Population, 1910, Occupation Statistics, p, 302.


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12

5. IS THE DECREASE BETWEEN 1910 AND 1920 REAL OR
APPARENT?
1
According to the United States Census Bureau, a large part of
the decrease in the number of children reported in 1920 as employed
is apparent rather than real. This is due primarily to a change in
the census date from April 15 in 1910 to January 1 in 1920, a cir­
cumstance which largely explains the smaller number of children
reported in 1920 as engaged in farm work and other seasonal occupa­
tions in which fewer children are employed in January than in the
spring. Since by far the greater part (84.5 per cent) of the decline
in the number of children reported at work in all occupations is
due to the large decrease (54.8 per cent) in the number reported as
employed in agricultural pursuits, clearly much of the total decrease
reported in 1920 can not be regarded as an actual reduction in the
total numbers of children gainfully employed. In the nonagricultural occupations,1 however, much of the decline in the numbers of
children reported as employed represents a real decrease, which
may safely be attributed to conditions affecting directly and especially
the labor of children. Chief among these are the enactment and>
strengthening of legal regulations, both State and Federal.
W
Table IV shows a smaller number of employed children in 1920
than in 1910 in each of the principal occupational groups other
than the agricultural1 except two— public service and clerical work,
neither of which was affected by the Federal child labor laws •
although the total number of employed persons of all ages in each
of these occupational groups increased.
1 Child labor in agricultural pursuits was not covered by either of the Federal laws and has never been
subject to State regulation to any appreciable extent. -See p. 20.


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>JUL]

13

6. WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN LEGAL REGULATION
DURING THIS PERIOD?
During the decade between 1910 and 1920 Federal regulation of
child labor was for the first time in effect. The first Federal child
labor law, enacted on September 1, 1916, to become effective one year
after its passage, prohibited the shipment in interstate and foreign
commerce of goods produced in mines or quarries in which children
under 16 years of age were employed, or in mills, canneries, workshops,
factories, or manufacturing establishments in which children under
14 years of age were employed, or in which children between 14
and 16 years of age worked more than eight hours a day or six days
a week or between 7 p. m. and 6 a. m. This law was declared uncon­
stitutional by the United States Supreme Court on June 3, 1918. A
second Federal law, known as the 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 establishments employing children in violation of
these standards. Although since declared unconstitutional (on May
15, 1922), this law was in effect at the time of the 1920 census.
While this law may be said to have been an important factor in
the decrease which the 1920 census shows, its effectiveness was
undoubtedly weakened b y the fact that it did not directly prohibit
or regulate child labor, but merely tended to discourage it by
imposing a tax upon the profits of establishments employing children
contrary to the standards set up, and by the fact also that pending
the decision of the United States Supreme Court as to the constitu­
tionality of the law the collection of the tax was rendered difficult.
State standards relating to the employment of children were also
raised in a number of States during this period. Laws firing the
minimum age for going to work were strengthened in at least onehalf of the States, either by raising the age or by increasing the
number of occupations to which the law applied, or in both ways.
In many States these measures were supplemented and the number
of child workers consequently reduced by raising the educational,
physical, or other requirements which a child must meet before
being permitted to go to work. The number of States firing a
maximum working-day of eight hours for children under 16 in any
considerable number of occupations increased from 7 to 28, and the
number of those having no prohibition of night work of such children
fell from 23 to 7 during the decade. The possibility of adequate
enforcement of these various regulations was increased by both
legislative and administrative action. Moreover, the standards of

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14
compulsory-education laws were generally raised so that fewer chil­
dren could leave school for work. Although these laws may not be
well enforced in many localities, in 1920 every State at least had
such a law, while in 1910 there were seven States without compulsoryeducation provisions. A new type of legislation, providing for the
part-time education of employed children during their working
hours, was passed during the decade in 22 States. This legislation
undoubtedly had an influence upon the extent of child employment
in 1920 in communities where continuation schools had been started,
since, as in the case of restrictions of hours, employers are said to
be loath to hire persons for whom special arrangements must be made.

V

LEGISLATION AND CHILD LABOR IN MINES.

According to the census returns the number of children 10 to 15
years of age, inclusive, employed in mining occupations declined 60
per cent in the period 1910—1920, as compared with an increase of
13 per cent in the total number of persons engaged in the industry.
During this period not only did Federal regulations become effective,
imposing a minimum age of 16 years for the employment of children
in and about mines, but in addition all of the principal mining States
except two— Illinois and Indiana—raised the minimum legal age
for such work to »16. Illinois had had a 16-year age mrnimum for
mining in 1910. Indiana, which had a minimum age of 14 years in
both 1910 and 1920, nevertheless showed a decrease in child labor
in the m in in g in d u stry of 61.4 per cent as compared with an increase
of 37.1 per cent in the total number of persons employed in mining,
apparently a case of the influence of the Federal law in a State with
standards lower than the Federal standards.
Chart IV shows the proportion of children under 16 in the total
number of persons employed in mining occupations in 1910 and
1920, for the 12 States employing the largest number of children in
the mining industry.

M


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15

C H A R T IV. P R O P O R T I O N O F C H I L D R E N B E T W E E N 10 A N D 16 Y E A R S O F A G E IN T H E
T O T A L N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S E N G A G E D IN T H E M I N I N G I N D U S T R I E S IN T H E
U N I T E D S T A T E S A N D IN T H E 12 S T A T E S E M P L O Y I N G T H E L A R G E S T N U M B E R S
OF C H I L D R E N IN T H E S E I N D U S T R I E S , 1910 A N D 1920.

Number.

Per cent.

0
[J. s .........

7,191
18,090

1

2__________

mmmm— i---------------

Pa.......... . 3,392
8,267

3____________4___________ JS

} } } ) ) ) ) 77771 —

Ky.........

493
708

W. V a...

472
1,851

Ohio.__

347
856

Ala..........

299
1,434

ill..........

251
249

Penn.. ..

243
868

■
V/////////////////////\ rTTTTTn
.......
H L -------masm--------v / / / / / / / / / / / / / ,/Z Z Z Z Z Z / / / r r m /7T7TTTJL

Ind....... .

226
585

f f f f W — •--------------- 1---------------

Okla___

203
59

Va........

188
632

Tex.......

186
120

’F / y / y / r
■■mar— 1--------------v77V//f///i„

Mo.........

141
298

W J W h n A ________

/» f f > ( J JJLLLLL ? in
k m —
y B t j / / { / / / / / /j l u -

.........

n

rrm

1920
1910


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u r n m ftiU T h

16

LEGISLATION AND CHILD LABOR IN MILLS AND FACTORIES.

In the manufacturing occupations in which the Federal laws of 1916
and 1919 prescribed a minimum age of 14 years, the influence of childlabor legislation appears to have been almost as important as in the
mining industry. Except in five States— Rhode Island, Massachu­
setts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington— and in the District
of Columbia, decreases in child workers, in many cases of from 40 to
60 per cent, were reported for the period 1910-1920. Decreases were
generally greatest in States where the minimum age had been raised
during the decade, as in Maine (67.8 per cent), Ohio (59.8 per cent),
Alabama (59.5 per cent), Maryland (49.4 per cent), and Florida (48.6
per cent); or where the unsatisfactory character of State law or admin­
istration had necessitated the issuance of Federal certificates of age,
as in Virginia (46.6 per cent), Georgia (50 per cent), North Carolina
(53.2 per cent), and South Carolina (62.5 per cent).
In 1920, as at previous census periods, the largest number of chil­
dren engaged in manufacturing pursuits were employed in the textile
industries, almost half of them being in the cotton mills. For the
textile industries the number of child workers was 77,967 in 1910 and>
54,649 in 1920, representing a decrease of 29.9 per cent as compared n
with an increase of 75.9 per cent in the total number of textile work­
ers. In the cotton mills the number of children employed was 21,875
in 1920 as compared with 40,572 in 1910; this represents a decrease of
46.1 per cent in the number of working children as compared with an
increase of 101.9 per cent in the total number of cotton-mill operatives.
The decreases in child labor in the cotton industry were principally
in the Southern States, where considerable advance was made in
child-labor and education laws and where the effect of the Federal
laws was especially marked.
Chart V shows the proportion of children in the total number of
persons employed in manufacturing and mechanical industries, as
reported by the censuses of 1910 and 1920, for the 28 States employ­
ing the largest number of children in these industries.


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f»

Ü

*

C H A R T V. P R O P O R T I O N O F C H I L D R E N B E T W E E N 10 A N D 16 Y E A R S O F A G E IN T H E T O T A L N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S E N G A G E D
M A N U F A C T U R I N G A N D M E C H A N I C A L P U R S U I T S IN T H E 28 S T A T E S E M P L O Y I N G T H E L A R G E S T N U M B E R S O F C H I L D R E N
T H E S E I N D U S T R I E S , 1910 A N D 1920.

Number.

Pei■cent.

2 4 :_____ 6>

TT. S
260,944
i-x

...

Mass.. . . .

13

1o

Percent.

Md..........

L__ ___

]
27,821 B H 1
38,953 i / / / / / i i

V a ........

23,753
21,637 I z ' / / / / !

Mich.......

N .Y .. . ..

17,842 W Bf~
24,050 7 / A
N. J ... ... 15,630 M U M
13,877 V / /

Term.___

a—

111.___ . . .

11,714 B B E Z
13,488 7 / / X

N. C .. . . .

7,697 P P P E IBBsIZ ______ I
16,444
/ / / / / / /

Conn.. ..

7,004
6,982 7 7 7 / 71 ____
r
6,979 P B BH 9B 3B 33 5#_____J
6,024 ¿..7 7 7 / / 7 / \
1

R . I ... ..

Number.

a

urn.

Te x..........

L a..........

/ / 7 l\

A la .........Calif.. . . .
K y . .........

W is... . .

5,515 w m j
6^073 ¿J -7 7 A_____
Ohio... -- 4,874 BT '
12,122 |
s///\
M o ..... ..
Tnrf

Miss........
Fla.........

4,816
7,206 '-V 7 7 /1
tr r r r -l ______
7,345 P P I - - L - ___

Iowa.......

77 7 /a

Ga....... ..
s , c „ „ ..

4,384
8,771

_____

f
■
1
7 7 / 7 7 7 /1

W . V a ...
1
r

3,829
______ _______
10,215] f 7 . / / 7 -7 -J 7 7 7 7 7 7 -7 7 7 7 / / 7 A

1

Wa§h....

1

1930


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17771 1910

IN
IN

7. WHAT WERE THE PROVISIONS OP THE FIRST AND
SECOND FEDERAL CHILD-LABOR LAW S?
The first and, second Federal child-labor laws established certain
national minimum standards for the employment of children— that
children under 14 should not be employed in mills, factories, manu­
facturing establishments, canneries, or workshops, that children
between 14 and 16 should not be employed in these establishments
more than 8 hours a day or 6 days a week, or between 7 p. m. and
6 a. m., and that children under 16 should not be employed in mines
and quarries. The first Federal law, passed September 1, 1916, to
go into effect one year later, forbade the transportation in interstate
or foreign commerce of the products of establishments 1 violating
these standards. This law was held unconstitutional b y the United
States Supreme Court2 on June 3, 1918, on the ground that in
attempting to regulate child labor in this way Congress had exceeded
its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce.
The second Federal law (the so-called child labor tax a ct), passed
February 24,1919, and effective April 25,1919, imposed a 10 per cent
tax upon the net profits of establishments violating the standards
outlined above. The Supreme Court, on M ay 15, 1922, b y an 8 to
1 decision,3 declared that Congress had exceeded its constitutional
powers in the enactment of this law.
Though the child-labor standards of these two Federal laws were
relatively conservative, only 19 States4 now measure up to them even
in regard to work in mills, factories, manufacturing establishments,
canneries, and workshops, and only 13 measure up to them in all
particulars.
i That is, of mills, factories, manufacturing establishments, canneries, workshops, mines, or quarries
as specified, above.
> Hammer v. Dagenhart, 247 U. S. 251.
> Bailey t>. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U . S. 20.
*In one of these States the hours-of-labor provisions of the law do not go into effect until July 1, 1927.


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19

8. WHAT IS THE PROPOSED FEDERAL CHILD-LABOR
AMENDMENT?
Inasmuch as two attempts of the Federal Government to extend
its protection to child laborers by indirect measures have been de­
clared unconstitutional b y the United States Supreme Court it would
appear that Federal regulation is possible only through an amend­
ment to the Constitution specifically granting to Congress the power
to pass laws prohibiting and regulating the employment of children
in the various States.
Such an amendment has been submitted by Congress to the States.
It provides for a grant of power to Congress to prohibit or to regu­
late child labor, limiting the extent of this power to persons under
18 years of age. The resolution proposing this amendment was
adopted at the last session of Congress b y a vote of 297 to 69 in the
House of Representatives and a vote of 61 to 23 in the Senate. It
is in the following form :
“ S e c tio n 1 . The Congress shall have 'power to lim it, regulate, and
prohibit the labor o f persons under eighteen years o f age.
“ S e c . 2 . The power o f the several States is unimpaired by this article
except that the operation o f State laws shall be suspended to the extent
necessary to give effect to legislation enacted by the Congress

This amendment is now before the States for ratification. The
legislatures of three-fourths of the States must ratify it before it
becomes a part of the Federal Constitution.

4*


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20

9. HOW IS CHILD LABOR REGULATED BY THE STATES AT .
THE PRESENT T IM E ?1
m
The child-labor laws of the States set up certain standards— age,
educational, and physical, as a rule—which the child must meet
before he can be employed in a specified list of occupations. They
limit his hours of employment during the first years of his working
life, and prohibit him from engaging in certain hazardous employments. The laws are enforced through a work-permit system
administered in most States by local school authorities and through
inspection of the place of employment by some State agency, usually
the department of labor. Moreover, in every State the compulsory
school attendance law, if enforced, indirectly regulates the employ­
ment of children during school hours.
The failure of the State child-labor laws to prevent the widespread
employment of children shown by the census reports is not altogether
due to low standards; it is due also to the numerous exemptions per­
mitted by many of the State laws and to inadequate enforcement of
the laws.
Owing to the difficulty of presenting clearly a large number of,
details in chart form, the legal standards for minimum age2 and forJ
hours of work are shown in the maps which follow only for factories
and stores; but the same regulations in many States apply to a con­
siderable number of other occupations, and in a few to any employ­
ment.3
Few State laws apply specifically to farm work or domestic service.
Although a number of child labor laws apply to “ all gainful occupa­
tions,” and therefore nominally cover farm work and housework,
almost the only regulation of these types of child labor is that which
results indirectly from the operation of the compulsory school attend­
ance laws.
iThe maps on the following pages show the provisions of the laws as of August 1, 1926.
»Except those for work in mines, which are given separately.
»Usually, however, exempting agricultural pursuits and domestic service.


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21
AGE MINIMUM FOR CHILDREN ENTERING EMPLOYMENT.

The nominal age minimum for work in factories in all except two
States, and for work in numerous other employments in many other
States, is fixed at 14 years or over for both boys and girls. Seven
States have an age minimum of 15 years or over. This does not
mean that in all these States no child under 14, 15, or 16 years of
age may go to work, for there are many exemptions permitted by the
laws and many limitations upon their application. The most that
can be said for a number of States is that the law shows recognition
by the legislature of a standard, variation from which is permitted
only under certain specified and more or less clearly defined con­
ditions.

MINIMUM AGE FOR CHILDREN IN FACTORIES* AND STORES
11926 legislation i n c lu d e d so f a r as available A u g u s t 1 ,19261
Indirect effect of compulsory school attendance and worK-pemvit requirements notnoted)

*
□
•
©
■

C ann eries and oth er esta b lish m en ts handling perishable products are n ot included.
With exem ptions which are lim ited t o time ou tside school hours.
With exem ptions which are not lim ited to time ou tside school hours.
Ifcy e a rs o f a g e fo r s t o r e s .
No age minimum for stores except restriction imposed by com pulsory education law on
worh during school hours.
A Certain dangerous or injurious occu p a tio n s prohibited for child u n d er 16. InWyoming
no ch ild w h o se a tten d a n ce a t school is required by law may be employed in factories
Or s to r e s during school hour's.
A Factories, 14; stores, 14except under regulations prescribed by State child-welfare commission


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22
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN ENTERING
EMPLOYMENT.

One of the primary reasons for restrictions upon child labor is that
every child may have the education necessary for the citizens of a
republic. An educational standard for going to work serves to insist
upon this opportunity for those children who have not secured a
m in im u m of education even though they have reached the age at
which the law permits them to work.
Only 13 States and the District of Columbia require completion of
at least the eighth grade for the issuance of regular employment
certificates; and 7 of these 13 permit exemptions under certain con­
ditions. The laws of 18 States either (1) have no educational require­
ment at all,1 or (2) fix no definite grade standard, demanding only
that before going to work the child must be able to read and write
(usually in English) and, in some States, that he have a knowledge of
elementary arithmetic.
i
One of these States, however, has a fifth-grade requirement for special permits issued on account of
poverty to children below the regular minimum age.

ED U C A TIO N A L STA NDARDS FOR C H IL D R E N GOING TO W ORK
[1926 legislation, in clu d ed s o fa r as available August I, 1926]
(in clu d in g otriytiracte requi remerrtf o r regu lar em ploym ent ce r tific a te s )

I

1,8th g ra d e
grad e o r 8 y ea rs’
sch ool a tt e n d a n c e
7th grade
Ittfl 6 th gra d e
tetri 5th gra d e
4 th gra .d e
NO gra d e requirement (Some of these States require proficiency in certain su bjects)

2223 8 th

A 8th grade for child l4tol5; 6thforchild l5tol6.
■ Completion of design ated grade in specified subjects. (InCdnnecticut local school au­
th o ritie s may raise requirements. In Maryland,outside Baltimore, com pletion o f 7th.
g r a d e is req u ired under cou n ty sch ool a tte n d a n ce law.)
□ W here con tin uation s ch o o ls are established, 8th g ra d e fo r child 14 to 15, no g ra d e
requirem ent for child 15 or over; in oth er places, no g ra d e requirement.
• With exem ptions.
A In Wilmington, by ruling of board of educationjin r e s t of State, indirectly through com­
p u ls o ry e d u ca tio n law.
O C om pletion o f 6th g r a d e ,e ffe c tiv e Septem ber 1,192.6.
© No p rovision fo r em p loym en t c e r t ific a t e s a pplicable t o gen era l occu p a tion s.
i— i No re g u la r em p loym ent c e r t ific a t e req u ired for child ov e r minimum age (15); 5th
grade for “ p overty-" perm it (I£ ” 15!-


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PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS OF CHILDREN ENTERING EMPLOYMENT.

The importance of physical examinations at regular intervals is
becoming more and more generally recognized. Such examinations
are particularly important in the case of children under 18 years
of age who go to work. During the years from about 12 to maturity
the child’s body undergoes rapid growth and change, and if he is
obliged through this period to adjust himself to the new demands
of occupational life he is subjected to a double mental and physical
strain. All except 15 States have recognized the need for protection
by making some legal provision in regard to the child’s physical
ability to go to work, but only 251 (2 of these with certain exemptions)
have made an examination by a physician mandatory before a child
may receive a regular employment certificate. Eight other States
and the District of Columbia authorize the requirement of an exami­
nation at the discretion of the certificate-issuing officer.
i In one of these States the law does not go into effect until July 1, 1927.

LEGAL REQUIREM ENTS FOR PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS
OF C H ILD R EN GOING TO WORK

[1926 legislation included so far as available August 1,1926]
(Examinations for regu lar employment certificates. Exami nations to determine age not included)

^ Exam ination mandatory in Milwaukee by order of Wisconsin Industrial Cofrimission;
■ Exemptions in certain cases on w ritten objection of parent.
A Examination within 6 m onths previous by authorized medical officer may be accept*
ed as su b stitu te.
O N 6 provision for employment certificates a p p lica b le to general occu pations.
□ No regular em ploym ent certifica te req u ired for child ov er minimum age (I5)j
physical exa m in a tion m an datory fo r"p o v e rty ” perm it (12*15).
• E ffective July 1,1927.


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24
AGE MINIMUM FOR WORK IN MINES.

Most State laws prohibit children under specified ages from engag­
ing in certain hazardous or unhealthful occupations, and a number
give to a State board power to determine from time to time what
occupations are dangerous or injurious and to prohibit children from
working in such occupations. An employment generally recognized
and regulated as hazardous is mining. Thirty States, including
most of those in which mining is an important industry,1 prohibit
the employment of boys in mines before the age of 16,2 and five
States have a still higher minimum age. Many States prohibit
entirely the employment of girls or women in this industry, but,
since women and girls usually have not been employed in mines in
the United States, the laws on this point are not important.
i See Chart IV , p. 15.
a Two of these States permit exemptions.

MINIMUM AGE FOR BOYS IN MINES
[192.6 legislation in clud ed s o la r as avail ab le August 1,1926]

(Indirect ef fectof compulsory school attendance requirements not noted)

• With exem ptions.
O By r u lin g o f O r e g o n B oard o f In s p e c to r s o f Child L a b or.
▲ Mines n ot specifica lly n am ed, b u t child l a b o r la w , with minim um a d e o f 15 durind
« CKi:»= lo u r ®11I4°utside^school h o u rs )in m anufacturing or business .establishments,
applies t o all em ployers o f children under 16 whatever th e business conducted”(excepfc
agricultural pursuits and dom estic service)*
•
A By implication from employm ent c e r t ific a te law, minimum age would be!4-i
□ Minim um age fo r all work during school h ou rs not n oted.
&


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25
THE LENGTH OP THE WORKING-DAY.

f

Thirty-seven States1 and the District of Columbia have recognized
the principle of an eight-hour day for child workers1 by fixing this
standard for the work of children of certain ages in at least one
industry; 31 States and the District of Columbia have an eight-hour
day which applies to children up to 16 years of age in both factories
and stores,1 5 of these allowing certain exemptions. In some of
these States the eight-hour day covers work in many other employ­
ments, sometimes in all “ gainful occupations.” This prohibition
may also apply to girls, or to children of both sexes, up to 18 years of
age; and in a few instances it applies to all females. Nine States
still permit children between 14 and 16 years of age to work from
9 to 11 hours a day, and one does not regulate the length of the
working-day.
1 In one of these States the law does not go into effect until July 1, 1927. One other State, Montana,
prohibits altogether the work of children under 16 in factories.

K

* Laws regu latin g hours o f labor fo r fem a les are n o t included.
A C lassified h e r e b e c a u s e no child under 16 may be employed at any tim e in fa c to r ie s .
© Law d o e s n o t e x te n d t o 16y ea rs o f age.(lnTexas children I5to 16 a re n ot c o v e r e d by
th e law; in Utah boys I4tp 16 a re n o t c o v e r e d by t h e law.)
• With exem p tio n s, (in M a in e,ex em p tion lim ited t o e m p lo y e r s e n g a g e d in p u b lic
s e r v i c e in c e r t a in c a s e s o f em e rg e n cy -)
■ N oregu lation fo r s t o r e s . (Butin North Carol ina,for children underMyan 8 -h ou r d a y is
p r e s c r ib e d f o r w ork in s to r e s .)

O Effective July 1,1927.


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26
WEEKLY HOURS FOR WORKING CHILDREN.

The 48-hour week is nearly always prescribed in States which
require the 8-hour day; four of these— Mississippi, New Mexico,
New York, and Virginia— have a 44-hour week. Twenty-eight1
States and the District of Columbia have a 48-hour week2 applying
to children up to 16 years of age in factories and stores; this provision
also applies in some States to girls up to 21 or to all children up to
18 years of age, and in a few States to all females.
1In Rhode Island a bill fixing a maximum 48-hour week and 9-hour day, with certain exemptions, for
children under 16 and for all females in factories, stores, et cetera, to go into effect June 1,1924, was passed
by the legislature and signed by the governor, hut the legality of its passage b y the senate is disputed.
2 Three of these permit exemptions. In one of these States the law does not go into effect until July 1,
1927. One other State, Montana, prohibits altogether the work of children under 16 in factories.

{Canneriesand other establishments handling perishable products are not included)

rrewBain a m ju ra fgr ween

—'

ililBIoohoursperweek__________________________________ ________________________
* Laws regu latin g h ours o f labor for*fem ales a r e n ot included.
A C lassified here b e ca u s e no ch ild underl6 may be employed at any time in fa c to r ie s .
© Law d o e s n ot e x te n d to 16y e a r s of age.OnTexas ch ild ren 15 to 16 are not covered by
th e law; in Utah boys 14 to 16 are not covered by th e law.)
A P r o v is io n fo r" 5 4 -h o u r w eek in fa c to rie s d oes n o t apply t o boys
# With exem ption s.
■ No regulation for s to r e s .
□ E ffe ctiv e July 1,1927.


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27
PROHIBITION OF NIGHT WORK FOR CHILDREN.

The need for protection of children from the physical and moral
dangers of employment at night has received fuller recognition in
our State laws than the need for hour regulations, but nevertheless
three States have not yet provided this protection.1 Thirty-five
States and the District of Columbia prohibit children up to 16 years
of age from engaging in night work in factories and stores,2 the
provision often extending to a number of other employments and
even to all gainful work. In some States this prohibition applies
to minors up to 18 years of age, and in some to all females.
i One of these, South Dakota, prohibits night work in mercantile establishments for children under 14.
One other State, Montana, has no night-work prohibition, but prohibits altogether the work of children
under 16 in factories.
3 Seven of these permit exemptions.

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS OF NIGHT WORK FOR CHILDREN UNDER 16
IN FACTORIES AND STORES
[l926 legisla tion in clu d ed s o f a r a s available August 1 ,1926]
(Canneries and o th er establishments handling perishable products a re not included)

#With exemptions:(InMaine,exemption Iimitadtoemployers engaged in public service in certain cases
o f emergency.)
□ Employmentof child under 16 in.factories entirely prohibited*
©Work permitted later than 7 p.m.(until 8p.m. in Colorado, Florida,Nebraska, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Carolina [9p.m.to make up time lost bn account of accident to machinery]*,
'until 9p.m. in Idaho and North Carolina; until iop.rn.jn California and Texas).
AProhibition extends from 5 p.m. to 8a.m. for factories; 6p.m. to 8 a.m.for stores.
■ Employment o f all females in stores after 10p.m. prohibited.
AChildren under 14-prohibited from work in mercantile establishments after 7p.m.


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28
STATE REGULATION OF CHILD LABOR IN STREET TRADES.

Fifteen States and the District of Columbia have laws requiring
children selling papers or doing other work on the street to secure
permits or badges. Only 11 have state-wide laws affecting boys
engaged in independent street work. These laws have proved much
more difficult to enforce than those regulating child labor in fac­
tories, stores, and other establishments. Although child labor in
street trades may be controlled by local ordinances or police regu­
lations and is so controlled in some places, State law is necessary
in order that minimum protection may be effective throughout the
State.

STATE LAWS REGULATING TH E WORK
OF BOYS IN STREET TRADES*
[1926 le g is la tio n in clu d e d so fa r as available August 1,1926]
(Only s p e c ific s tr e e t tr a d e s law s in c lu d e d )

* This does notinciude:(l)provisions applying t o route carriers;(2)city ordinances;(3)delinquency and dependency law s som etim es applying to s tr e e t worKers;(4)laws relat­
ing to m essen gers and delivery boy6.
O Minimum age 10 in. cities', state-w ide child labor law provides for “license” 10-14.
• Minimum age 10; regulated to 16-(in New Jersey “age and working ce rtifica te j’provided in
child labor law, might be used fo r s tre e t trades.)
■ Minimum age II,w ith ex em p tion s;regu la ted to 16▲ Minimum a g e 12; regulated t o 16.(In Delaware“ provisional” permit provided for in child
labor law might be used for s t r e e t tra d es; S tate law, applicable t o W ilm ington only,
req u ires badges.)
© Minimum age 14;regulated t o 16.
4) Minimum age 12.
Cl Minimum age 12; regulated tol7+ Minimum age 10.


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COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

Every State now has a compulsory school attendance law, but in
kMississippi certain counties are exempted, and in Virginia particular
localities may obtain exemption under certain specified conditions.
In 28 States attendance is required throughout the State up to the
age of 16, and in 14 the upper age limit is 17 or 18, at least in some
localities. The school law in most States allows children above a
certain age (usually 14) to be excused to go to work, and many other
exemptions are permitted which weaken the effect of the compulsory
school attendance provisions.

COMPULSORY DAY-SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAWS* AFFECTING
EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
[1926 legislation, in clu d ed s o f a r as available August l, 1926]

* Provisions exempting children because of physical or mental incapacity, distance from
school,or a ttend ance upon equivalent instruction a re not included.
a w ith exemptions.
□ No exem ptions under 16,but a tten d a n ce is required f o r only tw o-th ird s o f th e en tire
session .
No exemptions under 15.
■ No exem ptions u nder 14 (this applies in Arizona according to continuation school law ;
in Delaware t o Wilmington only; in Kentucky to cities o f fi rst,secon d,th i rd ,o rfo u rth
c la s s o n ly fin W ashington only w h ere continuation s c h o o ls are establish ed)♦ Law applies uptothe specified age “ inclusive”
# To 16 in parish o f Orleans; to i4-,"incl usive,’elsewhere.
▲ Tol7outside Baltimore;to 16 in Baltimore.
3 Tol7outside w ilm ington;toi6in Wilmington.
O Certain counties exem pted-


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COMPULSORY PART-TIME SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

The recognition of the need for providing further educational
opportunities for children who have left the regular day schools and
entered industrial life at an early age is shown by the passage, within
the past few years, of laws requiring employed children between 14
and 16 years of age, and in some States up to 18 years of age, to
attend part-time continuation schools.
Twenty-seven States now have laws of this type, but only 20 of these
have provisions requiring schools to be established under certain
specified conditions. The attendance required in most States varies
from four to eight hours weekly, to be counted as part of the child’s
legal working hours.

COMPULSORY P A R T-TIM E SCHOOL ATTENDANCE L A W S *
A FFEC TIN G EMPLOYED CHILDREN
[192.6 le g isla tion , in c lu d e d so fa r as available A u gu st 1,19 2 6 -I

* E ven ingschool law s not included. Exemptions not noted.
4bEstablishment compulsory under certa in specified conditions.
■ Attendance required up to 16yea rs of a de.
9 Attendance required upto i*ryears of a g e .
• Attendance required up to I8yearsof ageXln Illinois, es ta b lis h m e n t optional with loca l
sch o o l a u th o r itie s ; day-sch ool a tten d a n ce law r e q u ire s a tten d a n ce at continuation
sch o o l to 16; lo ca l s c h o o l a u t h o r itie s may r e q u ir e a tten d a n cetolô;inM issouri,penalty app lies only up to l6jinNewYork, sch ool fa cilities for all children under 18 subject
to th e a c t m u s t b e e s t a b l i s h e d by S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 2 8.)

▲Evening-school attendance accepted as substitute*


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LEGAL REGULATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS 16 YEARS
OF AGE AND OYER.

► The employment standards illustrated by the preceding maps
apply chiefly to children under 16 years of age. Many minors over
that age, however, are employed who are in need of legal protection.
The last census showed 221,298 girls 16 and 17 years of age employed
in manufacturing and mechanical establishments— 24,467 as laborers
and 185,024 as semiskilled operatives. The number of working boys
of this age was somewhat larger— 366,215 in manufacturing and
mechanical establishments, 130,627 as laborers, and 133,175 as semi­
skilled operatives. The census also showed 60,989 boys and 27,396
girls 16 and 17 years of age employed in transportation and 24,388
boys and 88,148 girls in domestic service.
* A number of States have undertaken to place some safeguards
around the employment of these young persons. In general, these
regulations relate to employment in especially hazardous occupations,
such as work in blast furnaces, manufacture of poisons, and operation
of dangerous machinery; to occupations involving moral hazards,
such as night messenger work; to hours of labor; and to night work.1

<

1 Regulations along these lines in effect in the various States are summarized in a leaflet entitled “ I^egal
Regulation of the Employment of Minors 16 Years of Age and Over,” issued hy the Children’s Bureau,
U. S. Department of Labor.


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10. WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CHILDREN
ENTERING EMPLOYMENT?
Minimum standards for children entering employment adopted at
the Washington and Regional Conferences on Child Welfare called
by the Children’s Bureau in 1919 are as follows:
Age minimum.
A n age minimum of 16 for employment in any occupation, except that children
between 14 and 16 may be employed in agriculture and dômestic service during
vacation periods until schools are continuous throughout the year.
An age minimum of 18 for employment in and about mines and quarries.
An age minimum of 21 for girls employed as messengers for telegraph and messenger
companies.
An age minimum of 21 for' employment in the special-delivery service of the U. S.
Post Office Department.
Prohibition of the employment of minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or hazardous
occupations or at any work which w ill retard their proper physical or moral develop­
ment.

Educational minimum.
A ll children between 7 and 16 years of age shall be required to attend school for at
least nine months each year.
Children between 16 and 18 years of age who have completed the eighth but not the v
high-school grade and are legally and regularly employed shall be required to attend
day continuation schools at least eight hours a week.
(
Children between 16 and 18 who have not completed the eighth grade or children
who have completed the eighth grade and are not regularly employed shall attend
full-time school. Occupational training especially adapted to their needs shall be
provided for those children who are unable because of mental subnormality to profit
b y ordinary school instruction.
Vacation schools placing special emphasis on healthful play and leisure time activ­
ities shall be provided for all children.

Physical minimum.
A child shall not be allowed to go to work until he has had a physical examination b y
a public-school physician or other medical officer especially appointed for that purpose
b y the agency charged with the enforcement of the law, and has been found to be of
normal development for a child of his age and physically fit for the work at w hich he
is to be employed.
There shall be annual physical examinations of all working children who are under
18 years of age.

Hours of employment.
No minor shall be employed more than 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week. The
maximum working day for children between 16 and 18 shall be shorter than the legal
working day for adults.
The hours spent at continuation schools b y children under 18 years of age shall be
counted as part of the working day.
Night work for minors shall be prohibited between 6 p. m . and 7 a. m.

Minimum wage.
Minors at work shall be paid at a rate of wages which for full-time work shall yield
not less than the minimum essential for the “ necessary cost of proper living, as deter­
mined b y a minimum wage commission or other similar official board.” During


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a period of learning they may be rated as learners and paid accordingly. The length
of the learning period should be fixed b y such commission or other similar official
board, on educational principles only.

Placement and employment supervision.
There shall be a central agency which shall deal with all juvenile employment
problems. Adequate provision shall be made for advising children when they leave
school of the employment opportunities open to them, for assisting them in finding
suitable work, and providing for them such supervision as may be needed during the
first few years of their employment. A ll agencies working toward these ends shall
be coordinated through the central agency.

ADMINISTRATION.
Employment certificates.
Provision shall be made for issuing employment certificates to all children entering
employment who are under 18 years of age.
A n employment certificate shall not be issued to the child until the issuing officer
has received, approved, and filed the following:
1. A birth certificate, or, if unobtainable, other reliable documentary proof of
the child’s age.
2. Satisfactory evidence that the child has completed the eighth grade.
3. A certificate of physical fitness signed b y a public-school physician or other
medical officer especially appointed for that purpose by the agency charged with
the enforcement of the law. This certificate shall state that the minor has been
. thoroughly examined b y the physician and that he is physically qualified for the
I employment contemplated.
*- 4. Promise of employment.
The certificate shall be issued to the employer and shall be returned b y the employer
to the issuing officer when the child leaves his employment.
The school last attended, the compulsory-education department, and the con­
tinuation school shall be kept informed b y the issuing officers of certificates issued or
refused and of unem ployed children for whom certificates have been issued.
Minors over 18 years of age shall be required to present evidence of age before
being permitted to work in occupations in which the entrance ages or hours are
especially regulated.
Record forms shall be standardized and the issuing of employment certificates
shall be under State supervision.
Reports shall be made to the factory inspection department of all certificates issued
and refused.

Compulsory-attendance laws.
Full-time attendance officers adequately proportioned to the school population
shall be provided in cities, towns, and counties to enforce the school-attendance
law.
The enforcement of school-attendance laws b y city, town, or county school authori­
ties shall be under State supervision.

Factory inspection and physical examination of employed minors.
Inspection for the enforcement of all child-labor laws, including those regulating
the employment of children in mines or quarries, shall be under one and the same
department. The number o f inspectors shall be sufficient to insure semiannual
inspections of all establishments in w hich children are employed, and such special
inspections and investigations as are necessary to insure the protection of the children.
Provision should be made for a staff of physicians adequate to examine annually
all employed children under 18 years of age.


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PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES CHILDREN’ S
BUREAU ON THE SUBJECT OF CHILD LABOR.
Administration of Child-Labor Laws, Part 5: Standards applicable
to the administration of employment-certificate systems. Pub­
lication No. 133.
Administration of Laws Exempting Children from School Attendance
for W ork at Home. (In preparation.)
Administration of the First Federal Child Labor Law. Publication
No. 78.
Advising Children in their Choice of Occupation and Supervising the
W orking Child. Publication No. 53.
Annual Reports of the Chief of the Children’s Bureau (not available
for distribution but can be found in a number of libraries).
Child Labor— Outlines for Study. Publication No. 93. This publi­
cation presents the outstanding features of the child-labor problem
arranged in study-outline form and gives reading references.
Child Labor and the Welfare of Children in an Anthracite Coal Min­
ing District. Publication No. 106.
Child Labor and the W ork of Mothers in the Beet Fields of Colorado )
and Michigan. Publication No. 115.
-JP
Child Labor and the W ork of Mothers in Oyster and Shrimp Canning
Communities on the Gulf Coast. Publication No. 98.
Child Labor and the W ork of Mothers on Norfolk Truck Farms.
Publication No. 130.
Child Labor in Canneries. (In preparation.)
Child Labor in Fruit and Hop Growing Districts of the Northern
Pacific Coast. Publication No. 151.
Child Labor in New Jersey. (In preparation.)
Child Labor in North Dakota. Publication No. 129.
Child Labor in Representative Tobacco-Growing Areas. Publica­
tion No. 155.
Child-Labor Legislation in the United States: Part I— Texts of
Laws; Part II— Analysis. (In preparation.)
Child Labor on Maryland Truck Farms. Publication No. 123.
Children in Street Trades. (In preparation.)
Every Child in School. Publication No. 64.
Industrial Accidents to Em ployed Minors in Wisconsin, Massachu­
setts, and New Jersey. Publication No. 152.
Industrial Home W ork of Children; a study made in Providence, ,
Pawtucket, and Central Falls, Rhode Island. Publication No. 100v % Industrial Instability of Child W orkers; a study of employmentcertificate records in Connecticut. Publication No. 74.


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References on Child Labor and Minors in Industry, 1916-1924.
Publication No. 147. Supplements Publication No. 18, List of
References on Child Labor.
Scholarships for Children. Publication No. 51.
Standards and Problems Connected with the Issuance of Em ploy­
ment Certificates; proceedings of the conference held under the
auspices of the U. S. Children’s Bureau and the National Education Association at Boston, Massachusetts, July 5-6, 1922. Publi^
cation No. 116.
Standards of Child Welfare. Separate No. 2, Child Labor. Reprint
from Conference Series No. 1, Bureau Publication No. 60. (A re­
port of the Washington and regional conferences on child welfare
called by the Children’s Bureau in 1919.)
The Employment-Certificate System; a safeguard for the working
v child (revised). Publication No. 56.
The Minimum Wage and the Young Worker. (In preparation.)
The Welfare of Children in Bituminous Coal Mining Communities in
West Virginia. Publication No. 117.
The Welfare of Children in Cotton-Growing Areas of Texas. Pub­
lication No. 134.
The W orking Children of Boston; a study of child labor under a
modern system of legal regulation. Publication No. 89.
Unemployment and Child W elfare; a study made in a middle-west­
ern and an eastern city during the industrial depression of 1921
and 1922. Publication No. 125.
Vocational Guidance and Junior Placement; twelve cities in the
United States (in cooperation with the U. S. Employment Service).
Publication No. 149.
Vocational Opportunities for Minors in Milwaukee. (In prepara­
tion.)
Vocational Opportunities for Minors in the Clothing Trades in
New York City. (In preparation.)

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Vocational Opportunities for Minors in the Printing Trades in New
York City. (In preparation.)
W ork of Children on Illinois Farms. (In press.)
|
W ork of Children on Truck and Small-Fruit Farms in Southern
New Jersey. Publication No. 132.
W ork Opportunities for Minors of Subnormal M entality. (In
preparation.)
Charts:
No. 1. State Child-Labor Standards.
No. 2. State Compulsory School Attendance Standards Affect­
ing the Employment of Minors.
Leaflets and folders:
Canal-Boat Children.
Children in Street Trades in the United States; a list of refer­
ences.
Federal Control of Child Labor; a list of references.
From School to W ork. Folder No. 6.
Legal Regulation of the Employment of Minors 16 Years of Age
and Over.
Standards Applicable to Child Labor.
The Present Legal Status of Child Labor in the United States. ^
Trend of Child Labor in the United States, 1913-1920.
Trend of Child Labor in the United States, 1920-1923.
W orking Children of Boston. (A leaflet summarizing the report
published in full as The W orking Children of Boston, Pub­
lication No. 89.)

o


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