Full text of Child Labor and the Work of Mothers in Oyster and Shrimp Canning Communities on the Gulf Coast, Bureau Publication No. 98

View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

L5T20
m , i s
U. S. DEPARTMENT OP LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

CHILDREN’S BUREAU

GRACE ABBOTT, Chief

Child Labor and the Work of Mothers
in Oyster and Shrimp Canning
Communities on the
Gulf Coast
By

VIOLA I. PARADISE

Bureau Publication N o. 9 8

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1922

»,

U,6

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Owing to the limited appropriations for printing, it is not possible to distribute
this bulletin in large quantities. Additional copies may be procured from the Super
intendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., at 15
cents per copy.
2

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

is 2 * 1
Ol *o $ ^

a 99

CONTENTS.
Page.

Letter of transmittal . ...................... ............................. ............... . ......... ...................
4
5
Summary.............................. ................................................................ ......... ........ .........
Location, scope, and method of study.......................................... ............................... 8-11
The communities. ............... .............. . ............... .............. . . . . ......... ..
9
Races and nationalities of families........................................................................
10
The industries............................................................................................ . ....... .
10
The seasons....................... •................................. .......... .................................
10
Extent and character of child labor...................... .................. ......... : ....................11-21
Extent of child labor........ .................... ...................... .............................. .........
11
Occupations of children.......................................................................................... 12-14
Oyster canning....................
12
Shrimp canning........................................
13
Regularity of children’s employment..........................•.......................................
14
r ' Legality of child labor......................................................................... ............ .
16
«"Attitude of parents toward child labor....................... ........................................
17
■''Attitude of employers toward child labor........ .......................................... .
18
Hours of work................ J........................... : ..................... ..............................v. . . .
21
Hazards and discomforts of canpery occupations................................... ............ .
30
—Conditions in shucking and picking sheds..........................................................
36
«¿Literacy and schooling of children...................... ........................................ _.______ 39-45
44
.-Illiteracy..............................
' School grade.............................. ......................: ...................^ ......... ............. .
44
Poverty and child labor.........................................................................................
45-64
The widowed mothers..'......................... .......... ......... ......... ............ .................
45
Occupations and earnings of fathers.....................................................................
46
52
Occupations and earnings of mothers.............................
“"Earnings of children...........................................................................................
59
Care of babies and small children of working mothers........ : ..................................
64
Migratory families............................................
69-74
Recruiting the labor.................................. ............................................................
70
Preference for Polish workers...............................•................................................
72
Employers’ attitude toward imported labor....................................................
72
Attitude of the local workers toward imported labor.'.....................................
74
The housing of the cannery workers........................................................................... 74-82
74
_ Crowding........................................
. The camps..... ............... ................................................................................... .
75
. The homes of the noncamp families—white__ '..................................
80
* The homes of the noncamp families—Negro.......................................................
81
Conclusion..................................................................................................................-...
83
Appendix:—Child-labor and compulsory-education legislation in effect in
Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi on January 1. 1919..................................... 85-110
Florida.................. .................................... - ........................................ ; ....... .........
87
Louisiana..................................................... ........................... - - - ......... ................
95
Mississippi............................................................. - .............................................
105
3

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. D epartment

of L abor ,
Children ’s B ureau ,

Washington, October 27, 1921.
S i r : There is transmitted herewith a report on Child Labor and
the Work of Mothers in Oyster and Shrimp Canning Communities on
the Gulf Coast, prepared in the industrial division of the bureau by
Viola L Paradise. In addition to the problems resulting from the
employment of young children and of thè mothers of infants and'
young children, the report shows the special difficulties of providing
for the education and protection of the children of migratory families
that are recruited in cities for seasonal work in connection with the
canneries. As migratory family labor is relied upon for truck
farming, fruit picking, and sugar beet raising in other parts of the
country, the report has more than local importance.
Respectfully submitted.
Grace A bbott, Chief.
Hon. J ames J. D avis ,
Secretary o f Labor .
4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER SHUCKERS.

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN OYSTER AND SHRIMP
CANNING COMMUNITIES ON THE GULF COAST.
SUMMARY.

A study of the conditions of child labor and the work of the mothers
in the oyster and shrimp canneries was made by the* Children’s
Bureau in 1919. In scope it Was limited to the canneries in nine
communities in the Gulf coast region in three States—Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Florida. The study covered 544 working children
under 16 years of age, including 2 under 6; 332 between 6 and 14
years of age; and 210, 14 or 15 years old. The work consisted, in
the main, of shucking oysters and peeling or picking shrimp. Not
only was the work of the children in the canneries studied in detail,
but also the conditions in the families where the children or the
mother worked. In all, 423 families, with 1,350 children under 16
years of age, were included in the study.
The work of the children in the oyster and shrimp canneries was
subject to all the irregularities of the canning industry. The great
majority, 64 per cent, worked regularly; that is, whenever the fac
tory was open. Some of the children worked only occasionally and
others worked only before and after school and on Saturdays. The
hours of most of the canneries were such that even the children
employed “ only before and after school” often worked a considerable
time. Since the work depended on the catch, it was very irregular,
beginning any time between 3 and 7 o’clock in the morning, and
lasting a few hours, a whole day, or occasionally on into the evening.
Illiteracy among these working children was widespread. Of the
children from 10 to 15 years of age, 25 per cent were illiterate; for
the same age group for the United States as a whole, 4 per cent were
illiterate.1
A large proportion of the children did not attend school. Of 649
children from 7 to 13 years of age, 266—or 41 per cent—did not
attend school; and of those who did attend, more than half also
worked in the canneries; in consequence, many went irregularly.
-One hundred and six children from 6 to 15 had never been to school.
damp, drafty sheds, the oyster shuckers or shrimp pickers standing
1 U. S. Bureau of the Census, Thirteenth Census of the U nited States, 1910"; vol. 1, table 27, p . 1219.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IN

among the empty oyster shells or shrimp hulls. Besides the discom
forts of standing at their work and the. exposure to cold and damp
ness, the workers are subjected to certain hazards in the processes
themselves. The oyster shells are sharp and the shuckers must use
a knife, so cuts are frequent. An acid in the head of the shrimp—
according to the statements of employers as well as of employees—
eats into the hands, making the flesh raw and sore. Many workers
can work on shrimp only two days at a time and must then take a
few days off to let their hands heal. A shrimp 11thorn,” which pro
trudes from the head of the shrimp, may run into the hand and break
off. This sometimes results in a serious infection. More than threefifths of the families reported some injury, including cuts, burns,
infections, soreness, and rawness, caused by the acid in the shrimp,
and occasionally serious accidents.
Poverty was frequently reported as the reason for keeping children
out of school and sending them to work. One hundred and five, or
about one-fourth, of the mothers included in the study were widowed
or had been deserted by their husbands. Since the States included
in the study provided no widows’ pensions or other ways of meeting
the poverty caused by widowhood, child labor seemed a necessity to
some mothers, as well as to some employers.2 In other families the
wages received by both mothers and fathers were so low that child
labor was resorted to.
The fathers usually worked on oyster or shrimp boats or around
the canneries and wharves. Their earnings depended on the catch,
which in turn depended on the weather. Although the earnings
during the season studied by the Children’s Bureau were said by
employers and workers to be higher than ever before, it was found
that 20 per cent of the fathers for whom reports were secured earned
on the average less than $12 a week, 33 per cent less than $15 a
week, and 65 per cent less than $20 a week. Only about one-fifth
of the fathers earned, on an average, $25 or more a week. For some
weeks their earnings would be higher than this average; for others,
much lower. In answer to an inquiry as to the highest amount ever
earned in a single week it was learned that about one-fifth of the
fathers for whom reports were secured had never made as much as
$15, that nearly one-half had never earned as much as $20, and that
only one-third had reached $25 or more during their best week.
The mothers and the children were paid according to the number
of pounds of oysters shucked or shrimp picked, the rate varying from
1J cents to 5 cents a pound in the case of oysters and from 1 cent to
3 cents in the case of shrimp. The earnings of nearly half the mothers
averaged less than $5 a week, about one-third between $5 and $7.50,
and only about one-fifth earned $7.50 or more. One explanation of
2 Florida enacted a mothers’ pension law in 1919.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

these low wages was the irregularity of the work. The mothers’
work depended upon the amount of fish brought into the cannery,
and' there were frequent short periods of unemployment. Nearly
one-third of the mothers had never been able to earn as much as $5
in their most profitable week, and only about 2 in 10 had been able
to make $10 or over, and only about one-fifteenth had ever been able
to ifiake $12.50 or more.3
The children’s earnings were, of course, lower. The earnings of
two-thirds of the children for whom reports of earnings were secured
averaged less than $5 a week, and more than one-fourth earned less
than $2 a week. There were a few exceptional cases of compara
tively high earnings. All but two of the children earning as much
as $4 a week were regular workers, and all but 49 were 14 years of
age or over.
In answer to an inquiry concerning the highest sums ever earned
by children, it was found that 19 had earned less than 50^cents in
their best week; that 47 had earned less than $1; and that 79 had
earned less than $2. Although the lowest earnings were more
common among the part-time and occasional workers than among
those working regularly, some of the latter also had earned very
small sums even in their most profitable weeks. Thus, 4 regular
workers—2 of whom were 14 years old—reported less than 50
cents in their best week; and 77 children who worked regularly, or
more than one-fourth of the regular workers for whom maximum
earnings were reported, had earned less than $4 in their best week.
A particular feature of the canning industry in the communities
studied is the importation of workers from other places. Usually
large numbers of foreign workers—most of them Polish—are brought
down from Baltimore at the beginning of the canning season and
are sent back at the end of the season.
This practice developed with the transfer of the center of the
canning industry from Baltimore to the Gulf in 1905. Usually
“ family help” was selected; “ that is, the employer hired heads of
families with the understanding that wives and children were to
be brought also.” 4
The employers housed these imported workers in so-called camps,
which usually consist of several long, low, barrackslike frame build
ings, often flimsy in construction, and offering a minimum of privacy,
sanitation, and protection against the weather. The imported
families receive free rent, free fuel, and their return fare at the end
of the season. Most of the employers reimbursed themselves by
3 According to the Report on the Condition of Women and Child Wage Earners (Vol. X V III, p. 55)
these wages were higher th an in the oyster-packing establishments of th at region in 1909. A t th at tim e,
of 188 women, more th an four-fifths of whom were 18 or over, only 1 earned as much as $6 during the given
week and 87 m ade less th an $4.
4 Report on Conditions of Women and Child Wage Earners, Vol. X V III, p. 47.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS I N

paying the imported workers a lower piece rate than they paid to
resident workers. For example, some employers paid the resident
workers 5 cents a pound for oyster shucking, but demanded 1£
pounds for 5 cents from the'imported workers. In some instances
the difference was even greater.
The time of the imported workers belonged to the manufacturer.
I t was customary for the watchmen employed by the cannery ?to
go from door to door in the mornings to wake the people who liv§d
in the camps. In case of illness, they had to explain their absence
to the employer. The local resident workers, on the other hand,
were free to come and go. Illiteracy was greater among the chil
dren of the camp families than among other children; a smaller
proportion of them attended school; and their retardation in school
was greater than among the resident children. Like the adult camp
workers, their wages were lower, their hours longer, and their hous
ing and living conditions far more unfavorable than those of the
resident families. At the time this study was made, the number
of imported families was small because the Government had pro
hibited their migration from Baltimore on account of the shortage
of men and women in essential war industries .in and around Balti
more.
The study included 269 children under 6 years of age whose
mothers worked. The problem of caring for these children was a
serious one. In 48 instances the mothers took their children to the
canneries with them. In 5 instances these babies were under 9
months of age. The children who had passed infancy and could
crawl or run about the factory were not only subject to the physical
discomforts of the canning shed, but were also liable to accidents.
Some mothers left their children a t home in the care of older
children, or with neighbors or relations. In several cases the care
takers brought the babies to. the mothers in the factory to be nursed.
Eighteen small children, some of them as young as 2 years, were
customarily left at home without any caretakers. In 30 instances
the caretakers were themselves children less than 10 ' years old.
Only 117 children had caretakers over 16 years of age.
LOCATION, SCOPE, AND METHOD OF STUDY.

In the spring of 1919 the Children’s Bureau made an inquiry into
the extent and character of the work of mothers and children in
oyster and shrimp- ‘canneries, and into the conditions under which
these mothers and children lived. The study covered nine com
munities on the Gulf coast in which oyster and shrimp canning had
been a factor from August 1, 1918, to May 1, 1919, six in Missis
sippi—Biloxi, Gulfport, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, Lake Shore,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER A N D SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

Ocean Springs; two in Louisiana 5—Ostrica^ Canovia; and one in
Florida—Apalachicola.
The two Louisiana towns were not on the Gulf coast, being situated
on the Mississippi River, one 38 miles and the other 94 miles above
its mouth. Because they are in the Gulf coast section they have
been included in this study.
Information was secured chiefly through interviews with em
ployers and employees; Federal, State, and local officials; physicians,
and other interested persons competent to contribute information.
Agents of the Children’s Bureau made a house-to-house canvass in
cannery neighborhoods and in other parts of the communities where
cannery workers lived, and an interview was secured in every home
where mothers reported that any children under 16 were employed
in canneries, or where mothers with children under 6 years were
themselves employed.
All employers operating their plants at the time of the study were
interviewed. These numbered 22.
Because it has been a custom for employers to import families from
Baltimore for the oyster and shrimp season, the study included also
a short preliminary inquiry into the methods of recruiting such labor
in Baltimore.
The period for which information was secured fell between the
time the first Federal child-labor law was declared unconstitutional
and the operation of the Federal child labor tax law ..
The communities.

The communities studied ranged in size from small isolated settle
ments consisting of a single cannery, a store, and the so-called
camps or rude barracks erected for the workers—communities
which practically go out of existence during the slack seasons—to
towns of considerable size. Biloxi had a population varying with
the tourists and the imported cannery workers from 9,000 to 12,000.
Gulfport, the second largest town, had a population of about 7,000.
These larger communities showed very little consciousness of the
problems which the cannery population made. A small religious
settlement house in Biloxi reached a number of the cannery families
and afforded a yard in which some playground apparatus provided a
limited number of children with a place to play. Nowhere had the
community provided any public recreation.
The canneries were usually located in isolated places. The village
of Lake Shore, for example, consists of a railroad station and a
grocery store. A mile back from the station, in the country, is the
8 The season studied was an abnormal one, due to the war, and in some communities canneries made
no attempt to operate. New Orleans was not included in the bureau inquiry because at the time oi the
study the amount of oyster and shrimp canning in that city was hegligible. One or two very small com
munities may have been missed if their cannery work had closed before the beginning of the study.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IN

factory and camp. The camp at Canovia is a row of two-family
shacks behind the cannery, a store, and a school, set down among
plantations, about 10 miles from New Orleans. Ostrica is even
more isolated. I t lies behind the levee on the north bank of the
Mississippi, and is reached by boat across a mile of rough water
from a little village on the other side. Its handful of inhabitants
live in constant fear of floods and storms. I t has no community
life. The cannery; two small general stores, one of which contains
the postoffice; the three camp barracks; a few flimsy frame shacks;
and the manager’s two-story frame house are the only buildings.
I t has no church, no school, no physician, no railroad. A. mail
packet brings mail once a day, and brings also whatever provisions
the settlement gets; it also carries passengers.
Races and nationalities of families.

Of the 1,350 children included in the study, only 9 were foreign
born; 473 were Negro; and the rest, 868, were native white. Of the
mothers interviewed, the great majority (259) were white, and of
these only 56 were foreign born. Twenty-five of these foreign
mothers were Polish, and 24 of other Slavic origin; 163 of the mothers
were Negro. This is, therefore, a study almost exclusively of native
Americans.
The industries.

Canned oysters and shrimp were the principal products of the
establishments • that came within the scope of this study. Some
of the factories canned figs, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables
or fruit between the oyster and shrimp seasons; but the chief prod
ucts were oysters or shrimp, or both, in every case but one, where
artificial ice was the chief product and canned shrimp a secondary
output. These industries are comparatively simple, having few
processes, and requiring little machinery and only a small pro
portion of skilled workers. The great bulk of the work—the shuck
ing of oysters and the so-called picking, or peeling, of shrimp6i—is
done by women and children. Comparatively few men are em
ployed in and around the canneries. Most of the men in these families
go out on boats, either in the employ of the canneries, on their own
account, or for a private boat owner.
The seasons.

The oyster season usually runs from October 1 to May 1, although
a few employers canned oysters in September, and one reported that
the season ran until May 15. The open season for catching oysters
closes on April 15 in Florida and on May 1 in Louisiana and Missis
sippi.7
8 For description of these processes see pp. 12-14.
7 During th e w ar, because of food shortage, Mississippi allowed an extension of tim e.
reported th at it had taken advantage of this extension.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Only one firm

OYSTER AND SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

The shrimp season varies. Formerly there were two definite sea
sons, one in the fall and one in the spring; but since the introduction
of the trawl system of shrimp fishing shrimp can be caught the
year round. However, most of the shrimp fishing is done between
August 1 and November ly although some canners put up shrimp
after this date and a few operate in February and March.8
More than half the plants close for the entire summer. Others
keep open all or part of the time, canning a few shrimp, figs, and
tomatoes and other vegetables. Two plants manufactured ice, one
as a principal and the other as a secondary product. But even when
plants operate during the summer for the canning of vegetables or
fruit they use at that time but a small local labor force.
EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF CHILD LABOR.
Extent of child labor.

In the families visited, 544 children under 16 years of age were
employed in the canneries. Of these, 334 were under 14 years of
age, 1 being 4 years and another 5 years of age. Fourteen children
not included in the above numbers were employed,' but not in the
canneries, and therefore are not discussed here.
Parents were often afraid to admit that their children worked. One
family had heard rumors that the wages of all working children under
14 were to be taken from them, and that they would not be allowed
to work. In another locality an impression was current that parents
would be fined if they allowed children to work; and, as the agents
were sometimes taken for inspectors, this influenced the parents to
deny or minimize the work of their children. Some concrete examples
will illustrate. One woman said: “ I never let my children work.
You can if you want to, but there’s a $25 fine if you’re caught, and
you’d be paying more than they can make. Lots of children do
work, and when the inspector comes they run and hide. They’re
on to him, and run whenever they see a stranger. They can get away
into places where you’d never think of looking.” Still another
mother said: “ I hope soon to get working papers for Jane [aged 12]
and John [aged 10]. They are working now, but if the inspector
catches you, you get fined $50. The kids watch for him, and they
holler if they see him coming and hide till he gets out. If my man
was alive, I could send my children to school.”
Another woman, not recognizing a Children’s Bureau representa
tive as such when she met her casually, boasted that the “ baby”—a
boy of 7—could “ make more money than any of them picking
shrimp; he can make $1.50 a day.” She later maintained to the
8 Employers’ explanations of the failure to use the whole year were the lim ited m arket for shrim p,
th a t icing made th e process too expensive in th e spring and summer, and th a t it was better not to ru n
two operations—oyster and shrimp packing—at the same time.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IN

agent who called to interview her that none of her children worked.
A little girl of 7 told the Children’s Bureau agent that she had
shucked oysters and picked shrimp, described how sh6 had cut her
self between the thumb and forefinger shucking oysters, and said
that one week she had made $5, with which she bought savings
stamps. When the agent called at her home, the mother insisted
emphatically that this child had never worked.
In another instance, a boy of 8 admitted that he sometimes worked,
when the agent commented on the oyster-shell cuts on his hands.
His mother had said that he did not work. This mother, however,
quite approved of child labor. “ You notice,” she said, “ that most
of the people who come here have big families. Husband works,
mother works, and children work. See, it’s good for them.”
Sometimes the mother would state that a child worked, but the
child would be afraid and would deny that he worked.
The desire to conceal the work of children was much stronger in
some towns than in others. But in most of the communities studied,
child labor was taken for granted. In Biloxi, the largest community,
and the one in- which the largest number of children worked, the
greatest diffidence and suspicion were found. Even here, however,
the great majority of mothers visited considered child labor as a
matter of course, and it was not uncommon for them to boast of the
skill of very small children in shucking oysters and picking snrimp.
To some of the children, life without work in the canneries was be
yond their horizons. “ Don’t you ever shuck?” a 12-year-old girl
asked a Children’s Bureau agent.
'
V Occupations of children.

The basis of selection for the study was, it will be remembered, to
include only those families in which a child under 16, or a mother
with children under 6, worked in a cannery. I t was therefore not
surprising to find that of the 544 working children, nearly all had
worked at oyster shucking or shrimp peeling, or at both of these
occupations. Thirty children had not worked on sea food, but had
peeled potatoes in canneries which put up sweet potatoes between
seasons. Ten children had worked at packing, and 29 had been
engaged, in other cannery occupations, such as weighing, labeling,
and “ passing potatoes.” Only 14 children had worked in industries
other than canning. '..,
To make clear the work which the children actually perform and
their relation to the rest of the industry, a brief description of the
chief processes involved in oyster and shrimp canning is presented,
Oyster canning.—The cannery is usually a more or less open shed
built near the shore end of a long pier which extends out into the
water. The schooners dock at the end of this pier, and a mechanical

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

L O A D IN G O Y S T E R S F R O M B O A T T O CAR.

i s

m
*

■

r-- .^nH
:
12-1

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

T H E S TE A M BOX

- ' * V,w
MMI

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AN D S H R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

shovel on a crane hoists the oysters from the schooners into cars
which stand on tracks on the pier. When the cars are full, they are
pushed along the tracks into the steam box, which is usually located
near the entrance to the shed—sometimes just inside, sometimes just
outside. The cars, loaded with oysters, remain in the steam box a
few minutes, where the steam partly cooks the oysters and partly
opens the shells. From the steam box the cars run on tracks into
the shed. Here the shuckers take their places at the sides of the
cars and attach containers, which they call their cups, to the sides
of the car. (See illustration on opposite page.) The shucker takes
from the car a cluster of oysters, breaks thé cluster apart, with a
knife opens the shell of each oyster, which the steaming process has
partly opened, and removes the oyster meat, cutting it out so that
the eye is left in the shell. The empty shells drop to the floor. No
seats are provided for the workers. The women and children stand
at these cars, swaying back and forth as they work, and bending
over farther and farther to reach the oysters as they empty the cars.
As the shells accumulate on the floor standing becomes more and
more uncomfortable and bending to get the oysters more arduous.
From time to time as the. cups are filled the shuckers take them
to the weighing window, where the oyster meat is weighed, and they
are paid according to the number of pounds in the cups,
After the oysters are weighed they are dumped successively into
two large colanders, where they are later thoroughly washed in run
ning water. They stand awhile to drain and then are taken to the
packers.
The packing is usually done by women or older girls at a long table
at which the workers stand, usually on a narrow platform of boards
raised from the wet floor. On the table before the packer is a scale
weighted on one side with a can filled with oyster meat. The packer
places an empty can on the other side of the scale, picks up some
oyster meat with her hand and drops it into the can until the scale
balances. She then places the can on a belt, which carries it through
the “ briner,” a mechanical device which pours a certain amount of
brine into each c an .. The. belt then carries the can on into a machine
which covers and seals it.
After the cans are sealed, they are placed in a large wire basket,
usually called the u process basket.” This basket, when filled, is
lifted into a huge kettle of boiling water, and, after the oysters in
the sealed cans have been boiled the required time, is lifted out.
The cans are then cooled, dried, labeled; packed in wooden boxes,
and shipped.
Shrimp canning.—The processes in shrimp canning are very simple
and the oyster cannery is easily adapted to them. The shrimp

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTH ERS I N

come from the boats to the factory packed in ice, except when they
are caught on boats which go out fishing for a single day, in which
case the shrimp are iced as soon as they reach the cannery. Che
icing is necessary, not only to preserve the fish, but also to facili
tate the picking or peeling; the ice causes the shrimp meat to Con
tract, and makes the shell brittle. The shrimp, mixed with small
pieces of ice, are spread on wire mesh trays—sometimes on tables
with mesh tops, often on trays placed on top *of empty1oyster cars.
Women and children pick up the shrimp, break off the head with
one hand, and squeeze the flesh from the shell with the other. This
process is called picking in some communities and peeling in others.
As in the case of oysters, when the shrimp cup is full, the worker
takes it to be weighed. The peeled shrimp are then washed, boiled,
cooled, and cleaned; that is, picked over, to remove any bits of shell
or any “ whiskers” which may have adhered. Then they are packed
in cans, and the cans are sealed and processed, much as the ,canned
oysters are processed. The occupations in which children are
chiefly used are the picking or peeling and the cleaning. Older girls
and women usually do the packing.
Regularity of children’s employment.

Some employers stated that they did not allow children to work in
their factories, but that notwithstanding their efforts children
would get in. “ A few will get in in spite of the foreman, who can
not keep watch on them all. They will come in, open an oyster or
two, and then run out.” But in general the work of the children
was not occasional or in the nature of play. The interviews with
the families showed that of the 544 working children only 107,
or about 1 in 5, worked occasionally; 89 worked regularly before
and after school, or on Saturdays, or both; 348, or 64 per cent, worked
regularly—that is, whenever the factory was operating. Of the 2
children under 6, the 5-year-old worked regularly and the 4-year-old
occasionally.
I t should be remembered that the same suspicion which made
some mothers deny that their children worked would tend to make
others minimize the amount of work the children did. I t is quite
probable that some of the children whose mothers said they were
employed only occasionally found the occasions fairly frequent.
A 4-year-old girl, who “ sometimes plays around at home and some
times goes to work with her mother and shucks a little and makes
5 cents for candy,” probably does not work as much as a 10-year-old
girl whose mother says she does not allow her to work but that thg
girl sometimes goes in with friends and works for one or two hours
“ on the sly.” I t was impossible to tell from many mothers’ state
ments how “ occasional” the work of the children really is. One

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTEE A N D S H B IM P C A N N IN G CO M M U N ITIES.

boy, for example, whose father was ' ‘boss” of the packing room,
“ works whenever his pa feels like putting him on. He works only
to keep his school money up; he is always needing pencils and
tablets.” The mother stated further that he worked so seldom that
she “ never paid any attention to his earnings.” In another instance,
a mother considered the work of her 7-year-old boy of no conse
quence, though the child worked “ every Saturday and some Fridays.
He makes little nickels and dimes, and starts to the door with his
money as soon as he gets it.” As a m atter of fact, this child
reached the factory at half past 5 in the morning in order to get a
place at the table and be ready when the work began a t 6 o’clock.
In one family three children—aged 6, 10, and 12 years—brought
their mother’s breakfast to the cannery to her, and sometimes
stayed a while to work—“ a half hour or so”—before going to school,
Sometimes, it is true, even the children who worked regularly had
to wait around for work, and played in and around the cannery
while they were waiting. Thus, one 11-year-old boy said that he
worked intermittently from 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon
when sweet potatoes were being canned. There was not a steady
supply of potatoes and it was necessary frequently to wait until the
otatoes were ready to be peeled. “ At such times,” he said, “ I ’d go
out to play with the other kids, and the grown people would go
fishing. I tried shucking one day, but I didn’t like it. You work
bare-handed when you peel potatoes. You dip them in cold water
and the skin comes off easily, and you don’t often have to use a knife.
We throw the peels on the floor, and we slide up and down on them.
They’re slippery and awful sloppy.” A little potato peeler of 8
“ would bring home 5, 10, or 15 cents. He eats more taters than
anything else. He was chased out several times.”
Other typical instances are two girls of 14 and 15, who worked
regularly, and a little boy of 12 worked from 5 to 8 each morning,
before going to school, and all day on Saturday. These children had
nothing to eat before beginning work; but about half past 7 a little
sister, 8 years old, brought their breakfast to them at the factory.
A 10-year-old child in another family was in the third grade; he
worked about two hours before school, an hour or so after school,
and from about 6.30 a. m. to 3.30 p. m. on Saturdays. In another
family, two girls of 11 and 12 brought their mother’s breakfast to her
every morning and stayed a while to shuck oysters before school,
earning about 20 cents a day.
v,- Even the part-time work, however, was real labor and not play,
involving as it did the standing and bending postures, the monotony,
wetness, and dirtiness of the task, the stench of the shrimp,9 and the
frequent early hours.
*See discussion of work place, p. 33.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M QTHERS I N

Legality of child labor.

At the time the Children’s Bureau study was made, the first
Federal child labor law had been declared unconstitutional and the
new law providing for a tax on establishments employing child labor
had not yet come into force. The children were left, therefore, to
such protection as the laws of their respective States and the enforce
ment of these laws provided.10 Mississippi permitted boys of 12 tmd
girls of 14 to work in factories and canneries; Louisiana and Florida
permitted children of 14 to work in factories and canneries.
Of the 544 working children, 278 were below the legal age of
employment.
In none of these States was the enforcing machinery adequate.
Mississippi had one factory inspector for the whole State. His duties
included not only the enforcement of the child-labor law and a
10-hour law for women, but inspection of sanitation, proper guard
ing of machinery, safety devices, and fire protection. The inspector
stated that the war had increased his duties more than 200 per cent,
since many establishments which had not previously employed
women had taken them on; that there were 107 factories to be in
spected, not including railroad, telegraph, and telephone offices,
laundries, hotels, restaurants, and department stores; that poor rail
road facilities complicated his duties so that he could not cover every
establishment in the State if he gave 30 minutes to each in one year.
The need of food conservation and the shortage of labor were urged
here as in other States as a justification for violation of labor laws.
The inspector reported that although employers wanted him to
abrogate the child-labor law in order to conserve food he would not
do that, but was not as strict as he would have been otherwise.
Louisiana had only one labor commissioner and two assistants to
cover the whole State outside of New Orleans. The total appropria
tion available for traveling expenses for the commissioner and assist
ant commissioners was approximately only $100 a month. The
report of the commissioner for 1916-1918 11 called attention to the
lack of adequate staff and appropriation.
Enforcing a child-labor law in the canneries is difficult. The work
is irregular and the canneries are sometimes situated in isolated or
almost inaccessible places. The commissioner felt that the difficulties
were increased because the law of Louisiana did not make it an
offense for a child to be in. a factory provided he is not being paid,
and some employers took advantage of this subterfuge. He stated
that there were more violations in shrimp factories than in any others,
10 See Appendix, p. 85. Child Labor and Compulsory Education Legislation in Effect in Florida,
Louisiana, and Mississippi on January 1,1919.
A Ninth Biennial Report of the Departm ent of Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Statistics of the
State of Louisiana, 1916-1918, p. 8.
« .

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AN D S H R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

but there had been improvement in both the oyster and shrimp
factories.
Florida provided for only one inspector for the State, known as
the State labor inspector. He reported that a proposed law for a
woman assistant was defeated at the last session, and no additional
appropriation was given the office. He also testified to difficulties
in law enforcement similar to those found in Louisiana and Mississippi.
An interesting comparison between the protection given to child
hood and that given to the oyster industry in Mississippi and Louisiana
may be made from the following statements of sums appropriated by
the legislatures for the enforcement of child-labor laws and for the
protection of oysters and shrimp. • For the enforcement of the childlabor law, the State of Mississippi provided in 1918 only one factory
inspector (annual salary $1,500), appointed by the State board of
health. In the same year $23,000 12 was appropriated for the board
of oyster commissioners for the following year. In Louisiana only
$8,500 per year was appropriated for the office of the commissioner of
statistics and labor, which has the enforcement of all labor laws out
side the Parish of New Orleans. For the conservation of oysters, fish,
and game the department of conservation was given an appropriation
A>f $175,000.13
Attitude of parents toward child labor.

Other sections of this report reveal, to some extent, the attitude
of the parents toward child* labor. Many of them, to be sure, are
eager to give their children a better chance than they themselves
have had.14 Yet it is true that for the most part child labor is
taken for granted. The claims of the industry, as well as the money
the children bring in, are considered. “ If it weren’t for the children,”
said a mother, “ I don’t know what in the world the factories
would do. The children save the oysters from spoiling. ” Another
woman commented, “ Once, before the child-labor law got so bad,
little bits of kids, 5 to 6 years old, would get out and make more
than the older ones.” Sometimes statements that certain children
did not work would be made in a tone of apology. The older sister
of a boy aged 7 explained th at he did not work because he “ couldn’t
reach the car to shuck.” The mother of a little girl of 9, who
“ hadn’t gone to work at all,” felt it necessary to add, in explanation,
“ her little hands are too tender.” A colored mother complained
that the employer, who was “ afraid of inspectors, ” would frequently
run o ut” her 13-year-old boy when he tried to work. The boy
^as evidently persistent in his attempts to work, but “ he is more
to Laws 1918, pp. 54-55.
18 Laws 1918, pp. 142 and 201.
18 See Literacy and Schooling of Children, p. 41.

56569°—22---- 2

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR AHD T H E WORK OF M OTH ERS IK

on the run than not. Usually he is just jumping in and out. Some
times he makes two days a week. He’s good for nothing but destroy
ing bread. ”
The grandmother in a family where a 14-year-old girl was a steady
worker said that if she had any young children she would take
every one of them to the canneries and make them work all day
long. “ This is the worst place for kids,” she said, “ they git awful
mean around here. See, there ain’t hardly a winder left around
this place; the kids smash ’em. They are awful tough. They should
be sent to the canneries to keep them from getting mean, and then
if the Government kicked about it, I would make the Government
take care of them. Many of the children who are supposed to be
going to school don’t go at all. They get together in gangs and
are very destructive. Ain’t it better for them to be earning a few
nickels? Children nowadays are born grown; they know so much.”
An employer, commenting on the difficulty of keeping children
out of the factory, said, “ A nigger woman will come with a couple
of kids, and you can’t tell how old they are, and they’ll swear up
and down that they are 14, and if you don’t believe them and start
to put them out, the woman will say, ‘If they can’t pick, I ’U go.’
* * * If you put out a nigger kid, a bunch of older ones may go,
too. ”
A very different attitude on the part of the colored people in
another factory was revealed in the case of a 13-year-old boy whose
mother had sent him to the cannery after school and on Saturdays.
Later, she let him stay away from school every other week to work.
When he had been working three weeks the colored people objected.
They went to the weigher and protested that he was too young to
work. The mother said she then complained to the owner, who
decided that the boy was old enough to work. However, “ the shrimp
began to get slender and the factory shut down, ” and the child did
not continue to work.
The comment of the head of the associated charities in this com
munity is of interest. He stated that one employer had been fined
for employing white children, but “ the laws are not applied to the
Negroes as stringently as to the white people, and therefore more
Negro children than white work. ”

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER A N D SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

they should be in school. All the boys and girls working here are
past 15, or whatever age it is that is required by the child labor law. ”
Another said, “ Children are not allowed to work, and they are sup
posed to be sent out whenever they are found working. The boss is
not always strict about this, but if I see a child working I send him
out. Children should go to school. I try to make them go, and for
the past two years more have gone than ever before.”
The manager of one factory stated that he had formerly employed
children, but that he had been warned by the State commissioner of
labor and has since been very strict, not allowing any children under
14 to work and requiring certificates of age for those over 14 who work.
“ One woman,” he said, “ tried to get her 12-year-old girl in here' to
work, and I had such a time with her th a t I finally refused to give
work to the mother or any of the family.” Another employer said
that before the passage of the first Federal child-labor law he had
fought against it, had made speeches, and had done everything in hri
power to prevent its going through. “ The head of the Child-Labor
Committee will remember me as a strong opponent, ” he said. “ How
ever, before the law was passed I became converted not for senti
mental reasons but because it was better policy for the business.
Since being converted and coming out strongly for the child-labor
law, I have adhered strictly to the policy of employing no children
under age. Also, I will permit no very small children to help their
mothers, as they often try to. ”
There were, however, employers who believed that children should
work. “ I believe in everybody’s working. I ’ve worked since I was
10 years old and I believe in everybody else doing the same thing.
* . * * If I find a boy or girl outside in the afternoon [he referred
to the workers who lived in his Gamp] I go up to them and say, ‘ What
are you doing out here? Don’t you know you are supposed to be
working ? No loafers are allowed here. ’ ” Another employer said,
“ I t is impossible to run the plant without children from 10 to 14
years old. * * * The work here should not be compared with
child labor in the cotton mills. Here the children do piecework and
they work voluntarily. The children who go to school can earn
quite a lot after school. The place is clean and the work is not
harmful to them. The children work faster and better than the
Negro women. There is one child here who has never made less than
$2.75 a day.” Still another employer commented, “ A child of 12
or 13 can do more in a day than a grown person. They work faster
because they are interested in getting the nickels. I t was a great
thing for the families and for the factories th a t the Federal law was
declared unconstitutional. The Federal law might have been good
if it had provided for compulsory education, but the class of people
we have here do not want their children to go to school, and the result

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTH ERS I N

of the law was that the children hung around and we had a lot of
trouble with them. We had to employ a man specially to keep them
out of the factory. The mothers cursed us out and the children
didn’t like it, and we had a bad time all around. ”
That the work of children was quite occasional and amounted to
little was the attitude taken by some employers.
“ I don’t allow children here; I keep them out to be on the safe
side. Inspectors just drop in on you. Some places will take a
chance, but we don’t feel that we can afford to do so. Sometimes
a child will run in and work 10 minutes and make a nickel and run
out. You’ve got a time keeping them out, and they’ve got so now
they know the rules. Five or six years ago children worked much
more, but they are a regular nuisance around a place. They get to
poking into things and fooling around, and there’s no gain from kids,
because you pay them the same rates you pay grown-ups. ” Later,
in the same interview, this employer said, “ I think kids ought to be
allowed to work on Saturdays and after school. I know a number of
widows who have kids who are able to work but aren’t allowed, and
it’s mighty hard for the mother to earn enough to feed them. There
are lots of times when kids can help out. I t ’s not hard work and
doesn’t hurt them. Also, it’s piecework and they can quit when
they want to. ”
“ Many children under age,” said another employer, “ work after
school. They slip in to earn a few nickels. I ’d rather not have them
around at all. They are in the way, and they do not work as well as the
older people. I try to run them out, but in many cases to hold tho
mother I have to overlook the child. ” This employer later commented
that the children did not work of their own accord, but because their
parents wanted the money and forced them to work. “ No childlabor law will be effective until there is a compulsory-education law;
as it is now, the children are better off in the cannery than they are
on the streets. I have never seen so much illiteracy in my life as I
see among the people in the cannery.”
The complaints of employers that they made an effort to keep
children out of their plants, but that the children would “ slip in ,”
are indicative of the general lack of organization in the canneries.
One employer stated, “ The trouble with child labor is that they’ll
run in at all times, even after you run them out. They’ll get a cup
two-thirds full before you spot them, and then plead to be allowed to
shuck the cup full. A man should put them out, but nobody else is
going to fill up their cup for them or take the place they’ve madei
messy.” “ I think the kids ought to be fined, and not the factory,”
said another, “ I t ’s hard to keep them out. Sometimes they come in.
We try to keep them out, but where a person has lots to attend to,
it’s hard to keep at them .” “ It is against the law to have children

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

in the factory, ” said another, but when he showed the agent through
the plant and she remarked that some of the children shucking did
not seem to be more than 7 or 8 years old, he replied, “ Some are
not over 8 or 10. I have forbidden them to come in, but they can’t
be kept out. We have a State law, but it is not so strict as it used
to be.” Another employer, who stated that no children under the
legal age were permitted to work in his plant, when asked about the
numerous children obviously under age in the shucking room, said,
“ A few will get in in spite of the foreman, who can not keep a watch
on them all. They will come in, open an oyster or two, and then
run out. There is no profit in child labor. ”
It is clear from the statements of both employers and the mothers
of the children that some employers made an effort to keep children
out of the canneries. One mother stated that her 11-year-old child
could pick shrimp faster than she could. “ If children could only
work steady it would be a big help to the people, but the boss won’t
let children work.” A boy, whose mother said he was 14, picked
shrimp for two days, earning 23 cents one day and 40 cents the other;
but the employer “ wouldn’t let him stay because he was under age. ”
A girl of 10 “ went over to the cannery, but the boss wouldn’t let her
in. He said she was too small. ” One mother said that a company
had “ run o u t” children on the day she was interviewed, as the em
ployer did not want them “ hanging around.” In one family three
children, aged 13, 11, and 9, had worked occasionally, and a 6-yearold child worked once, but “ children are not allowed at the factory
unless the mother is there.” One mother said, “ When the cannery
has a run of large oysters there are always a lot of gangs there to shuck,
but when they have the small oysters there aren’t any outside people
[that is, families not living in the company camps] there. Then
the boss likes to have the children work, but if the oysters are large
they don’t like them hanging around.”
HOURS OF WORK.

The children who are classified as regular workers observed the
same hours as did their parents or other adults, though occasionally
some of the younger children would come to the cannery an hour
or two after work had begun and would leave earlier than the grown
people. “ They knock the kids off—that is, waken them—at 3.30 or
so,” said one mother, but such comments were rare. The two most
striking facts in regard to hours were their irregularity and the early
iiours of beginning work.
In most cases no accurate statement of the usual hours of work
could be given, because the hours in the canneries were so irregular,
depending as they did both upon the catch and the number of

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR AKD T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IK

workers available. An effort was made, however, to get from each
family the hours of beginning and ending work during the week pre
ceding the visit of the Children’s Bureau agent; or, if no member of
the family had worked during that week, the hours for the last week
worked. This method, it was thought, would give a fair basis on
which to draw conclusions, since the investigation extended over a
period of three months. I t should be remembered that these three
months were regarded by the employers as well as by the employees
as exceptionally slack in comparison with other seasons, that the
hours of work reported were shorter than the hours in normal years,
and that some employers were less exacting than in former years.
Government restrictions on imported labor made the plants more
dependent on the immediate community than they had ever been
before, and in places where there were two or more canneries the
local workers were to some extent independent.
The imported workers, living in company camps and dependent on
the good will of the employer for their so-called free rent and free
fuel and their railroad fare home at the end of the season,15 were
required, on penalty of being put out of the camps, to come to work
when the cannery opened and to stay as late as there was work to be
done. A number of local workers also, who were allowed to live in
the company camps and received free rent and fuel and the same rate
of pay as the imported workers, were subject to the camp regulations,
and were therefore expected to get to work early.
The canneries customarily employed a watchman, one of whose
duties it was to wake the workers each morning not only by blowing
the factory whistle but by knocking at the door of each family living
in the camp. In one family where the mother worked regularly at
shucking and picking, and where a 7-year-old child worked occa
sionally at picking shrimp, the father was a night watchman. The
mother stated: u He starts out waking people up at half past 3. He
pounds on each family’s door. If there is a large amount of oysters
in at the cannery, he tells the people, and they are supposed to go to
work right off, getting there as near 4 as possible. Many of the
people don’t go that early, however. Always before this year if the
camp people did not show up soon after the night watchman had
been around, the boss would come around himself and tell them to
go to work or get out of his camp. I usually start in work between
4 and half past; sometimes not till after 6. I can take as much time
as I like for dinner; I take about half an hour. I can not take any
■other time off unless I have to cook or wash, which takes only a few
hours in the week. I have to stay at the cannery until the oysters
are finished, which is around 5 in the afternoon.
is See p. 70. The difference in rates of paym ent to workers living in the camps and those living outside
often more th an compensate the company for giving free rent, fuel, and railroad fare.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

Even with the workers living in the company camps some em
ployers were less strict about hours than in former years. “ You’re
supposed to go to the cannery when the whistle blows, but then they
don’t push you,” said one mother who lived in a camp; “ they wake
you up when the cannery opens, but you go when you feel like it.
Last year they came around when the cannery opened and made you
go whether you wanted to or not, but this year there are fewer
people, and they have to be careful.”
On the other hand, some mothers and some employers stated that
the workers were required to be at work when the factory opened.
‘‘If y°u don’t go early, they come after you. The watchman wakes
us at 3 o’clock and comes again at half past 5 and if you don’t get up
then, the old man * * * comes after you. He came here at
half past 7 one morning and asked 'W hat’s the matter? Are you
dead, or do you think you are rich and don’t have to work?’ We
have to stay until the work is finished«”
An employer said, “ The whistle blows at 4 o’clock and the factory
opens a half hour later. At 4.30 or 5 o’clock the watchman makes
his rounds to call those who have not yet come to work. If they
don’t turn out we go after them; we tell them if they don’t work, to
get out—it’s work or move off the place.
“ The shuckers begin work at 4.30 or 5 a. m. and take a half hour
or so off at 8 or 8.30 for breakfast. Their work is usually over by 4
or 4.30 in the afternoon, but we can’t be governed by hours. The
goods are perishable and when there is work to be done everyone is
expected to work until it is finished. The packing room closes at
5.30, but if there is a rush they have sometimes worked until 7 or 8
o’clock. We’ll never get it that way again, though ; the new genera
tion won’t work.
“ The packers generally take an hour for lunch, the shuckers choose
their own time. Some of them do not take any time at noon, but
Work steadily until closing time. Others take from 15 minutes to
an hour and a half. We don’t stipulate on this. The mothers are
free to take time off whenever they want it, but no one else is allowed
to loaf.”
The employers were often more lenient with women who had
babies or very small children than with other workers. A few
mothers in one Biloxi cannery district left their babies at a day
nursery. Since the nursery did not open until 7 o’clock and closed
at 5, whoever took the babies to and from the nursery could not work
as long at the cannery as the other members of the family. “ When
I work I take my children [one aged 4 years and the other 23 months]
to the nursery. I t doesn’t open until 7 o’clock, so I never can get
to work before half past 7,” said one mother. Another said, “ I work

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS I N

from 5 in the morning to 5 in the evening usually. Eliza [age 13]
waits to take the baby to the nursery at 7 and doesn’t get to work
until half past 7, and she leaves in the afternoon in time to get the
baby at 5 o’clock. We take our lunch with us and take off only a
few minutes at noon, because if you stay sitting down too long you
don’t make anything. You can choose your hours, but if you start
on a car you have to stay until the work is finished.”
As has been stated, the hours of work were very irregular. On
some days there would be no work. On others the work might begin
at any time between 3 and 7 a. m., and might last only a few hours
or all day. An example will illustrate the irregularity of hours. A
mother and a child of 15 worked as follows:
Monday................- ..................................... 6.00 a. m. to 5.20 p. m.
Tuesday..............., ......................................6.00 a. m. to 2.00 p. m.
Wednesday........................................... :...7 .0 0 a. m. to 1.00 p. m.
Thursday.............................. ....................... 7.00 a. m. to 4.00 p. m.
Friday............................................................5.20 a. m. to 2.30 p. m.
Saturday....................................................... 7.00 a. m. to 10.30 a. m.

They took no time off for breakfast, but “ nearly an hour for lunch,
beginning at half past 11.”
In another family two girls of 12 and 13 were regular workers,
and the mother worked occasionally. During a week the mother
did not work at all; the girls worked as follows:
Thursday......................................................5.00 a. m. to 4.00 p. m.
Friday................................... - .....................5.00 a. m. to 3.30 p. m.
Saturday................................................... 9*00 a. m. to 4.00 p. m.

They did not work on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. They
stated that they usually began work between 5 and 9 a. m. and
stopped between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. For two or three days
a week,- on the average, they had no work.
The irregularity of the work made it difficult for mothers to remem
ber the hours even for the last week they had worked. “ Work is so
irregular I couldn’t rightly remember, ” said one mother. A colored
woman commented, “ I disremembers, to tell the truth. They worked
very shabby this past season.” (“ Shabby” was occasionally used
to mean slack or irregular.) “ I t ’s slipped my remembrance,” said
another colored woman; “ it's been so shabby it seems like a dream.”
Some families had no clocks, and did not know at what hour they
began or ceased their work. One mother said she u did not think of
work by time. ” They depended on the factory whistles or on the
watchman to waken them, and usually worked as long as there was
work to be done.
In all, 117 of the 423 mothers could not remember their hours of
beginning and stopping work. Of the 306 who reported hours, 90,
or nearly 3 in. 10, began before 6 in the morning; 67, or more than

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

2 in 10, began before half past 5, and 17, or 6 per cent, began before
half past 4. Two families began between 3 and half past 3. Only
60 in all began as late as 7.30.
The families living in camps went to work earlier than most of
those who lived outside, as Table I shows.
T a b l e I . — Number o f fam ilies reporting specified earliest hours o f beginning w o rt,

according to residence in camps.

Earliest hours of beginning work.

Total not reported.................................................................. ...................

Total.

Living in
camps.

Not liv
ing in
camps.

423
117
306

128
5
123

295
112
183

2
4
11
50
23
53
28
75
16
44

2
4
9
30
11
22
11
23
3
9

0
0
2
20
12
31
17
52
13
35

Thus of the 123 camp families from whom reports of hours were
eceived, 56, or 46 per cent, began work before 6 a. m.; 45, or 37 per
cent, began before 5.30 a. m.; and 15, or 12 per cent, began before
4.30 a. m. Of the 183 families living outside the camps from whom
reports of hours were secured, 34, or only 19 per cent, began before
6 a. m .; 22, or 12 per cent, began before 5.30 a. m .; and only 2 families
before 4.30.
Table II, giving the latest hours of stopping work reported by
each family during a sample week,, shows that a large proportion of
camp dwellers, as compared with noncamp dwellers, worked through
to the latest hours.
T a b l e I I .— Number o f fam ilies reporting specified latest hours o f ending work, according

to residence in camps.

Latest hours of ending work.

Total.

Total.....................
Total not reported
Total reported-----

423
117
306

Before 12 m .....................
12 m. and before 1 p. m .
1 p. rri. and before 2.......
:,nd before 3.-..... .........
and before 4.................
4 and before 5.................
5 and before 6.................
6 and before 7.................
7 or later..........................

5
5
3
8
51
126
92
11
5

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Living
in
camps.
129
5
124
1
2
19
51
45
3
3

Not living in
camps.
294
112
182
5
4
1
8
32
75
47
8
2

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IK

The specified hours of beginning and ending work may be mis
leading, because it sometimes happened that workers would begin
early and stop early, or they would begin.late and would work only
a few hours, while at other times they would begin very early in the
morning and would work until late in the afternoon or on into the
evening.
From the statement of hours given in the report for the sample
weeks, it was possible to secure the extent of the shortest and the
longest workdays of 309 families. This is shown in Table III. It
should be noted, however, that the time taken off for meals has not
been deducted, since the mothers were often unable to state how
much time they had spent at meals. In some instances practically
no time was taken, the workers snatching a few minutes to eat as
they worked. Mothers would sometimes go home at noon for about
an hour to prepare the noon meal. The most common dinner period
appeared to be 30 minutes.
T a b l e I I I .— Fam ilies reporting specified m in im u m and m axim um hours per day worked

during a sam ple week.1
Number of hours per day.

Minimum. Maximum.
423
114
309

423
114
309

44'
28
18
26
41
53
46
31
20
1
1

s
6
8
25
37
62
66
53
28
8
5
3

1 Hours taken off for meals have not been deducted.
2 In three instances mothers could give the num ber of hours worked, although they could not give the
actual hours of beginning and ending work. This explains the difference in the num ber of reports in
this table and in Tables 1 and II.
s Includes three cases where the m axim um num ber of hours was 15, 16, and 18J.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER A N D SH R IM P C A N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

The following typical statements make clearer than does the table
the changing demands in regard to hours and the attitude of both
the employers and the workers:
“ The watchman calls us at 4 o’clock in the morning and we are .
supposed to be at work by 5 o’clock. I can’t get there until half
past 6. They wanted me to come earlier, but I won’t go until I get
the children ready for school. They growl because I don’t go earlier,
but I can’t help it. We can stop work to rest whenever we want to,
but we have to stay at night until the work is finished.”
“ I start work no later than 6 in the morning and always take James
(8 years old) with me. He works the same hours. He’s a smart kid,
too, and can shuck good. Sometimes we would work till 10 in the
evening when there was a rush on. We weren’t made to stay, but
did it to make the money, and we like to please the boss.”
‘I go to work at 7 and work till 5 or half past. I have to take my
dinner to the factory and eat from 12 to half past; they only allow
you that. Usually I take one day off a week. The boss doesn’t
mind your taking a day off if you have an excuse, but you are ex
pected to do what you have to do at home on Sunday. The watch
man wakes people at 4. Those who haven’t small children to look
after are expected to be at work at 5; others at 7. If you don’t go,
the watchman comes back at 7. He doesn’t say much if you are
sick. If you generally work regularly, but just take a day off, he
doesn’t make you go.”
“ The boy [aged 15 years] works on the oyster cars, unloading
oysters and transferring cars. The time he begins in the morning
depends on the amount of work to be done and the number of men
there are to do it. If there are not enough men they always send
for him. On the 10th of March they sent for him at 3 in the morning,
but he usually goes between 4 and 5. If the work slackens up later
and there are plenty of men around they send him home, sometimes
about 11 o’clock. Usually he works till 5 or 6 in the afternoon.”
This boy’s older sister (aged 18) said that she went to work several
times this year at 3.30 a. m. Generally she began work at '6 a. m.
and worked until 5 p. m., or until the oysters were finished. She
said “ The camp people can not stay out a day, except mothers with
children, when they have to cook and wash. The manager knows all
the people and which of the mothers have children and why they stay
away, but the other people have to come every day. If you stay
home the manager sends some one after you; only if you’re sick it’s
all right not to work.”
“ You can choose your own hours when you shuck, but in the pack
ing room you have to stay until the work is finished. Sometimes it
meansffrom 6 in the morning to 10 at night.”

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CH ILD LABOR A N D T H E WORK OF M OTHERS IN

“ I take half an hour for dinner. We can choose our own hours,
but we have to go early to get a place to work. Work begins at 6,
but we [mother and 7-year-old boy] get there at half past 5.”
“ I t ’s so dark Joe [aged 11] is afraid to go to work alone in the morn
ing. We can choose our own hours. We take half an hour for dinner.
The other children [a boy of 10 and two girls of 8 and 6] come to the
factory for their dinner, too. Joe works regularly. Mike does not
work any, but the girls work from 9 to 2 on Saturdays.’’
“ The whistle blows at half past 4 and people are expected to be at
the factory at 5. I come home between 7 and 8 for breakfast and
between 11 and half past 12 for dinner. I stop work about 4 in the
evening. They treat you good. They don’t tell you nothing. You
can come home any time.”
“ We usually work from 5 in the morning to 5 at night. Some
times we work overtime till 7—I do quite often. We could have
an hour off for dinner but we never take so much. I guess we would
eat in about 15 minutes.”
“ The watchman comes around at 4 o’clock and knocks on the door.
You don’t have to get up. He just wakes you up so you don’t sleep
too late.”
“ The usual hours are from half past 7 in the morning to half past 4
in the evening with half an hour at noon. We’re expected to work
in the factory whenever there is work, but we can stay home to wash
or take care of the children when it’s necessary. I haven’t worked
for the last six days and no objection has been made. There isn’t
much work this year.”
The testimony of employers as to the hours of work did not vary
greatly from that of the workers. One said: “ The time workers are
called depends upon the amount of work to be done during the day.
If there is a big load of oysters, the watchman knocks at the door at
4 a. m. and the whistle blows at 5, when work starts.
“ Workers usually begin at 5 but it’s up to them when they come;
it’s piecework, and we can’t force them if they don’t want to come.
Some come early and some come late. When they don’t come we
go to their house to see what the trouble is. Work is usually over
by 6 in the evening, but often it is necessary to work until 7. I t
has been necessary to work as late as 9 o’clock, but this does not
happen often.
“ Half an hour is taken at 9 o’clock for breakfast, and at noon a
half hour for dinner, and when work at night is necessary, a half
hour is taken at 6 o’clock.”
Another reported that, “ The amount in hours of work is notspecified; they are supposed to work as long as there is any work
to be done. Mothers are allowed leeway in choice of hours, but
others are expected to work whenever work is available. Workers
are free to work elsewhere when there is no work at our cannery.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

“ The watchman does not call the workers in the morning. The
factory opens at 5 o’clock and workers are expected to be there at
that time. An early start is a good idea. People can get more
work done in the morning, especially foreigners; they don’t like to
work in the afternoon. The shuckers go home at 4 or 4.30, or even
earlier, and the packing room closes about 5. We stop work early
every Saturday, usually about 3 o’clock. The workers usually stop
at about 8 in the morning and take an hour for breakfast. They
all go home again at 12 and take an hour or so for dinner, but they
can take as long as they want.
“ The hours for the im ported workers are specified in Baltim ore,
b u t they come and go as they please. W ish I could do as they do.
We expect them to work whenever there is work to be done, b u t we
are no t very strict. The row boss tells me I am too soft-hearted.”
O ther employers testified as follows:

“ The hours depend on the supply of oysters or shrimp; they are
usually from 4 a. m. to 4 p. m., but workers can quit whenever they
want to. We are supposed to keep track of the number of hours
worked by boys under 16, I think it is, and girls under 14; but.this
is impossible, as they come and go at will and we have no control
over them.”
il The cannery opens about 5 a. m. and closes about 5.30 p. m.
We run a 12-hour day, but the people working don’t. The help
is most unreliable and they come in and go out as they like. This
is an industry where the labor runs the employer. The packers
work anywhere from 4 to 8 hours a day depending upon the amount
of work that has to be done.
■‘ The im ported labor is hired for the fam ily, n o t for individuals.
•Every m em ber of the fam ily who is allowed to work according to the
S tate law (which is 14 years for girls and 12 years for boys) is counted
a worker. In retu rn for free rent, fuel, and transportation, all work
ing members of the fam ily are supposed to work every day unless
they are sick. B u t the camp peoole get the best of the bargain afid
do n o t work a t all regularly.”
“ Im ported laborers work two hours earlier and one hour late r
th an resident workers. Im ported workers s ta rt a t 5 o’clock of
their own accord. This extra three hours produces the com pany
a m axim um of o u tp u t a t a m inim um of cost.”

“ The workers usually come about 6.30 a. m. and are through by
1 or 2, working, in general, a 7-hour day.” When this employer
vas asked why some firms began much earlier, he said it was because
they were afraid they could not get enough workers. He added,
“ We have all the workers we need and, therefore, can begin late.”
An agent of the Children’s Bureau, however, one morning counted
15 children who entered this plant between 5 and 6 o’clock.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOB AND THE WOBK OF MOTHERS IN

“ The usual hours are from 6 a. m. to 4 p. m., but often there is
not enough work to keep them busy all that time- The women
come when they want to. They often stay home and do a washing
in the morning and come to work in the afternoon. The early
whistles are all foolishness., I think the people who have them
blowing ought to be arrested for disturbing the town. In former
years when there was a great deal of work to be done, there was some
excuse for starting early.” An agent of the Children’s Bureau,
however, heard the whistle of this factory blow one morning at 10
minutes before 5 and saw workers going into the factory from 10
minutes before 5 to 10 minutes before 6.
“ The factory is generally busy from 7 a. m. to 4 or 5 p. m., but
shuckers sometimes begin as early as 6.30 and a few even at 6, Occa
sionally.” In answer to a question, this employer stated that
shrimp picking usually begins earlier than shucking because of the
two or three hours needed for cooling the shrimp after they have
been picked and boiled.
“ During the past winter work generally began about 7 or 7.30
a. m., rarely before that time. People have changed, they have
become too independent. Years ago, we would blow the whistle at
3 a. m., and get a house full.” When asked if workers were required
to work regular hours, this employer answered, “ They work just as
they want to; they are on the piece system; they go when they
want. They’ll come and laugh at you and go-home just when there’s
a pile of work on your hands. They might come here a while and
then go off and work for another cannery. You stop at 4 or else
your crowd quits on you and you are left anyway. The packers and
weighers have to work more regularly than the shuckers and pickers.
The day is rarely over seven or eight hours.”
“ The plant generally begins work at 6 o’clock, and we work till
we get through; we might get through in five hours or in eight—we
never can tell. Sometimes we are through by noon and at other
times we work till 5 o’clock. We can’t really tell how much we do
work. That’s why we’re up against it when we have to make a report
to the State as to the number of hours women work.” When asked
if the factory had no time clock, or other device for keeping track of
hours, this employer replied, “ The canning business couldn’t be run
that way, in its very nature.”
HAZARDS AND DISCOMFORTS OF CANNERY OCCUPATIONS.
Are the occupations a t which the cannery children work haza:
ous ? To w hat, if any, accidents, injuries, or dangers to general health
do the actual processes in which they are engaged expose them ?
W hat is the character of the work place ?

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CAHETNG COMMUNITIES.

As to accidents, more th an three-fifths of the families reported
some injury, including cuts, burns, infections, sores, and rawness
caused by the acid in the shrim p, and some m ore serious accidents,
during the season studied. The m ost common injuries were cuts
from the oyster shells, sore hands from the shrim p acid, and sores
resulting from running shrim p thorns into the hands. These injuries
and physical ills, being directly related to the work, occur, of course,
more frequently th an accidents such as those resulting from falls
upon a wet, slippery floor or from being run over by oyster cam.

Since the oyster shells are sharp and the workers use a knife in
shucking, cuts are common. The shucker usually wears a glove or
finger stalls, or both (the glove on the left and the stalls on the
right hand). The gloves, however, wear out very quickly, seldom
lasting longer than a day, and sometimes, especially on a fast shucker,
wearing through before the end of a single day. “ Sure, you cut
your hands, said one 14-year-old girl. “ Your gloves sometimes
wear out during the day, and there isn’t time to go to the store for a
new pair, and then you often cut yourself. We have to get a new
pair nearly every other day. My mother wears one glove and I wear
the other. I get sore between the fingers and on my wrist where the
glove rubs all day long, and the juice from the oyster stings.” A 13year-old boy showed a cut he had got that day. I t was on the
thumb, an inch and a half long, and cut nearly to the bone. The
child’s mother showed many small cuts. An 8-year-old girl in
another family showed a cut in the palm of her hand from an oyster
shell. The skin was torn away and the cut was rather deep. This
child does not wear gloves. A 7-year-old girl had cut her finger on an
oyster shell before Christmas and a week before the agent’s visit
(Mar. 1) the cut, which had not yet healed, had abscessed. A doctor
had lanced it, but it was still sore. Another little girl of 10, who
showed the agent a large cut on her forefinger, said, “ Shucking is
very hard on the hands, even with gloves.”. “ Yes; you often cut
yourself,” said a mother. “ Amy [her 8-year-old daughter] cut her
foot badly on a shell at the factory. You certainly cut up your hands.
There are no gloves small enough for the little children, so they have
to work barehanded.” In another instance a boy of 15 got a piece
of oyster shell in his hand and had to have the hand lanced. He lost
two or three weeks’ work at the factory. His mother, too, had
recently had a bad oyster-shell cut. “ The older children don’t have
much trouble with their hands,” said one mother, “ because they
wear gloves. But they don’t make little gloves, and the younger
children can’t get any to fit, and often cut themselves.” Another
woman said, “ The stalls protect the fingers, but the palms of the
hands are very apt to get cut up. You’re apt to get stuck and get
blood poisoning. I got a bone bruised once and had to have it

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

scraped. New help usually gets cut. After working a while there
is not so much danger.”
There were many other comments in regard to cuts from oyster
shucking. The employers, however, did not consider such injuries
serious or very common. “ Shuckers are not apt to get injured
seriously,” said an employer. “ Occasionally they may cut their
hands slightly on oyster shells, but they usually wear gloves and
finger-stalls, which afford sufficient protection.” “ They cut them
selves on shells very seldom,” said another. “ Once a month they’ll
cut themselves. They wear gloves to protect their hands.” Still
another remarked, “ They may cut their hands a little now and then,,
but it won’t hurt them.” Another blamed the workers: “ If a shucker
ever gets cut from oyster shells, it is due to her own carelessness.
This seldom happens.”
Some physicians did not regard cuts from oyster shells so lightly.
One stated that he thought oyster-shell cuts peculiarly liable to infec-.
tion, due rather to the unusual amount of dirt attached to the shells
than to any substance in the shell itself. He had' seen five or six
infected cuts this season. Another physician commented upon the
prevalence of infected cuts among oyster shuckers.
The workers agreed that shrimp picking, or peeling, was a much
more injurious occupation. Many workers said that peeling shrimp
made their hands so sore that they could not possibly work at it
more than two or three days in succession. Two hundred and fortyeight of the children included in this study had picked shrimp.
“ Shrimp is killing on the hands. I t ’s real poison. It eats up
your hand. After two or three days on shrimp you have to knock
off for a rest,” said one mother. Another said: “ Shrimp makes your
hands bleed so badly you can hardly rest when night comes. You
can’t work steadily at shrimp. Jack [her 11-year-old son] can’t
work as long as I can. He can’t stand it. He swells up and it hurts
him.” One cautious worker said, “ I stop when my hands get stiff
and red before they crack.” “ I haven’t picked shrimp this season,”
said another, “ but when I do, I pick for two days and then take a
day off to let my hands heal. I couldn’t stand it if I worked every
day.” Nor are the peelers the only ones exposed to the acid.
“ Shrimp eat your hands up,” stated one worker, and added, “ They
make the feet of the men who dump them bleed. They even eat
the leather off your shoes. If you’ve worked on shrimp for two or
three days you have to stay home a day and do a washing and rest
your hands. Then you can go back for a couple more days.” The^
following statement was repeated in effect many times: “ I have seen
people with blood dripping from their hands from picking shrimp, and

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

you can’t wear nothing to protect them because the acid eats through
everything.”
.
Besides the effect of the acid, the shrimp picker often gets a shrimp
thorn into his hand. (A shrimp thorn is a sharp, spurlike weapon,
sometimes an inch or more in length, which protrudes from the head
of the shrimp.) A 15-year-old girl said, “ I stick shrimp thorns into
my hands four or five times a day. My hands sometimes drip with
blood from the shrimp. I use 25 cents’ worth of alum a week.”
A 13-year-old girl said a prick from a shrimp thorn is “ sorer than a
cut.” Another 13-year-old girl said, “ My hands get so sore they just
bleed. Then I stick them and they get all galled up.” A 14-yearold boy said, “ Shrimp eat your hands down to the quick. You have
your fingers all swol’ up with thorns.”
O ther obnoxious features of shrim p picking or peeling are the
incidental wetness, the filth, the stench, and the cold. In order th a t
they m ay not spoil, the shrim p m ust be kept iced. The workers are
handling small pieces of ice as well as shrim p, and the m elting ice
runs down their clothes and onto the floor.17 '
The following com m ents of employers in regard to shrim p picking
or peeling show th a t knowledge of the dangers and unpleasantness of
the work is n o t lim ited to th e employees.

“ The ammonia in the shrimp causes the hands to become sore. A
worker could not pick more than six or seven hours at the very most
without suffering. We give our workers about two days in every
week to rest during the shrimp season. They can not pick steadily.”
“ If the workers allow the fluid from the shrimp to cake on their
hands, they will become sore. Washing your hands often in water
will prevent this soreness. I have never known a case whe*e a
worker has got a shrimp thorn in her finger. I t would be due to her
own carelessness if it did happen.”
“ In picking shrim p it is possible to stick the thorn which projects
over the head into your hand, b u t this is rare—you h ardly ever hear
of it. I t ’s like walking along and stubbing your toe on a root if you
don’t see it. Picking shrim p several days in succession will h u rt the
hands a little. The w orker then lays off for a day or two, washes his
hands in alum w ater, and is all rig h t again.”

“ The shrimp is pretty tough on the hands and we provide alum
water for each worker. A tubful is made up each morning and the
workers can help themselves.”
“ Workers who pick shrimp can’t stand the work every day. I t
^Jiurts your hands pretty bad after you stay in it three days steady.
The acid in the shrimp just eats your hands off.. I t seems pretty
much like ammonia to me, for when you leave a pile of hulls around
S See discussion of conditions of work place, p. 36.

56569°—22-----3

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IK

they smell bad and it is like an ammonia smell. The acid is carried
in the head of the shrimp. Shrimp pickers generally wash their
hands in alum water in order to heal them up and harden them.”
u If you pick shrimp four or five days, it hurts the hands. Then you
lay off a day, use peroxide and a whole lot of ordinary medicines, and
you’re all right. I t doesn’t hurt the niggers—they’ve got thicker
skin.” 18
The statements of local physicians concerning shrimp poisoning, as
well as other aspects of the effect of cannery work upon women and
children,are of interest. One such physician said, “ I have a world of
accidents resulting from picking shrimp. There are frequent abscesses
on the hands of people picking shrimp.” Other physicians reported
few such cases. The workers seemed to take most of their injuries
for granted and applied alum or other home remedies. One doctor
said he had never heard of any serious results from shrimp poisoning.
“ Last year I had a lot of cases of bone felon, inflammation at the end
of the finger,” said another. “ I don’t know the cause of it, but I
think the tail of the shrimp becomes embedded in the flesh. I t ’s not
serious, but it means lancing and a mighty sore finger for a week.”
Another stated, “ The average number of cases I treat for infection
received from the shrimp thorn is about four or five during the
season. Aside from the thorn, the acid in the shrimp makes the
hands very sore for the first four or five days on the work. However,
the women do not come to me for treatment for this; they use soda
and water; also alum.” Two doctors had a different point of view.
One said, “ There is no industry as free from hazards as the canning
industry. I t is the best business in the world for women and children.
It is^ery seldom I treat cases due to any kind of injury received at
the canneries, and I have never had any such eases of children. The
youngest person I have treated for injury from the cannery work
was 17 years old. This season I have had probably six cases of
infected hands from cuts on oyster shells and fish fins, and these
were mostly fishermen. The acid in the shrimp causes soreness of
the hands, but not to such an extent that the workers ever have to
come to me for treatment. On my calls I have seen one or two cases
of sore hands from shrimp. The acid irritates the skin quite badly,
but if alum water is used the hands become hardened and toughened
to it. The only disagreeable feature in the cannery work is the
wetness. This can not be prevented; the workers are bound to
get wet.” The other said, “ The children work in the factories all
right. They use them all sizes, as soon as they can open an oyste^
shell, from 8 and 9 years up. I t ’s good for them. I t keeps them
out of mischief. I never heard of an accident down there requiring
a physician. Shrimp picking is filthy work, but they seem to get
18 Many complaints of the effect of shrimp acid on the hands were made by the Negroes interviewed.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

used to it. There are no hazards to the work. I ’ve known people
who lived to old age and they worked all their lives in the factory.”
Other injuries and accidents beside those already referred to,
though not so common, are sustained. One physician said that acci
dents frequently happened to children, especially the little children
brought to the factory by their mothers. He had attended two
cases, one a child of 2, the other 5 years old, who had fallen in the
path of the oyster cars and had had their hands crushed. He said
he had also cared for two boys between 12 and 14 whose hands had
been run over. An employer said, “ Children are not allowed to play
and skylark around the cannery. I forbid it because I don’t want
to be sued for damages in case of injury.” A mother said, “ The
factory is a dangerous place for small children. Men push the cars
roughly. The steam is often so thick they can’t see what is in front
of them, and children are apt to get run over.” Another mother,
who said her 10-year-old child had had two fingers smashed under
a car, said, “ There is so much steam that you can’t see the people.
Then you get all steamed up and when you go out of doors you’re
liable to catch cold.” Speaking of children in the factories, one
woman said, “Austrian people bring children of 5 and 6 to the factory
where they work all day long. They could get hurt on the tracks of
the oyster cars. One of them had his nose crushed, several others
got their fingers hurt; then they want the company to pay.” A boy
of 8 had two large abscesses on the backs of his hands, which he had
got by falling on the shells and getting cut. Both abscesses had
maturated and spread. The same boy’s hand was run over by an
oyster car, making a wound in which several stitches had to be taken
and which left a seam running the width of his palm. Another child,
a 12-year-old girl, “ slipped and cut a deep hole in her head.” Falls
seemed to be fairly common, especially in some factories during the
potato-canning season. “ I t ’s wet and slippery in potatoes. You’ll
slip up and bust your head—it’s so slick,” said a colored woman.
A serious accident happened to one 13-year-old boy, crippling him
for life. He was shoveling shells on the wharf and his leg got caught
in the derrick.
M any cannery women complained of burns from handling ho t po
tatoes. “ P otatoes p re tty nearly burned m y hands off. You get
burned before you can get them into the cold w ater,” said one m other.
And another said, “ I burned m y nails loose on m y hands from
handling h o t sweet potatoes.”
‘X. A part from accidents and injuries, cannery work causes m uch
weariness and backache and aching feet, from th e-constant standing
and bending, and illness often results from getting wet and cold.
“ We get so wet we alm ost die w ith cold. We get colds going and
coming,” said one m other. A nother exclaimed, “ My God! Your

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

back and everything hurts standing on those shells all day.” “ I
don’t mind the cuts so much as standing all day and bending over so
much. I ’ve always been a strong person, but I could never shuck a
whole day; I would get such bad pains in my back from leaning
over so much.” Still another said, i‘ When the shells are piled high
and you have to lean way down to reach the oysters, your back aches,
your side hurts, and God knows what doesn’t ache.”
Conditions in shucking and picking sheds.

The condition of the work places, the general structure, dampness,
provisions for heating, and uncleanliness, varied, of course, in the
different canneries. For the most part, the plants were unsub
stantial buildings, often in bad repair and quite open to the weather.
In some of them no attempt had been made to provide any other
heat, than that afforded by the “ steam box” in which the oysters
are steamed. In none of them was there an adequate heating system.
Although the communities studied were all in the Gulf coast region,
it must not be supposed that there was no cold weather; in winter
it was often cold and dam p.19
The wetness of the work itself, whether from melting ice, oyster
juice, potato water, or steam, added to the discomfort caused by the
’ temperature.
Some employers attempted to provide heat, and made other
efforts to mitigate the unpleasantness. One plant provided boxes
on which the shrimp pickers could sit, while working, if they wished
to do so. “ Our factory is nice and dry. There is a big heater in
is The United States Weather Bureau gives the following reports of temperatures for two observation
stations in the districts studied:
LOW EST T EM PE R A T U R E ON RECORD.

• Stations.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept.

Biloxi, Miss. 116 0 F :
16
years’ record)........
Bay St. Louis, Miss.
14
(15 years’ record)..

An
Oct. Nov. Dec. nual,
oF

°F
1

oF
27

° F.
36

oF
40

»F
54

° F.
63

0 F.
63

° F.
40

oF
35

° F.
27

oF
15

H IG H EST T EM PE R A T U R E ON RECORD.
Biloxi, Miss. (16
years’ record)........
Bay St. Louis, Miss.
(15 years’ record)..

100

102

101

100

102

MEAN MONTHLY T E M PE R A T U R E .
Biloxi, Miss. (17
years’ record)........
Bay St. Louis, Miss.
(15 years’ record)..

. 82

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

winter,” said one mother. “ The factory is damp,” said another,
“ but you don't have to get wet unless you want to. There are
grated benches to stand on, 6 inches high.” A worker in another
factory said, “ There are wooden slats over the concrete floor, and
^ou can keep dry if you want to.” One mother said she would
rather be at the cannery than at home. “ I t is very comfortable and
warm there,” she said; “ they have picnics, and the tables are kept
clean and white.” Sometimes careless employers were made to
reform. “ Blank’s is a nice, clean place,” said a woman who worked,
there. “ He got arrested once for filth, so I guess he’s trying to do
better now. I t doesn’t get so wet and sloppy because he has boxes
fixed to throw the shrimp hulls in. They are emptied often and some
one keeps it swept up around.”
“ I t ’s not damp there,” said a colored woman of the factory where
she worked. “ They keep it so clean that one doesn’t get wet. But
it stinks so bad I used to say I wouldn’t go down there; but there ain’t
any money in washing with wood so high.”
Many factories, however, dailed to provide any protection for the
feet of the workers, and there were not many favorable comments on
the conditions of the sheds. “ There was no heat in the factory all
winter; the children’s hands almost froze,” said one mother. “ The
factory was damp,” said a 14-year-old girl. “ I have to stand in
slops. You have to wear stout shoes to keep your feet dry.” Others
said the same thing. “ Yes; it’s damp down there, and very cold
from the ice on the shrimp. I t ’s slops down there, dress wet, feet
wet just like a ditch.” “ The walls are thin and cracked, so the wind
and rain blows in. I t is a pretty damp place for ladies. A lady^
can’t work there and keep her health.” ’ “ I t rains in like a basket.”
“ In shrimps you get wet all over, and in oysters you get cold from
standing over cracks. I t shortens your life all right.” “ During
the potato season, it’s just like a hog bin, it’s so sloppy, with potato
peels everywhere.”
A 14-year-old girl said, “ I got wet to the skin peeling potatoes, and
my mother made me stop working. I had rheumatism, and the
dampness made it worse. I t ’s sloppy and slippery.”
“ I t is very wet work,” said an 11-year-old boy. “ I had to stay
home on account of the bad colds I caught going home in wet clothes.
After that I wore an oilcloth apronr which kept me dry.” A 14-yearold girl took a bad cold at her work of peeling potatoes, developed a
fever, and had to stay in bed three days. Her mother said, “ They
jvould send water down the trough (by steam power) so fast that the
trough would run over and the workers would be soaked. She was
wet through and through after four hours and would have to go
home and change her clothes. And the table was so high it made
her tired to work at it.” “ I have a cold most of the time,” another

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR ASD THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

worker said; “ the factory is cold, and the steam h eaters don’t work.
We have to stop and get w arm in the boiler room .”

A health officer in a county in which a large number of canneries
were located made the following statement about factory conditions.
“ The factories are in pretty good condition. If they had everything
they should have, they would have to close down. The shucking
sheds have been remodeled and the drainage improved. Processing
rooms are well kept,' but are not properly screened. The floors are
usually wet during shrimp and potato seasons, and wooden frames
should be provided for the workers to stand on to prevent their feet
from getting wet. We have made this recommendation and some of
the factories have agreed to it. A slat floor, similar to that provided
for bookkeepers, should be put in. A pliable flooring will add to the
comfort of the workers. We hope we will come to this m time.”
The State factory inspector has insisted upon certain changes in the
height and width of the tables used in peeling sweet potatoes. Some
of them were too high and some were too low, and they were so wide
that it was a strain to reach over to the water trough in which the
potatoes were dipped. Washing facilities are now provided in all the
factories. The toilets have been misused, but an effort is being made
to prevent this by keeping them locked. Toilet paper is not yet sup
plied by all factories, but this is to be required.”
The possibility of eliminating many of the discomforts usually
existing in oyster canneries is demonstrated by a Maryland establish
ment, which is thus described in an official report.
“ Those who are familiar with the oyster-packing industry well
know how uninviting and uncomfortably gloomy these establish
ments usually are because of poor lighting and heating. The floors
are damp and cold, because but little heat is allowed for fear of spoil
ing the oysters. However, Cambridge can boast of a pioneer reformer
who has removed existent evils in the working conditions of this class
of establishments. This employer has accomplished wonderful results
in the construction of a modern factory with the shucking room on
the second floor. Double rows of shucking tables are arranged to run
the length of the room, accommodating 500 workers. An opening is
made in the table at the place of each worker,-into which the oyster
shells are dropped and conducted by a chute to the floor below, where
they are carted away. Running under the flooring at the feet of the
workers are heating pipes serving a double purpose, as they supply
the neeessary heat to the workers and keep the floors dry and warm.
A double row of windows, which are ranged at either side at the top
along the entire length of the building, supply the necessary light
and ventilation. No children under 16 years of age were employed
in this establishment.”

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

LITERACY AND SCHOOLING OF CHILDREN.
Prem ature child labor, no com pulsory education laws or poorly
enforced compulsory education laws go h and in hand.
A t the tim e the investigation was m ade Florida had local option
in com pulsory education; th a t is, a school district could avoid it,
even though the county should have voted for it. The Florida com
m unity included in this stu d y did. no t m ake education compulsory.
Mississippi had a law som ew hat sim ilar to th a t of F lo rid a ; Louisiana
had a com pulsory education law applicable to the entire S tate, b u t
the exem ptions, as well as the lack of m achinery to enforce the law,
ham pered or nullified its effectiveness.

Inasmuch as the basis of selection of the families for the study
was that the children under 16 years of age were working in the
canneries, or the mothers of children under 6 were so employed, it
was to be expected that the percentage not attending school would
be large. I t was, therefore, not surprising to find that of 943 chil
dren from 6 to 15 years of age, 106, or 11 per cent, had never attended
school. Of 649 from 7 to 13 years, 266 (41 per cent) were not attend
ing school at the time the study was made. Moreover, 191 (68
per cent) of the children who were going to school also worked in
canneries, so that their attendance was often very irregular.
The children of the white nonresident families had the poorest
record for school attendance, as they did for literacy. If the
children 7 to 13 years of age, inclusive, are considered, only 16 per
cent of these nonresident white children attended school as com
pared w ith 63 per cent of the resident white children and 72 per cent
of the resident Negro children.21

Failure on the part of the community to provide good schools
or, in some cases, any schools at all, was encountered. Some par
ents were altogether indifferent, while others appreciated the value
of an education and deplored the lack of schools. In a village in
Louisiana which had no public school, the Polish parents of a 6 and
a'7-year-old child were eager to have them go to school to learn
English, since only Polish was spoken at home.
Another family, with children 6 and 15 years old, was planning
to move to New Orleans u since the children can’t grow up without
schooling.” . In this community the cannery apparently obeyed
the Louisiana child-labor law. The children not at work and with
no school to attend had nothing to occupy their idle time.
A m other in another com m unity complained, “ There is only one
school, and a couple of miles to walk. The teachers are ju st kids
and don’t learn the children an y th in g .”
2i I t should be noted th at the difference in the percentages for the white and colored children is prob
ably not significant, since they were drawn in unequal proportions from several different communities
which offered different school facilities.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

Sometimes the school officials were responsible for the indifference
to school. In a previous report of the bureau reference is made to a
Florida superintendent who excused his own cooperation in the viola
tion of the child-labor law of the State on the ground that “ children
should have a chance, as they are the best workers in the shucking
business.” 22
Tales of irregular attendance were general. Thus, a child of 11
years nominally attended school, but “ more than half the time she
stays out to work. Yesterday she worked from half past 4 in the
morning till half past 3 in the afternoon. To-day she began at 5 in
the morning and worked till 4 in the afternoon.”
Two seventh-grade girls of 13 and 14 were kept out of school two
days each week in the fall to work in the factory. The father said,
“ The boss wanted me to send the children last week, but I wouldn’t
because it was the last week of school.” In another family two
little girls, 10 and 12 years old, worked in-a shrimp factory twice a
week.& One mother said that her two children of 14 and 15 had
“ missed a lot of school. The last year each of them stayed away
from school about two days a week to work.
Children frequently worked before and after school and on Satur
days. A little girl of 10, for example, worked two hours before
school in the morning and “ an hour or so” after school in the after
noon. A boy aged 13 had worked in a cannery after school and on
Saturdays. Then his mother let him stay away from school every
other week to work. The principal of a public school in the cannery
district of Biloxi said that about 20 per cent of the children did not
attend regularly because of work in the cannery. The principal of
the parochial school also complained of ifregular attendance. Parttime employment was often the entering wedge for increasingly
regular employment and increasing neglect of school. But even if a
child works only before and after school, the early morning labor
deprives him of sleep and the afternoon labor of play, both of which
are essential not only to his healthful development but also to his
ability to learn when he does attend school.
Some parents made great sacrifices to keep their-children in school.
One mother had kept her 16-vear-old girl in school, permitting her
to work only on Saturday and in vacation. When asked if the girl
worked before and after school during the week the mother replied,
“ No; because if she did she would not advance so well in school.”
This girl was in the seventh grade. This same family was less con
siderate of their 13-year-old boy, who, though he attended school,
regularly, had been working in a bakery before and after school for
four years. He got up at 4 o’clock every morning and delivered 500
loaves of bread on his bicycle by 8 o’clock.____ ________._______ _
22 The Administration of the First Federal Child-Labor Law, p. 62. Children’s Bureau Publication N o.
78. Washington, 1921.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

A father who worked on an oyster boat and who sent his 8-year-old
son to school regularly, said “ I am going to have him learn a trade.
He is not going to be a shucker all his life if I can help it. I t ’s a
tough life and I don’t w ant him to work like I have.” A “ Louisiana
F ren ch ” m other moved away from one com m unity because it had
no school. “ I w ant the children to get a good schooling because I
never had any, and even now can’t talk English w ithout m aking them
laugh.”
Frequently parents blamed their poverty for keeping their chil
dren out of school. A girl of 11 was needed at home to care for a
2-year-old baby while her mother worked in a cannery to eke out
the father’s average earnings of $5.35 a week. “ If my man was
alive,” commented one mother, “ I ’d send all my children to school.”
The 10-year-old boy in this family went to night school three nights
a week, paying 50 cents a week for tuition. “ But it costs too
much; I can’t send him much longer,” said the mother. In another
family the children, aged 13 and 11, went to school regularly until
their father died, when they had to help in the support of the family.
In another instance a woman wanted her 15-year-old grandson to
continue school, but she was unable to buy him the necessary “ third
reader.” A bright boy of 12 in the seventh grade was forced to drop
out of the parochial school in December. He worked during the day
and went to night school three nights a week. “ He is a smart boy,”
his mother said, “ and if I could afford it I ’d keep him in school.”
The mother of three children—aged 13, 10, and 7—who went to
school last year, was not able to send them this year. The whole
family had the influenza, and their bills amounted to $100, and
they had no money left for shoes and the other clothes that the
children needed for school. The mother hoped to send the two
younger ones next year. Another mother said she would send her
two boys—aged 12 and 7—to school “ if they had any clothes. I
can’t send them looking as they do.” A colored girl of 8 had not
entered school because she had been “ shoeless and clothesless.”
One little girl of 13 was discouraged because she had made poor
progress in school. She was promoted last year to the sixth grade
but had had to continue all this year in the fifth grade because the
family could not afford the necessary books for the higher grade.
These statem ents are typical of m any th a t were m ade to the agents
of the bureau. D irectly or indirectly—because of the need for th e
ch ild ’s wage, or the lack of m oney for clothes and books, or the need
of the ch ild ’s services in caring for the younger children left a t
‘ome while the m other worked—poverty was allowed to interfere
w ith the education of the children.
The opinion was current in some few families th a t though a little
knowledge was desirable anything m ore th an a little was unfortunate.
One m other (white) who was sending her oldest boy —14 years —to

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR. ASTD THE WORK OF MOTHERS

night school three times a week, and who had not sent her second
and third children—aged 12 and 9 years, respectively—hack to
school since the influenza, was planning to send them next year.
She commented, “ They need a little learning, but they won’t get
graduated. All poor children need to know is to read and write a
little. Too many poor children get educated. I t don’t do them no
good. ” (This mother went through the third grade and stated that
she vras able to read and write.) A colored mother took a similar
stand. She said of her 7-year-old boy, ‘•I want him to learn enough—
to read and write—but not to finish; just to learn enough not to
have him foolish. It don’t do kids no good to learn too much
nowadays.” Another mother said of her 13-year-old girl, “ She
was in school for six years, and I won’t be sending her back. T h at’s
plenty long enough. ”
An employer expressed a like opinion: “ I t ’s my opinion that a
child learns enough to go through life if he is sent to school from the
time he is 6 years until h e ’s 11 or 12.” Another employer, who
realized that the children needed an education although he found
their school attendance subversive to his own interests, said, “ I
guess i t ’s a good thing for children to go to school. I wish I ’d gone.
I worked since I was 8 years old. But the child-labor law hurts
the factories, because children can shuck as well as the others. We
don’t make anything on them, for we pay them as much (that is,
the same piece rates) as the others. But the factories need the
numbers. ”
The education of the colored children was always a special prob
lem. Their schools were inferior and the terms shorter.' A desire
on the part of the Negro parents to educate their children was not
lacking. In Apalachicola, Florida, where the great majority of the
children employed in the canneries are colored, 65 per cent of 113
colored children attended school.
The colored people in. this community seemed alive to their chil
dren’s need for education and had attempted to collect money to
continue the school session longer than the six months provided by
public funds. A number of families sent their children to “ pay
schools.” One mother, whose children attended a pay school, said
that the public school had closed April 1 after a session of five
months,23 the appropriation for the colored school being made for
23 T he county superintendent of public instruction stated th at the Negro school term was six m onths and
th at th e white school had an eight-months’ term . lie gave the following information about the white and
colored educational facilities:
___...
XT ,

White.

Negro.

Number of public schools......................... . ...................... ................................................. .. ^
Number of teachers...................................................................................................................
*
Salary averages..............................................................................................................................
N um ber of principals.....................................................................- .........................................
Salaries of principals.....................................................................
Number of pupils per teacher (averages)........................... .. .- . . ......... - ............................+3®
Length of school term in 1918.................................................................................. m onths..
Length of school term in 1919.................... — ................. - ........ .
..................—
8

£
®
$33.33
^
$55
+^2

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AM) SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

five m onths only. “ If the school is to run a nine-m onths’ term , the
same as the w hite school, the teachers have to raise m oney to cover
expenses ($100 a m onth) by contributions from the parents and by
entertainm ents.’’ F o r the previous two years they had been unsuc
cessful, and schools had had to close early. Three p ay schools
opened when the public school closed; 50 and 60 cents a m onth was
charged for tuition.

One mother, who sent her 14-year-old daughter to night school
after the public school closed in March, said that the colored publicschool session extended customarily from October 1 to March 1. It
was prolonged until April 1 in 1919, to make up for the time lost
during the influenza epidemic. “ They have six teachers for about
250 pupils. The principal gets $55 a month, the assistant principal
and the primary teacher get $30 a month. A very good teacher left
because she couldn’t afford to pay $12 a month for board and room
out of her $25.”
The superintendent of public instruction stated that the “ average”
salary of Negro teachers was $33.33 a month, and of the principal $55
a month. The “ average” number of pupils per teacher he reported
to be “ 42 + .”
In some of the Apalachicola families there was complaint of the
quality of education and the ability of the teachers in the public
school. One colored woman “ saw no sense ” in sending her grandson
to the public school “ to fight and scratch.” “ They don’t have
teachers enough,” she said, “ and the teachers they have they elevate
from the eighth grade.” She sent her grandson to a pay school as
regularly as she could afford the tuition of 15 or 26 cents a week.
Another colored woman sent her 11-year-old daughter to a school
that charged 20 cents a week tuition. The girl had been taken out
of the public school after one term because “ she learned nothing
there. There were too many pupils to a teacher,” the mother
explained. Each teacher had from 50 to 60 pupils, and the teachers
were poorly paid.
“ The public school only runs five m onths, and th a t don’t am ount
to anything on a child’s m ind, so I send mine to pay school when
public school closes. I only send them to the public school because
m y taxes are so high th a t I w ant to get a little benefit from them .
B u t they don’t learn nothing there. My girl has gone to the public
school for five years, and she’s still in the prim er, b u t she is getting
along fine a t the pay school. This private m an sure will lea m your
children.”

A Children’s Bureau agent visited a colored “ pay school.” I t
was taught by the father of one of the children who worked in a
cannery. It was held in a fairly large, one-room building sadly in
need of paint. About 60 children sat on wooden benches, the small
est in the front rows. The teacher, a gray-haired, kindly, old colored

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

man, his coat in tatters, sat at his table in front of the rows. The
school was not divided into classes, but the teacher “ took each one
separately,” the pupils coming to him one at a time to recite. This
school he conducted the seven months when the public schools were
closed. Besides this «day school he had a night school all the year
round for children who worked during the day. During the winter
months when his day school was closed he did carpentry, but he
“ doesn’t make much. Just enough to stay here, and th at’s all.”
Whatever the quality of these pay schools, the very fact of their
existence bespeaks the real interest of the colored people of this
community in providing their children with some education.
Illiteracy.

Under the conditions just described a high percentage of illiteracy
was inevitable.
Of the 609 children between 10 and 15 years of age who were
included in the study 149, or 25 per cent, were illiterate. The illiter
acy rate for all children from 10 to 14 years 24 old (inclusive) in the
United States was 4 in 1910. The percentage of illiteracy among
the children from 10 to 15 years of age who were included in this
study was therefore approximately six times that for children of an
age group very nearly the same (10 to 14 years) for the United States
as a whole. I t was the children of the families who were brought
down from Baltimore and other places that were mainly responsible
for this exceedingly high rate. In the group studied the rate of
illiteracy among the resident white children 10 to 15 years of age
was 19 per cent and among colored children 25 per cent; among the
migratory white children it was 37. There were practically no mi
grating colored families.
The illiteracy of the children was only a little less striking than
that of their mothers. While 25 per cent of the children over 10
were illiterate, 33 per cent of the mothers were illiterate. Nor was
the illiteracy of the mothers confined to those of foreign birth, for of
the native-born white mothers 32 per cent were unable to read and
write.
Forty-four, or more than one-tenth of the m others, were unable to
speak English. In 22 instances these m others were native Americans.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

grade; 18 (8 per cent) at the second grade; 30 (13 per cent) at the
third grade; and 48 (21 per cent) at thé fourth grade. Only 110,
less than half of the children who had reached their fourteenth birth
day, had gone beyond the fourth grade.
The figures just given include both white and colored, resident and
nonresident, children, those working in canneries as well as those not
employed.
As their attendance at school was less, so the retardation of the
nonresident children was- greater. The per cent of the 14- and 15year-old children who had completed the fourth grade in school was
34 per cent for the nonresident children, 52 per cent for the resident,
for the white children 46 per cent, and for the colored children 53
per cent
POVERTY AND CHILD LABOR.
Widowhood, the small earnings of fathers and m others, the high
cost of living— all these are among the im m ediate causes of child
labor. “ Grub is so high, he has to w ork,” said the m other of a
12-year-old boy. “ E verything costs so m uch,” said another, “ th a t
we couldn’t get along if the children didn’t w ork.”

A mother, whose crippled husband can average only $6 a week,
"sent her 13-year-old daughter to work after school and on Saturdays.
She said that the child’s earnings of 20 or 25 cents a day and $1 on
Saturday were needed to help support the family. In another
instance a woman who had six children under 16 and whose husband
had deserted her sent the four oldest—-from 10 to 15 years—to work
in the cannery. They had all gone to school before the father left
them and their mother complained that she had a hard time keeping
the 10- and 11-year-old boys at work, because they “ had rather
play.” I have a hard time paying the $6 a month rent after feeding
and clothing the children. And it will be harder in summer, when
there is not so much work.” Another woman said, “ Many of the
children round here have to work or starve to death. I don’t blame
the mothers for having them work, as living is so high.” This
family’s income was exceptionally high. The husband and two sons
(over 16) worked on a boat, and earned on an average $50 a week
between them, but altogether there were nine in the family. The
mother sent her 10-year-old child to the factory to shuck part time.
“ I t takes every penny to feed and clothe them,” she explained.
(See discussion of earnings of fathers, p. 50.)
“ he widowed mothers.

Of the mothers included in the study 105, or about one-fourth, were
widowed or had been deserted by their husbands. These women had
to bear the responsibility which, in normally constituted families, is
shouldered bv the father as the chief breadwinner.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

In the absence of State pensions 25 or subsidies to widows, it is
generally taken for granted that widows need to sell the labor of
their children in order to support themselves and their families.
“ Something will happen pretty soon,” said one widowed mother,
“ if the poor people can’t do better. With the price of food and the
cost of influenza, we can’t get along. What are poor people going to
do, if their children can’t work to help pay for their shoes and
things—especially those that haven’t got fathers?”
In some cases even the delicacy or actual illness of a child did
not save him from work in the canneries. A widow said of her 15year-old son, “ He is a weak boy. He coughs fit to kill himself. He
has to take medicine all the time to be able to work.”
Neither the mothers nor the communities seemed to know that
ways have been found for meeting the misfortune of widowhood
otherwise than by the premature employment of children already
handicapped by the loss of their fathers.
Occupations and earnings of fathers.

Since in every family included in this inquiry either the wife or
the children—or both wife and children—worked, it is important to
know the occupations and earnings of the fathers.
In 3 instances there was no report on the father’s occupation. In
105 instances the father was dead or had deserted his family. Of
the 315 fathers concerning whom reports of occupations were secured,
7 were unemployed; 107 worked on oyster and shrimp boats (in 14
cases the fathers owned the boats and sold their catch to the can
neries) ; 68 were employed inside the canneries or around the wharves;
31 worked in shipyards; and 102 worked at other occupations not
connected with the canneries.
In interpreting the earnings of the men (see Table IV), especially
those engaged on the boats or in and about the canneries, it should
be remembered th at these varied from week to week, depending on
the catch and the weather. A captain of one of the cannery boats
said, *i I t all depends on the weather in our work, and the weather is
something you never can count on. I t ’s a game of chance; a gamble
with the wind. If the wind is right, luck’s with you; but if it’s too
windy you can’t manage your sails, and if it isn’t windy enough it’s
no good, for you’ve got to keep the boat moving. I t ’s mighty un
certain. Some months we can make four trips, and then again when
the weather is bad we only manage to make one. When you have
luck it’s all right, but it’s bad if luck’s against you.
“ I t takes five men to manage a boat. We are usually out a week
and load on about 450 barrels of oysters. When we land we load
into the cars, 5 barrels to a car; then when we are paid we first
deduct our provision bill and then divide the rest into six shares, and
25 Florida enacted a mothers’ pension law in 1919.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AISTD SHRIMP eAXXING- COMMUNITIES.

one share belongs to the boat, which counts as a person, and goes to
the company. We average about $30 apiece each trip.. The num
ber of trips we can make in a month, as I said, depends upon the
weather.
“ During the summer months I haul shells. Each company has
to replace the oysters taken with a certain quantity of shells. We
dump them along the Gulf as far as Pensacola, Fla. I t ’s hard work,
harder than catching. The glare of the shells is so hard on our eyes
we have to begin work before sunrise, knock off before noon, and
begin again at 3 or 3.30. We are paid by the barrel, and we make
almost as much as we do in the oyster season.
“ This sea life spoils you for a land job, but it’s mighty uncertain,
and I only come out about even at the end of the year.”
The boatmen were paid not on a time basis but for the number of
pounds or barrels of shrimp or oysters they brought in. In different
communities different rates were paid. Since it was not the custom
of employers to keep pay rolls showing the amounts earned by the
various boatmen it was difficult to get either from the employers or
the families absolutely accurate evidence of earnings. The state
ments of the employers regarding the amounts the men could earn
did not always agree with those of the workers. There is, perhaps,
a tendency for employers, when questioned about wages of piece
workers, to state the maximum rather than the average wages.
One employer said, “ The men who go out on the boats work by
shares. Five or six on a boat bring in a cargo worth $250 to $300.
They divide equally, the boat taking a share. The boat belongs to us.
They make pretty good money. Here’s a case [pointing to a record
sheet in front of him and showing the figures] where a boat was out
four days and each man got $29.31 clear of provisions, lodgings, and
everything else. * * * They make from $26 to $35 on a trip,
and they have made as high as $40.”
Another employer showed the record of amounts paid for certain
trips for oysters, ranging from $34.50 to $139.50. The employer
stated that these trips lasted one week only, and that after approxi
mately $15 a week had been deducted for gasoline, living expenses,
and miscellaneous expenditures, the remainder, divided into two
shares, was net profit to each of the two men who manned the boats.
This same employer showed records of payments ranging from
$71.40 to $294.75 for shrimp trips. The expenses for the shrimp
boats, he said, were $30 a week. As in the case of oysters, the trips
,sted only a week, and the money was shared by only two men.
Other employers presented a somewhat different picture of the
men’s earnings. One stated that “ a family with three shuckers, one
man for daywork, and one man on a boat, could make altogether $40
a week.” When asked if any of the families working in his factory

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IK

had ever done that, he replied that he “ did not know of any families
with more than two shuckers and one dayman.” “ Boatmen work
on a share basis,” said an employer; “ they have been averaging $25
a week all season.” Others said, “ The skilled men are paid by the
week, receiving from $18 to $25 a week,” and “ The boatmen were
earning between $20 and $40 a week before the strike.” 26
Apalachicola was the only place visited in which the cannery
workers were organized. Here there were four unions, affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor, as. follows: The Oysterman’s
Protective Association, the Colored Oyster-Catchers’ Union, the
Shuckers’ Union (colored), and the Ladies’ American Union (colored).
In one factory an unusual situation grew out of a disagreement
between the employer and the American Federation of Labor. The
employer wanted his workers organized in opposition to union labor,
and so they joined the I. W. W. None of them understood the
principles of the I. W. W. They wished simply to be organized.
In the course of the year they lost their charter, and were greatly
surprised to learn of charges being brought against the I. W. W.
“ The cost of labor has increased by leaps and bounds,” said another
employer. “ Boatmen who used to get $5 a barrel are now getting
$7.50. Raw oyster shucking is performed by men at the rate of
$1.50 per 1,000 oysters. This is 100 per cent higher than three years
ago. The women are too airy here to do this work, but they do it in
the East.
“ Boatmen sail oyster and shrimp boats on the share basis. The
boat may belong to a boatman or to the company. In either case,
the boat is considered a share; the net also counts as a share. The
provision bill is first deducted and then the proceeds are divided into
equal shares. If a crew makes a “ broken” trip—that is, gets no
catch—the factory pays all expenses of the trip. This occurred four
times last spring, costing me $100 a trip. At present boatmen are
paid $7.50 a barrel. At the beginning of the season they received $7
but another firm offered 50 cents more and it was necessary to pay
this additional amount in order to keep the men. * * * Several
factories are cutting down on the price to boatmen and this is causing
some dissatisfaction. Men with large families, however, are satisfied
because the difference is more than made up by what their children
earn shucking.”
The men employed in and around the canneries were usually paid
by the hour. “ A man doing a day’s work makes anywhere from
$3.85 to $4 a day. A man wheeling shells gets 35 cents an hour,”
said one employer. Other hour rates reported were 22^ cents, 25
26
At th e tim e of th e study the boatm en in Apalachicola had been on strike for three m onths. They had
been receiving 3 cents a pound for shrim p, and were striking for 3£ cents a pound. After th e strike had
started, however, th e m arket “ went to pieces ” and the employers, were offering the boatm en only 2\ cents
a pound—a lower rate th an they had been paying a t th e tim e th e strike was called.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

, OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

cents, 27^ cents, and 30 cents an hour. Several employers paid 35
cents, and one reported that he paid from 30 to 40 cents an hour. In
this connection it should be remembered that the inside workmen
are almost as dependent on the catch as are the boatmen, and that
their work also is irregular.
One father who shucked raw oysters,27 and who said he was con
sidered “ the fastest shucker on the P o in t/7 said that his average
earnings were about $15 a week, and that the most he ever earned in
one week was $23. Another father, who had a small boat of his own,
went “ oystering” with tongs on public reefs. He took his 13-yearold son with him. “ We catch to-day and open to-morrow/7he said,
meaning that after getting the oysters he shucked them and then sold
them to raw-oyster dealers, getting a price on shucked oysters. He
usually got $3.50 a thousand for the shucked oysters. He and the
boy together could shuck about 2,000 a day. In other words, the
two together could earn $7 for two days7 work; but the work was
irregular—“ We can’t count on more than three days7work a week/7
he said, “ the season is so short and the work so irregular that we
can t make enough to last us through the dull season—about four
months. Last summer I was way in debt.77
Statements of the average and maximum weekly earnings for the
season studied of each working member of the family were secured
whenever possible. In 254 instances the average weekly earnings,
and in 252 instances the maximum weekly earnings of fathers were
given. Table IV shows the average weekly earnings of both the
white and colored fathers.
T a ble

IV.—F a t h e r s

r e p o r t i n g specified a v e r a g e w e e k l y e a r n i n g s

b y color.

Fathers reporting earnings.
Average weekly earnings.
Total.

W hite.

Colored.

All fathers rep orting.........................

254

165

Loss th an $12.......................
112 b ut less th an $15.....................
$15 b u tless th an $20..................
$20 b u t 1ess th an $25.....................
$25 b u tless th an $30...................................
$30 but less th an $35...............................
$35 and over.............................................

51
33
81
35,
18
22
14

34
18
47
24
13
18
11

17
15
34
11
5
4
t3

From this table it appears that during the shrimp and oyster seasons
the median earnings fell between $15 and $20. However, 51, or 20
per cent, of the fathers averaged less than $12 a week; 84, or 33 per
ent, less than $15; 165, or 65 per cent, less than $20; 200, or 79 per
cent, less than $25.
27 Women and children were employed to shuck only steamed oysters, and not for rawoyster shucking
except in rareinstances.
56589°—22----- 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABO® AND THE WORK .HF MOTHERS OT

The low-earnings were not confined to ike colored fathers, although
a smaller proportion of them were in the higher wage groups. Of the
white fathers 34., or .21 .per cent, earned less than $1.2 a week; 52, or
32 per cent, less than $15 ; 99, or 60 per coot, less than $20; and 123,
or 75 per cent, less than $25 a week.
Of the Negro fathers 17, or 19 per cent, earned less than $12 a
week; 32, or 36 per cent, less than $15 ; 66, or 74 per cent, less than
$20; 77, or 87 per cent, less than $25 a week.
I t should be remembered that thé wages paid in the canneries
during the seasons studied were considered by employers as well as
employees to be exceptionally high on account of war conditions.
“ Factories treated people better this year,” said one mother, “ be
cause men were employed in the shipy ards and labor was hard to .get.
They had to lower the weight for all workers.” (Lowering the weight
is equivalent to raising the rate of pay.) One employer said in regard
to wages, “ These high wages can not continue. We shall have to
reduce rates next year. .Of course, if we could continue to get the
present war prices for our products, we would have no objection to
paying the same rates.” Another said, “ I have been paying the
boatmen $7 a barrel for shrimp, and from 65 to $5 cents for oysters.
These prices are higher than usual, and I will not be able to pay this
much hereafter. I have no idea what prices will be next year, but
they will not be as high.” Some employers had already begun to
reduce rates of pay, “ Men laborers up to now have received 30
cents an hour. From now on they will get 25 -cents,” said one.
By a comparison with Table Y the variation between the maxi maim
and the average weekly earnings of 245 fathers can be computed.
In 75 instances the same sums were reported for both the average
and the maximum weekly earnings. In 75 additional cases, the
variation was less than $5. In 48 instances—20 per cent—the
variation between the average and the maximum was $10 or more.
Table V.—

N u m b e r a n d p e r cent

distribution

o f fathers, b y m a x i m u m

meekly

earnings.

Fat&ersrep ortiBg
.earnings.
Maximum weekly earnings.
Number.

.231

.400.0

.56

,22.2
25.7
IS. ,2.
•6.7
9.1
<8.3
-5.1
4.0
4.3

16
17
.23
16'
13
10

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

P e rc e n t
distri
bution.

OYSTER ASTB SHRIMP €AKXTXO COMMHittTIES,

The 10 fathers reporting $50 or more as the earnings for their best
week reported the following sums: 5 earned $50; 2 earned $57; 1
earned $60; 1 earned $100; and 1 earned $115. In 3 cases the fathers
owned their own boats, and the amounts received therefore represent
not only wages but also a return on capital, for it is customary when
the money for a catch is divided to count the boat owner as one man.
All the fathers who reported an income of $50 or more for their
best week had much lower average weekly earnings.28 The 10 fathers
who made $50 or more in their most prosperous week formed only
4 per cent of those for whom maximum earnings were reported, as
shown in Table V. This table also shows that more than one-fifth
of the fathers made less than $15 during their maximum week, that
nearly half the fathers made less than $20, and that only one-third
made $25 or more during their best week.
The fathers who had migrated from their homes on the promises
of the row boss were often bitterly disappointed with the wages and
conditions of work in the cannery communities. One man said, **The
row boss came to our house and promised me a job of $4 a day on
the boats and work for the whole family. When we got here they
wouldn’t give me a job on the boats, and I have to shuck, and only
make about 75 cents a day. We don’t like it here and we’ll never
come again. I can make much more in Baltimore.” A woman in
Biloxi said, “ The row boss had told my husband that he could make
good money as captain of a schooner, and that if he did not get that
he would get him a night watchman’s job, or work on the steam box.
My husband was keen about hunting game and the row boss said
there was a lot of it down in Biloxi. He promised all kinds of good
things. They will tell you any kind of a lie to get you down here.
When we got here the night watchman’s job was taken, and it was
in December—eight weeks—before he could find a job. If it wasn’t
that we brought a little of our savings and that I worked, we wouldn’t
have been able to get along. Finally, the company put Virm on doing
odd jobs, and he averages $9 a week. If we could have earned enough
for our fare back to Baltimore we would have gone long ago. We
think the row boss played a trick on us and are awfully sorry we came.”
In another instance, a man had been promised work on the steam
box. When the family arrived all such positions had been filled.
For three weeks the man was without employment; his wife and a
14-year-old boy worked at shucking oysters and picking shrimp.
Finally the woman told the company th at she and heT family were
"ping back to Baltimore. (She thought she had saved enough money
from picking tomatoes in the summer to take them back.) Then
28 For table of average weekly earnings, see p. 49.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

the company gave the man work unloading shells. He objected to
this, and finally was given a job rolling shells at 40 cents an hour.
Occupations and earnings of mothers.

In the group studied, 94 mothers were unemployed; 4 were
dead, or had deserted their families; and in 2 instances no report
of the mothers’ occupations could be secured. Of the 323 mothers
who worked, all but 43 worked in canneries, most of them picking
shrimp and shucking oysters. A few were packers, or peeled potatoes,
or performed other cannery work. Most of the working women not
employed in canneries did laundry work, sometimes in their own
homes, sometimes in the homes of their employers.
As all the women interviewed, except those who were packers, were
paid on a piece-rate basis, the speed of the individual worker was one
factor in their earnings. But the regularity of the work, which
depends on the catch, the weather, and the rates allowed, which
varied at different seasons in different localities and for resident and
nonresident workers, were much more important factors.
According to the employers’ statements, the rates for oysters
varied from 1J cents to 5 cents a pound, and for shrimp from 1 to
3 cents. Usually the nickel was the unit of payment, the workers
being required to shuck a certain number of pounds for a nickel.
Thus, when the rate of pay was lowered, the workers, as well as the
employers, spoke of the procedure as “ raising the weight,” and an
increase in the rate of pay was called “ lowering the weight.” The
difference most frequently reported was between a rate of 5 cents a
pound for shucking by outsiders and 5 cents for a pound and a half
for the same work when done by insiders. In other words, people
living in the camps provided “ free” by the company were required
to do 50 per cent more work for their money than the workers who
were paying a definite rent outside the company camps.
The shuckers and pickers were not on the pay roll. Whenever their
shrimp or oyster cups were filled they took them to the weighing win
dow and received as many nickels as the weight of the cup called for.
Only the “ hour workers,” such as the packers, weighers, and labelers,
were kept on the pay roll. The wages, of this pay-roll group of
workers varied from 10 cents to 30 cents an hour.
Reports of average and maximum weekly earnings were secured
from 284 mothers.29 Table VI shows the average weekly earnings
reported by those living in the camps, or company houses, and by
those living outside.
29
In 139 cases th e m others were unemployed, were unable to give their average earnings, were dead,
or had deserted their families.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.
T able M l — N

u m b e r

a n d p e r c e n t d i s t r i b u t i o n o f m o t h e r s w i t h specified p l a c e o f residence,

b y average w eekly earnings.

Mothers reporting average earnings.
Living in camps or
company houses.

Total.

Average weekly earnings.

Living elsewhere.

Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu Number. distribu Number. distribu
tion.
tion.
tion.
All earnings.... -.

284

100.0

102

100.0

182

100,0

Less th an SI.................
$1 b u t less th an $2.......
$2 but less th an S3.......
$3 b u t less th an $4.......
S4 b ut less th an So.......
$5 b u tless th an 87.50-.
$7.50 b utless th an $10 .
$10 b u t less th an $12.50
$12.50 or m ore..............

2
14
31
49
43
93
28
15
9

.7
4.9
10.9
17.3
15.1
32.8
9.9
5.3
3.2

1
2
9
24
19
34
8
4
1

1.0
2.0
8.8
23.5
18.6
33.3
7.8
3.9
1.0

1
12
22
25
24
59
20
11
8

.6
5.59
12.1
13.7
13.2
32.4
11.0
6.0
4.4

This table shows that nearly half the mothers who reported their
earnings made on the average less than $5 a week; that about onethird averaged between $5 and $7.50; and that only about one-fifth
averaged $7.50 or more a week.
I t should be remembered that these earnings do not represent full
time work every day for six days a week. The irregularity of can
nery work is discussed later.30
Table VI bears out the statement of the mothers who lived in
camps and company houses that their lower wages balance their
so-called free rent and fuel. The women who did not live in camps
earned a higher average wage than the camp mothers, in spite of
the fact that the latter probably worked more steadily. “ We used
to live in the camp,” said one woman, “ but my son does not want
me to live there any longer, so he is paying our rent for us. We
didn’t like it there. You had to work whether you felt like it or not.
If you stayed home the boss would talk. They say free rent and
duel, but Oh, Lprd! you can’t save anything on that for they use a
heavier weight on you. They can call it free, but I call it a big
rent.”
Another said, “ We decided we would save money living
outside of camp. We figured it out that we were paying $15 a
month rent to the company and burning $1.50 worth of wood a
day by working at the rate of 5 cents for 1J pounds instead of 5
cents for 1 pound.” “ We get this house free,” said another,
“ but we used to rent it from the company for $ 4 a month; and that
was better, for then they paid us the same as others and we could
make more. If they give you your house they use a heavier weight
30 See p. 56. See also Hours of work, p. 24.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

on you. I t is 5 cents a pound for outsiders and 5 cents a pound
and a half for us/ The people from Baltimore have it even worse—
they only get 5 cents for 2 pounds. That’s because their fare down
here was paid for them, and because they get free fuel.” Another
said, “ The first of the season the company paid 5 cents for 2} pounds;
now they pay 5 cents for 1J, while the people outside the camp are
paid 5 cents a pound. Besides this they give insiders heavy weight
and the outsiders light weight. They do this to get back on their
free rent. The outside people can make as much as $3.50 a day;
it’s so much easier for them. I t is really better to pay rent, because
those who have free rent get paid so much less. We are going to
jmy rent next year.”
Table VI shows that the lowest earnings were more frequent among
the mothers living in company camps or houses and that the highest
earnings were much more frequent among those living outside. Of
the inside mothers, only 13 per cent earned $7.50 or more a week,
as compared with 21 per cent of the outside mothers. Only one
camp mother averaged $12.50 or more a week, whereas, of the out
side mothers, 8 fell in this wage group.
In some instances promises of free rent were fulfilled for only part
of the season. One mother showed the Children’s Bureau agents a
notice reading as follows: .
March 7,1919.
Mr . -------- and F amily: This is to notify you that starting on Sunday, March 16,
1919, the premises which, you are now occupying will be charged for at the rate of
$1.50 per week rental. This rental must be paid every Saturday at our office from
and after this date.
In connection with the above, we wish it to be understood that all tenants living
in our houses will he expected to work in our factory whenever in operation, the
same as in the past.
Yours, very truly,

“ We can’t pay such a re n t,” said the m other who showed this
card, “ and we don’t know w hat we are going to do. Everyone in
this row of houses except two got the sam e notice. I guess m ost of
them are going to move. * * * There’s no reason for m aking us
pay when they promised us free rent. * * .* They prom ised to
pay our fare hom e if we promised to come back here in the fall.
Now we don’t know w hether they will pay our fare home o r not,
because th ey ’ve already gone hack on the free re n t.”
Table V II, giving the average weekly earnings reported by the
white and colored women, shows th a t the percentage of those earning
the higher wages was greater am ong the colored th a n among the
white women.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP OARING COMMUNITIES.
Table

V II .—

N u m b e r

a n d

p e r cent distribution o f m o t h e r s

o f specified c o h r ,

average

w e e k l y earnings.

Mothers reporting average earnings.
Total.

Average weekly earnings.

Number.

All earnings.............................. ............:

Colored.

Per cent
Per cent
P ercent
distri- ; Number. distri Number. distri
button.
bution.
bution.

234

100.0

2 !

Less th an $1....................................................
$1 b utless th an $ 2 .........................................
$2 b u t less th a n $3......................................... :
$3 bu tless th an $4.........................................
$4 b u tless th a n $ 5 .......... .............................
$5 butless th an $7.50.....................................
$7.50 b u t less th an $10 ...................................
$10 b u tless th an $12.50.................................
$12.50 or m ore.................'...................... ........

White.

169
1
8

.7 i
4.9
10.9
17.3
15.1
32.. 8
9.9
5.3
3.2

14
31
49
43
93
28
15
9

19
34
26
54
15
8

l-OO. 0 •
.6

115

100.0

1 ;
6
12

4.7

11.2
20.1

.9
5.2

10 .4

15
17
39
13
7
5

15.4
32.0
8.9
4.7
2.4

13.0
14.8
33.9
11.3
6 .1

4.4

Of the -Negro mothers 44 per cent earned less than $5 a week,
whereas 52 per cent of the white mothers earned less than that sum;
22 per cent of the Negro mothers earned $7.50 or more a week, but
only 16 per cent of the white mothers fell in this earnings group.
The higher earnings of the colored women is accounted for by the
fact th a t so m any of the white m others were im ported and lived in
the com pany camps, while the colored m others came from the neigh
borhood and were paid a slightly higher rate.
The highest wages were paid in Biloxi an d G ulfport, these com
m unities offering workers a som ew hat wider industrial choice.

The women were asked not only how much they had averaged a
week but also the largest sum they had ever earned in a week. The
following table summarizes the 279 reports of the highest earnings
made by the group of working mothers who lived both inside the
company camps and by those who lived in the towns or villages.
T able

V III .—

N u m b e r

a n d

per

cent

distribution

residence, b y m a x i m u m

mothers

with

specified

place

w e e k l y earnings.

Mothers reporting maximum earnings.

Maximum weekly earnings.

Number.

Per cent !
Per cent
P ercent
distri- ; Number. distri Number.; distri
bution.
bution.
button.

279

100.00

90
70
61
39

32.26
25.09

9
3
1

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Living in camps or ’ Living elsewhere.
company houses.

Total.

21.86

13.98
2.15 1
3.23
1.08
.36!

100.00 j

173 ’

100.00

37
28
27 i

34.91
26.42
25.47
9.43 :

2: 83
.94

53
42 '
34
29
6 :

30.64
24.23
T9.S5
16.76
3.47
3.47

106

6
2!
1

1 .1 0

.5 8

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OE MOTHERS IN

From. Table V III it appears that nearly one-third of the women
were unable to earn $5 in their most profitable week, and that only
about 2 mothers in 10 were able to make $10 or more in their best
weeks; about one-fifteenth could make $12.50.or more. Of those
who had earned $12.50 or more, all but 4 lived outside the company
camps. Only one-eighth of the “ inside” mothers had ever earned
$10 or more in a week, while about one-fourth of the “ outside”
mothers had earned that much.
Some of the women considered the rate of pay satisfactory but
complained of the irregularity of the work. “ If work was steady,
shucking would be a good living, but days when there’s no work we
have to live just the same,” said one mother. Another said, “ About
two days a week there* is no work, and on days when there is work it
often gives out early in the afternoon. I t ain’t no steady work; if
it was, we’d make a good living.” There were some instances where
higher earnings were reported. One woman (who had no children and
so was not included in the study) said she sometimes earned $5 a day;
one week, her highest, she earned $19.75. A 16-year-old girl in the
same family once made $3.75 in a single day. The tables on pp. 53
and 55, however, make it clear that such cases were exceptional.
The irregularity of the women’s, as of the men’s, work made the
family income a very uncertain quantity. “ Some weeks there’s only
one or two days’ work. Other weeks you can find work every day.
It all depends on the boats, and if the weather is too bad, there’s no
work,” said one mother; and another said, “ I ’m out of work two days
a week. The morning hours depend on incoming boats; sometimes
there is no work before 10 o’clock.” Still another said, “ We are go
ing back to Ocean Springs; we can’t make a decent living here, the
work is not steady enough.” Other comments on the irregularity of
the work were the following: “ Sometimes when there is work at only
one or two factories, the places are so crowded that you can’t work.
There might as well not be any.” “ A t ----- —1’s there are so many
shuckers you have to wait around for cars.” “ There’s not much
work, not enough for all. Too many people.” “ I can’t have any
Easter dress this year. We can’t get the money. Lots of people
would get Easter dresses, but there’s been no work for so long.” “ In
shrimp season the factory whistles would blow when there was enough
shrimp for colored people; when there was only a little, only white
people (that is, those living in the company camps) would go.” “ The
people from Baltimore get the preference as to work. They prefer
shucking, so the Negroes, as outsiders, never get a chance to learn
shucking oysters and can’t earn anything when they try them.”
“ When there is only a little work the factory blows a little whistle, so
that the ‘insiders’ can get the work before the ‘outsiders’ come.”
The local workers who did n o t go to other com m unities when the
oyster and shrim p seasons closed had to suffer long stretches of un
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

employment during the summer as the communities provided prac
tically no other employment to which the workers could turn. “ I t ’s
hard in the summer time when there’s no work,” said one mother.
“ We fish for our dinner and sell what we don’t use. Then they’re
nice at the grocery store and let you charge. I haven’t been able to
buy any clothes for two years. We have a hard time getting along.”
Another said, “ I t’s hard to live on the little earnings we make and
we have to save up for the summer, too. During the summer none of
us work for three months, but sometimes late in the summer they
start fixing the boats and my husband can earn a little something.
We usually make credit in the summer.” “ You can stop work to
rest or go home whenever you want to, but we can’t afford to. We
have to keep at it as long as there is any work to do in order to have
enough for the summer months when there is no work,” said another.
Another expressed the grim alternative which many of them come
close to experiencing: “ There are three months in summer with no
work at all. If you can’t save money you have to starve.”
The inadequacy of the wages to meet the increasing cost of living,
was sharply felt and frequently pointed out. The price of working
shoes, formerly $1.50, had risen to $2.50. “ This place is in poor
shape for a living. With the present prices we can hardly live,” said
one woman. Another told how one of the companies tried to make
more profits. “ About a week ago,” she said, “ they put on such
heavy weight we could not make anything. Everybody left the
factory, and they had to lower the weight. The larger the shrimp
the heavier they made the weight. Oysters were so small the people
became disgusted—it took so long to fill a measure. We can’t make
a living and pay the rent. Everything is so high. You can’t buy
anything with a dime. Two chops cost a quarter. You are just
giving your time to the firm and making nothing.” “ We’re paid
nice money, but grub costs so much the stores get it all,” said another.
The low earnings of the oyster shuckers and shrimp pickers were
still further diminished by the sums they had to spend for gloves to
protect their hands from cuts, and for alum and other medicaments
which they used to harden their hands against shrimp poisoning. In
one factory alum was supplied by the firm, but usually the workers
had to buy it for themselves. The most common expenditure re
ported for alum was 5 cents a day, though some workers who were
peculiarly sensitive to the poison spent more.
Gloves usually cost 20 cents a pair, and as only one was worn at a
time—the odd one being worn inside out—the cost was ordinarily 10
cents a day. A few women bought material by the yard and made
their gloves and finger stalls, but this was an exceptional procedure*
“ Gloves now cost 10 cents for a single one and they last only a day,”
said one woman. “ I t costs our family $8 a month to buy gloves for

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR, AND THE WQBK OF MOTHERS IN

the three workers. We wear stalls on the other hand; I make these
myself, but the material costs 30 cents a yard.” Another, speaking
of the cost of alum as well as of gloves, said, “ We used to pay 5 cents
apiece for the gloves we wear when we shuck, but now we have to pay
15 cents apiece, and one glove does not last a day. We use alum
when we pick shrimp. We used to be able to get enough for a nickle
to last a week, but now 10 cents worth does not last a day. Alum
knocks a big hole in what you make.”
Some employers allowed the workers to take oysters home with
them at the end of the day. “ The boss lets us take all the oysters we
want before they are shucked,” said one mother; “ welive on oysters.”
Occasionally, the -Children’s Bureau agents saw mothers cbming from
the factories with a few oysters in the bottoms of their “ cups” which
the workers took home with them each night.
The following are some typical comments of mothers in regard to
earnings, in addition to those already quoted in this section:
“ The row boss in Baltimore told me I could make $3 a day, but the
first of the season the cannery only paid 5 cents for 2£ pounds, and I
couldn’t make more than 60 or 70 cents a day. Many a night I ’d
come home and cry because I couldn’t make more and I needed the
money so badly. Now the cannery is paying 5 cents for 1J pounds,
and I have made as much as $1.25 a day; thatis the m o stl ever made.”
“ Shuckers work in gangs of eight and they don’t like to have new
people come in on the gang. We go to the factory where we think
we can earn the most, and if the oysters are small we leave after we
have finished one carload and go to another factory. * * * That’s
the fun in shucking—to see which gang can get ahead of the other in
getting the best oysters.”
“ You never can tell how much you are going to make, because
you never know what weight they are going to use on you, and you
never can tell which factory is going to have the lightest weight.
They all change back and forth. Last week we got 5 cents a pound,
but this week it’s been
pounds for 5 cents. If you object the
boss says, ■If you are not satisfied, go home. ’ ”
“ The way to make money is to watch for wet cars. When the
cars come out of the steaming room some of them are wetter than
others and there’s always a rush if a wet car is spotted, for the oysters
are still wet and they weigh more. That’s why it’s better to shuck
as soon as the oysters are steamed; an hour or so later they are dry
and you don’t make as much. And always have your cup weighed
as soon as possible; if you wait the oysters dry and you lose. When
the children work before school, sometimes they can’t get their cups
weighed before they leave, and they have to come back a t noon and
they don’t make as much then because the oysters are dry.”
“ The pay is better this year than last. We get 5 cents a pound
for oysters; last year we only got 5 cents for 3^ pounds.”

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

Earnings of children.
The average weekly earnings for 166 working children could not be
secured—in 25 instances because their earnings were included with
their parents’, and in the other instances usually because the earnings
had been so irregular or so slight that the mothers could not remember
or estimate the weekly average. There were, however, reports for
378 of the 544 working children. Of these, two-thirds earned less
than $5 a week, and more than one-fourth earned less than $2 a week.
There were, however, a number of instances of comparatively high
weekly earnings. Thus 18 children earned $10 or more, 7 earned
between $9 and $10, and 11 between $8 and $9 a week. All the
children earning these sums—and, indeed, all but 2 of those earning
as much as $5 a week—were regular workers, and with 5 exceptions
were 14 years of age or over.
Table IX gives the children’s average weekly earnings according
to the regularity of their work and their age.
According to this table, the median earnings of the children who
worked regularly fell between $4 and $5 a week. The higher earnings were confined to the children 14 years of age and over, and even
in this group some of the children even of the regular workers earned
very small sums—in 2 cases, less than 50 cents a week; in 11 cases,
less than $2 a week; and in 48 cases (more than one-fourth of the
children in this group from which reports were secured), less than
$4 a week. Among the part-time workers, the median earnings fell
between $1 and $2, while the median earnings of the occasional
workers were less than $1. Only one part-time worker (aged 15),
and one occasional worker (aged 13) earned more than $4 a week.
The earnings of most of the part-time and occasional workers, and
the earnings of most of the regular workers in the early age groups,
were very small.
As in the case of their mothers, the irregularity of the children’s
work was an important factor in the low wages. And, as in the case
of the mothers, there were instances of high wages in certain weeks.
The question “ What was the most you ever earned in a single week ?”
brought out the fact that 47 of the 384 children for whom reports
were secured, had made $10 or over. One 6-year-old child had once
made $18.90 in a single week. One, 11 years old, had once made
$13.60 in a week. However, 190 children, or almost half of those
for whom reports were secured, were unable to earn even in their best
weeks as much as $5 a week; and there were many instances of very
low earnings.
Table X presents the highest wages ever earned by the children
in any one week, together with the age and the regularity of the
work.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

T able

IX .—

Children w o r k i n g i n canneries

a c c o r d i n g to a v e r a g e w e e k l y e a r n i n g s r e c e i v e d

Not rei>orted.

All children................

50 cents,
Less
Total
than
b ut less
Earnings Earnings reported.
than $1 .
50
cents.
included
not
in those of reported.
parents.

Total.

544

141
2

3
7

378
1

7
14
12

26
34

82, '
but
less
than
$3.

2
1

2
2

19
19

2
2

14 b ut under 15 years.......,.
15 b u t under 16 years..........

117
94

102

Regular workers........

348

290

3
3
4
14

1
1
1

3
2

21
2

15 b u t under 16 years..........
Part-tim e workers__

104

86
89

32
44

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1
6

88,
89,
but
but
less
less
than than
89. . 810.

$7,
but
less
than
88.

810
and
over.

i
i
i
5

1
4

3
4

5
5

3
7

9
4

9
9

16
14

2
2

3
4
5

3
i

1
1
1
i

6
5
i

4
' 1
7

4
5

10
8

•
2

3
3

86,
b ut
less
than
87.

15,
but
less
than
86.

4
4

7
7

94
75

11b u t under 12 years..........

2
10

3
7

3
5

1
1
1
2

6
1
1

$3,
but
leis
than
$4.

....... | .............j

11
2

$4,
but
less
than
85.

$i, •
but
less
than
82.

1
1

5
5

3
7

16
14

3
4

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OE MOTHERS IN

Type of worker and
age of child.

21
11

b
3

15
. 8

14 b u t u n d er 15 years............
15 b u t u n der 16 years............

6
5

6
4

O ccasional w o r k e rs...

107

U n d er 6 y ea rs...........................
6 b u t u n der 7 years................
7 b u t u n der 8 y ears................
8 b u t u n der 9 years................
9 b u t u n d er 10 y ears..............
10 b u t u n d er 1f years............
11 b u t u n d er 12 years............
12 b u t u n d er 13 years............
13 b u fu n d e r 14 years............

1
2
8
14
17
16
19
10
10

1
2
5
9
10
11
15
7
8

1
4
7
3
2
3
1

1
1
5

14 b u t u n d er 15 y ears............
15 b u t un der 16 years............

7
3

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2
1
2
2
1

5
3

1
1

7
1

3
3

2
2

2
1

4
1

2
8

■Ì
2
2
2
1

1
1

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES;

12 b u t under 13 y e a r s ..: ___
13 b u t u n der 14 y ears............

T a b l e X . — C hildren w o rk in g i n canneries, accordin g to m a x im u m w eekly earn in gs received.

N o t reported.

A ll ch ild ren ..................

T otal.

544

L ess
T o ta l
E arnings
th a n
in clu d ed E arn ings reported. 50 cen ts.
n o t re
in th ose
of par
ported.
en ts.

50 c en ts
b u t less
th a n $1.

7
2
7
2

135

384

1
10
29
37
47
56

$9 b u t
less
tb a n
810.

84 b u t 85 b u t
le ss . less
th a n
th a n
86..
85.

86 b u t
lesstb a n
87.

87 b u t
less
th a n
88. .

88 b u t
less
th a n
89.

2
4
6
3

1
3
4

1
2

2
1

$2 b u t
81 b u t
less th a n less th a n
82.
83.

S3 b u t
le ss
th a n
84.

1
4
1
6
6
6
4

1
1
1
11
2
3

3
3
5
6
9
8

1
1
4
1
6
9

810
and
over.

& i
1
1

10 b u t un der l l y ea rs......... ..

12 b u t un d er 13 years............
13 b u t un der 14 years............

72
75

3
3

16
19
22
16

14 b u t un der 15 y ea rs............
15 b u t u nder 16 y ea rs............

117
94

2
5

17
9

98
80

1
2

1
4

14
6

7
4

10
10

17
7

,14

R egular w ork ers.........

348

295

37.

. 46

1
1

1
3
6
3

1
3
3
0

1
2
5

2
i
4

3
3

17
7

13
11

12
6

3
' 5

14
25

1
1

J..S31...J

tiiiaèr 10 ye&fs * - « «• • •

l ì b u t Unde# 12 y e a fà ............
12 b ù i Li.ii.def 13 years • • • « • •

15 b ù i Uhder 16 y ea rs------. .
t ’aft-tiU le w ork ers. . .

54
104
86
89
j.

2
5

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Ì5

1
1
1

4
2
3
1

6
1
1

90
77

1
10

1
4

1
17

1
1
3
4
5
6

1
4
1
5
8

11
6

10
9

12
4

8 bu t u n der 9^years
10 b u t unde# 11 y e a fs ------. .

*4
16
83
31
46

2 ...............i '

....

CHILD LABOB AX.0 T H E W ORK OE M OTHERS IH

K in d of w orker and age
of ch ild .

11 b u t under lTf years___
12 b lit under 13 yea rs,___
13 b u t un der 14 yea rs. . .

10
13
8

14 b u t un d er 15 y ea rs___
15 b u t Cinder 16 years

6
3

Occasional workers

8 but under 9 years . . . . .
9 but under 10 years. . . .
u n der
under
un der
un der

11 y ea rs. . .
12 y ea rs___
13 y ea rs. . .
14 y ea rs. . .

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1
1

. 3
4
6
3
4
3
2

3
1
3

4
1
2

2
2
2
1
1

1
. 1

1
1
1

1 ::::::::
1

1
1

i
2
1
1

SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES

14 b u t un der 15 y ea rs. . .
15 b u t u n der 10 y ea rs. . . ,

DPR 4
3
3

AND

10 b u t
11 b u t
12 b u t
13 b u t

5
2

Q¥STER

U n d er 6 y e a r s ...................
6 b u t un der 7 y e a rs. . . . .
7 b u t un der 8 y e a rs. . . . .

107

CS
<ZO

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

This table shows that 19 children earned less than 50 cents in tne
best week, that 47 earned less than SI, and that 79 earned less than '
$2 in their maximum week. While the median earnings for the group
as a whole were slightly over $5, the median earnings for the regular
workers 31 were slightly over $6. Some, even of the regular workers,
earned very small sums even in their most profitable weeks; thus,
4 regular workers, 2 of whom were 14 years of age, had earned less
than 50 cents in their best week; and 77 regularly working children—
or more than one-fourth of those for whom maximum earnings were
reported—had earned less than $4 in their best weeks. Low earnings
were more common among part-time or occasional workers; thus, the
median earnings of part-time workers were less than $2, and the
median earnings of occasional workers less than $1 in the best weeks.
CARE OF BABIES AND SMALL CHILDREN OF WORKING
MOTHERS.

The problem of providing proper care for the children of working
mothers is a most difficult one. In these southern canneries many
of the working mothers made a practice of taking their small children
and babies with them to the wet and drafty picking and shucking
sheds. In 48 instances children under 6 years of age were customarily
taken to the canneries with the mothers. In 5 of these instances the
children were under 9 months of age. Sometimes the mothers, being
obliged to work and having no one at home with whom to leave the
children, had no alternative but to take them to the canneries. Some
women did not realize that this practice endangered the health of the
children. One mother with three children—aged 5 years, 2 years,
and 7 months respectively—said, “ I take the children to the factory
and they play around. I t ’s a good place to keep the baby, but last
week I put it in a drafty place and it caught a bad cold.” Another
mother took her 6-months-old baby with her; she said there -was a
“ clean cement place there for babies.” This mother, who had lost a
3-year-old child several years ago, said, “ My husband claims that
taking the child to the factory caused its illness, but I think not.”
“ I usually take the baby to the factory. I can’t leave her home,”
said the mother of a 7-months-old baby, “ the mosquitoes would eat
her up. I have a cradle for her at the factory and she seldom cries
and doesn’t bother me in my work. I stop once in a while to nurse
her. Sometimes I leave her with her 8-year-old brother.”
The mother of a 1-month-old baby, who had not worked since the
baby was born, said that she would have gone to work before if she
had had a baby carriage in which to keep the child at the cannery.
“ I am planning to go to work next week,” she said, “ and take the
31Regularworkers, it will be rememberedwere those who worked whenever there was workto be done.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

G O IN G T O W O R K .
M other takes baby and oldest child, 7 years of age, w ith he r to the cannery and leaves the third
child in a nursery.
6 4 -1

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

65-2

C O R N E R O F F A C T O R Y W H E R E C H IL D R E N M A Y P L A Y .

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

baby and keep him in a box at the factory.” Another mother who
had no baby carriage made a habit of taking her 3-months-old baby
to the cannery where she kept it in a big rocking chair while she
worked. This baby was very ill of pneumonia at the time of the
visit of the Children’s Bureau agent, and the mother was working
very irregularly. Another mother, who left her 4-months-old baby
at home with its sister, nursed it when she went home to cook. She
expected to take it to the factory with her when the weather got
warmer.
An 1.1-months-old baby was left with his grandmother while his
mother worked, the mother nursing him before going to work and
again at noon and at night. The grandmother found it very hard
to care for the baby, because when the mother had no work she
would nurse him much oftener. “ The days I took the baby to the
factory I nursed her there,” said another mother; “ the days I left
her home she’d have to wait till I got back.”
Some women realized the importance of nursing their children
regularly and the danger of taking them to the factories. The mother
of a 7-months-old baby who lived some distance from the cannery
said, “ I only work from 7 to 11 in the morning as I am nursing the
baby. His grandmother gives him bottled milk in the morning. If
it weren’t for him I would work longer.”
Some women expressed disapproval of the factory as a place for
children. One said, “ People don’t care for children. They bring
them in gocarts to the factory and they cry all day long.” Another
said, “ I tell you, the factory is terrible on children. One Italian
mother has seven little children. She keeps the baby in a box, and it
cries all day. She goes out and nurses it and gives a piece of bread to
the others and then starts work again. The poor kids are in awful
shape.”
In some instances a mother would leave her baby at home with a
relation or neighbor who would take the baby to the mother in the
factoi'y to be nursed. “ I leave my children (one aged 9 months, and
the other 2 years) with my sister-in-law,” said one mother. “ She
brings the baby to the factory twice a day for me to nurse-—at 12
o’clock and at 4. But if she cries too hard, she brings her oftener.”
Another mother said, “ I take the baby (aged 15 months) to the fac
tory with me on warm days. But I ’m afraid he would catch cold on
cold days, so his grandmother keeps him, and at 12 o’clock every
day brings him to me at the factory to be nursed.”
In Biloxi a small settlement house conducts a day nursery which
was able, by crowding, to accommodate 15 children. A few mothers
left their small children at the nursery while they worked, paying 5
cents a day for the care of the child. One mother took her 6-months56569°—22---- 5

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

old baby to this nursery every morning at 7, and went to the cannery
to work at half past 7. At 9 o’clock, half past 12, and at 2 in the
afternoon she went to the settlement to nurse the baby and at 5 to
take him home. “ I t ’s a good thing we have the nursery,” said
another mother. “ They keep the baby from 7 in the morning until
5 in the afternoon. That’s a good help for 5 cents.
Another
mother, with one child of 4 and another of 23 months, said, There is
a room in the factory where the children can play, but there is no
one to look after them, and they run loose. ' So I take my children to
the nursery. They get good care there, and I don t have to worry
about them.” As has been said, however, the nursery could accom
modate very few children.
Some of the factories had penned off a space for children, and some
times even had a room for them. One employer had had a room about
25 feet square partitioned off from the rest of the factory for children.
The room was absolutely bare, having no chairs or other furniture.
There were no children in the room at the time of the interview,
although a number of small children were playing about the shucking
shed. The employer said that the children would not stay in the
room he had provided.
In another factory a little free space in a stall-like division, cluttered
. with barrels, boxes, and a miscellany of factory properties, was as
signed to the children.32 No cannery visited had a well-equipped
nursery, and usually no provision was made for the babies, who lay
in boxes, baby carriages, gocarts, or on trucks in some corner of the
shed. In cold weather some of the factories allowed the mothers to
put their babies near the steam box.
“ Only three or four mothers bring their children to this cannery,
and no mother ever brings young babies. These children sometimes
play on the wharf and sometimes help their mothers a little, said one
employer. “ We stick them under the stairs, said another.
I
wish the mothers would leave them at home. The squalling is awful.”
“ No place is provided for children. They play or sleep wherever they
can find room,” said one employer. “ They stay in one corner of the
room where their mothers are working,” said another.
“ There is a nice, roomy, clean place for children at the factory
and I take my 5-year-old girl with me. Sometimes she plays around
with a knife and shucks a few oysters, and the boss gives her a nickel.
I want her to shuck; it learns her to be willing to work.”
Some employers said that they did not allow mothers to bring
babies and small children to the factories. One said, “ We don t
allow mothers to bring their babies in. Sometimes they leave them
outside the factory with a couple of kids, or else they leave them
with a neighbor. That’s very common around here.” Others
32

See illu stra tio n facin g p . 65.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

wished to keep them out. “ Babies and small children are brought
w ith their m others. They are a nuisance, and this should n o t be
allowed. I thought of p u ttin g up a building near the factory th a t
could be used as a nursery, b u t the W orld W ar m ade th a t impossible,
and present conditions do no t ju s tif y 'it.” O ther employers said
they were planning to provide a “ baby room .”

The children who have passed infancy and who can crawl or run
about the factory are subject not only to all the physical discomforts
which the babies suffer but also to accidents. When oysters are
shucked, the oyster shells, and when shrimp are picked, the hulls
and shrimp heads with their thorns, are scattered over the floor;
and children who fall among them are in danger of seriously hurting
themselves. The mother of two children, 3 and 5 years of age, said
that they both had cut their feet on oyster shells. The 3-year-old
child “ had a big hole cut in his foot from a shell and had to have it
sewed up.” In another family a 3-year-old child had a sore on her
face, the result of falling upon oyster shells at the factory. “ Last
week a child fell out of an open doorway and cut her nose up badly
on the shells,” said an employer.
The danger of being run over by the oyster cars has already been
mentioned.33 The steam from the oyster cars often makes it impos
sible for the men wheeling the cars, to see whether there are any
children in the way. Aside from these dangers there is the added
one that children old enough to run in and out of the cannery might
fall off the piers or wharves into the water. “ I wouldn’t take my
children [aged 2 and 4 years] to the factory. I t ’s no place for them.
I ’m afraid they would fall overboard,” said one mother. And
another said, “ I sometimes take my children [one aged 3 years and
the other 16 months] to the factory, but I don’t like to. I ’m afraid
they will get hurt.” “ I take the children [aged 6 and 3 years] to
the factory with me. I wish there was a nursery here. They get
so tired at the factory and no place is provided for them there. I
have to keep my eye on them and I lose a lot of time that way.
They like to run around and play bût it is too dangerous, and I try
to make them stay near me.”
“ W hen M ary [aged 10] is a t school, I keep the b aby [6 m onths]
in the factory w ith me, and when M ary can sta y hom e to take care
of him I go hom e to nurse him . I lose a lo t of tim e cooking and
doing m y housework and nursing the b a b y .”

The children who were not brought to the factories, however, were
often left more neglected at home. In 18 instances children were left
without a caretaker of any sort. One mother left her two children,
aged 3 and 5 years, at home, entirely alone, playing about the house
and yard. The yard had a gate, but the children could easily open
83 See H azards, p . 35.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

it and get into the street. There was a trolley on this street, and just
a little beyond the trolley is the water. Another woman leaves her
two children of 2 and 5 years at home alone. She “ goes home two
or three times during the day to see that they are all right.” Another
woman sometimes left her 4- and 5-year-old children at home with
their 15-year-old sister, but when the sister worked the children “ play
around home alone.” In another family the 5-year-old child “ stays
home alone with the pup.” The mother of this child left some coffee
on the stove, which the child has with bread and butter for his lunch.
Another mother left two children [2 and 4 years old] at home alone,
“ I leave a lunch for them,” she said, “ or give them 5 or 10 cents to
get something to eat at the store. The neighbors say the children
run out on the road and are often in danger of being run over. I
don’t like to leave them home, but there’s nothing else to do.”
Another mother left her 2- and 4-year-old children alone once a week
while she went to work. “ I work only once a week,” she said, “ be
cause the neighbors talked about me for leaving the children alone,
but I risked it because I needed the money so.” Another mother, who
left a 4-year-old boy at home, said, “ He plays with the children in the
neighborhood. I leave lunch for him and his sister.” (The sister,
10 years old, is subject to spasms.)
A t one hom e an agent of the C hildren’s B ureau found alone in the
house a boy of 6, who was in bed w ith a high fever. Two younger
children were playing outside. H e said he had been sick three days.
No physician had been called. H is m other had given him some medi
cine in the m orning before she left.
Sometimes children of school age are kep t out of school to care for
the sm aller children while the m other works. In one fam ily two girls,

11 and 12 years old, took turns staying out of school on alternate days
to do the cooking and care for the baby. In another family a 10-yearold child had to stay out of school about twice a week to take care of
four younger children—aged 8, 5, and 3 years, and 18 months—while
the mother worked.
“ Jimmie [aged 6] looks after*the children; he looks after them as
I would. The only reason I do not like to leave them at home is
because we live near the water, and I ’m afraid they will fall in and
get drowned. Sometimes all three of them [the little ones are 17
months and 4 years, respectively] come to the cannery and play
around. They have a fine place there for babies. The boss knows
when there are children you have got to tend to them.”
In a few instances mothers paid a neighbor to care for the childre:
while they worked. Of 269 children under 6 years of age whose1
mothers worked only 117 had caretakers 16 years old or over. In 30
instances the caretakers were themselves children less than 10 years
old, and, as has been said, in 18 instances children, some of them as
young as 2 years, were left entirely alone.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

MIGRATORY FAMILIES.

Reference has been made from time to time to the families who are
brought from a distance. The rapid development of the fish-canning
industry in Mississippi and the Gulf coast generally resulted in
inadequate local labor supply and led to reliance on a system of
importing workers, principally from Baltimore and New York. The
local labor supply which was available but not utilized fully was the
Negro labor. The reasons given were those usually given for the
nonemployment of Negroes in factory work in the South. At the
time this study was made only 12 employers used Negro labor in
actual cannery work.
From the beginning there was a tendency to bring down “ family
help,” the understanding being that the wives and children were to
be taken down and also employed.34
A t the tim e th a t this stu d y was m ade the num ber of im ported
families was smaller th an in previous years because the Governm ent
had prevented the transfer of workers from the N orth because of the
shortage of workers for the essential w ar industries in and around
Baltim ore.35

Still, even under these war conditions there were families brought
from the North and there was abundant evidence that employers
had no intention of abandoning the custom. Some discussion of
the special problems which result from this practice is therefore
necessary.
The Children’s Bureau inquiry covered 88 imported families.
This does not represent the total number of the families that had
been brought in for that season’s work. I t will be remembered that
the inquiry included only those families having working children
under 16, or a working mother with children under 6. In normal
years, according to all testimony, the great majority of the families
come from Baltimore. The 88 imported families included in this
study had 267 children, of whom 176 were between 6 and 15 years of
age. Of these children 105 worked in the canneries.
I t was estimated by the assistant general passenger agent of the
railroad which usually carries the migrating families from Baltimore
to the Gulf coast that in normal years from 3,000 to 3,500 workers
go south annually from Baltimore alone to work in the oyster and
shrimp canneries.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

Recruiting the labor.
To recruit this labor the employers send out m en who are known
as “ row b o sses/’ or the m anager or forem an of a cannery will himself
go to Baltim ore to round up families. F or example, one m anager
said, “ I usually go up to Baltim ore m yself in Septem ber or October,
when the workers are coming in from the tom ato and corn canneries,
and have th eir goods all packed up. They stay around Baltim ore
about a week, and are brought to our train w ith their stuff packed.”
The Baltim ore “ row boss” keeps lists of families who m ake a h ab it
of m igrating south annually, and from these he gets the nam es of
others who wish to go south. The inducem ents offered are a warm
climate, free rent, free fuel—in some cases free furniture— and rail
road fare down and back, if the fam ily stays through the season.
If conditions are n o t satisfactory, the workers are free to leave, b u t
if they do this they m ust them selves bear the expense of their retu rn
trip. Two row bosses interview ed said th a t in effect the workers were
compelled to sta y the whole season, for commonly a fam ily was una
ble to save enough to pay the railroad fare for all its members. As
one m other said, “ If you w ant to leave you’ve got to pay your way
back; and you can’t m ake enough to get aw ay.” There were m any
such comm ents. Some row bosses who recruited labor in Louisiana
m ade no promises about retu rn fare, and it was understood th a t the
families would p ay their own fare back. The m anager of one small
factory said, “ We pay their fare here and freightage on their furni
ture, b u t no retu rn fare.” This factory gets m ost of its workers from
w ithin a short distance— “ native people from this d istrict.”
The canners usually in stru ct the row bosses to secure families, n o t
single m en. A fam ily group is less likely to move away if disap
pointed w ith its lot. The em ployer wishes the workers to stay long
enough to com pensate him for his outlay for railroad fare; and
besides he needs a larger num ber of women and children than of men.
Com plaints from m en who were n o t given the work they were prom
ised seemed to indicate th a t they were persuaded to m igrate n o t so
m uch for the sake of their own labor as for th a t of their families.
One m an reported th a t he had been promised a “ good jo b ” before
he left Baltim ore, b u t was told when he reached Biloxi th a t the com
pany had p lenty of m en and there was no work for him. H is wife
was employed, however. A fter several weeks he was given an inside
job, b u t said it was “ two m en’s w ork,” decided he was n o t being
treated fairly, and w ent back to Baltim ore, paying his own fare. H e
left his fam ily in Biloxi, b u t supplem ented their Biloxi earnings by
sending them a few dollars occasionally.

Another family came because of a promise of steady work for the
father, mother, and the older boys. One boy of 17, however, was
never given work at the cannery, although his brother, who was 14,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

was employed regularly. The father was employed only about half
time on a boat. The family were planning to leave as soon as they
could find a place where they could get steady work.
As a rule, a written agreement is not made between the row boss
and the migrating families. The families have therefore no assurance
that the promises of the row boss will be kept.
The following contract, however, was given a group of families:
This agreement, made this 21st day of November, 1918, b etw een-------- Co., of
Biloxi, Miss., of the first part, a n d ------------------ , of Baltimore, Md., of the second
part.
Witnesseth: That the said party of the first part doth hereby bargain with party
of the second part to pay the following wages for shuckers, day workers, and boat
men as other places pay at Biloxi, Miss., and said, party of the first part agrees to pay
said transportation both ways, the said men so employed, will be shipped home as
soon as the other packers in Biloxi, Miss., ship home.
As witness our hand and seals.
-------- Co.
B y ------------------ [Row boss].
------------------ [Head of family].
W itness:------------------ .
As witness my hand and notarial seal.
[ s e a l .]

------------------- , N o ta ry P u b lic .

“ The following w ages” were n o t fu rth er m entioned.

The wage rates which the row boss quotes are usually the hour
or piece rates; or he may say that workers are able to make a certain
amount per day. The workers often do not realize that the work
may be irregular and that, though the unit rate sounds high, the
actual weekly or monthly earnings are a very different matter.36
As a result many families are disappointed, although, of course,
there are those who migrate year after year. An employer com
mented, “ We have been getting some of the same people to come
down to do the shucking and picking for the last 15 years. By
that it looks like they must be treated right or they would not come
year after year. They make good money and are out of the cold
weather, and the whole family can work. Up in Baltimore the
man might be able to work, but the women have to stay at home
and do nothing. ”
Some fam ilies never retu rn to the place they came from, b u t
settle in th e cannery town. Occasionally an employer will give
such a fam ily m oney equivalent to th e retu rn fare.
Eleven of th e 88 im ported families included in the stu d y gave as a
'-reason for coming th a t th e children or the “ entire fam ily ” could
work.37 “ The row boss came to B altim ore and promised enough
36 See d iscussion of earnings, p . 51.
Som e of th e B altim ore row bosses w h o w ere in terv iew ed sta te d th a t th e y w arned fam ilies th a t child ren
under 14 years o f age w ou ld n o t b e a llo w ed to w ork.
37

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IK

work for the whole family,” said one mother who had two children,
aged 14 and 11 years, and a baby of 2. “ We came because we heard
we could make a better living here in Biloxi than in Louisiana,”
said one mother, “ because the children could work here. ” Another,
whose five children—aged 13, 12, 10, 8, and 7—all worked regularly
shucking oysters, said/ “ This is a good place for children. I t ’s
better than the city. * * * I t ’s the best place 11ve been since
I ’ve tried to make a living—there’s work for all the children.”
“ We lived on a farm, but we weren’t making much, so we came
here, where all the children could work,” said a woman in another
family. In still another the father had worked on a cane plantation,
earning $1.25 a day. “ He could not make enough to support the
family,” said the mother, “ and the children were not permitted to
work in Louisiana. So we came here, where they can work, too. ”
Preference for Polish workers.
Years ago Bohem ians used to come to th e South from Baltim ore.
L ater, Poles and other Slavs came. M any people in the canning
com m unities still refer to all these as Bohemians. There seemed to
be a general preference for these Slavic workers. “ Take it all
round, the Polaks are th e best shuckers,” said one employer. “ The
thriftiest and best w orkers,” said another, “ are the A ustrians.38
They live here and m any of them own th eir homes and boats. The
only fau lt w ith them is th ey know th e canneries like their help, and
they are, therefore, too in d ep en d en t.” “ The Polish workers are
m uch b e tte r th a n the local w orkers,” said another, “ because they
stick to th eir work. The local workers come when th e y feel like it. ”
T he Polish workers them selves realized th a t th ey were, so to
speak, th e chosen people. Said one m other, “ The row bosses in
B altim ore tr y to get all th e Polish people th ey can, as the oyster
work comes n a tu ra l to the Polish; and th ey are m ore satisfactory
th an the F rench people, as th e bosses can get m ore work o u t of them . ”
Employers* attitude toward imported labor.

Whether or not the importation of families will continue in the future
may be judged by the employers’ attitude.
On the whole, they' were found to have a strong predilection for
im ported workers, for such employees five in the com pany camp and
are a t h and when needed. One em ployer said, “ The im ported labor
lives in the camps. We blow the whistle and they have to come.
They have to be on the job around the factory, else we’ll ru n ’em out
of the camp and refuse to pay their fare back. We hold it over their
heads. I t ’s like ‘sea d u ty ’ to a sailor. W hen they live in your
88 T h is term w as u sed loosely to in clu d e P o les an d oth er S lavic p eop les, w h eth er or n o t th e y cam e from
A ustria.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

camp you’ve got them under your thumb. You can tell ’em where to
get off, and what to do—and they’ll do it.”
“ I t is much better to have the imported labor, because it is under
stood that they have to work for me whenever I have any work to
do, though they are free to work for any one they please when I
haven’t any work,” said another employer. Still another commented,
“ The one outstanding advantage of imported labor is that you don’t
have to worry so much about where your help is coming from.”
Superior ability of the imported workers was sofnetimes mentioned
as a reason for preferring them. “ The Baltimore people are born
and bred to the work. They are familiar with it almost from birth.
We tried getting Slovaks and Poles from Chicago, but they gave us
more trouble. The Baltimore people have been trained in the can
neries of Baltimore.” “ We’ve always imported our labor from
Baltimore until this year. We have to have Baltimore workers;
they know the business. The people down South will not work in
the canneries.”
“ To operate successfully you must have an abundance of labor, as
the work is done by the piece and we have no control over the workers;
we can’t compel them to come to work. When a factory has large
oysters everyone knows it in an hour or so and the other factories are
left empty. If I had big oysters they’d all come at once, but should
the next boat have small ones they’d leave. The advantage of
imported labor is that you have some control over it. Of course,
you have to take your chance on their working, but the threat that
you will put them out of camp is not without effect.”
On the other hand, some of the large factories were beginning to
feel that certain disadvantages accompanied the importation of
labor. “ I t is a very expensive proposition to bring the laborers in,
because they do not stay when they get here,” said one man who had
paid 55 fares from Baltimore and 150 from Louisiana. “ There are
only about 20 of the Baltimore people left and about 50 of the Louisi
ana people.”
“ I prefer native help,” said another, “ and next year I hope to
employ native labor only. The expense of importing labor is a big
factor, and if we had natives we would have them all year round.”
The objection to imported labor is not always on the ground of
expense. “ The camp people are not as satisfactory as the outsiders.
* * * The outsiders (that is, from outside the camps) pome to
earn money, and stay all day, either bringing their lunch or having it
p-ent down to them. The camp women say they have to cook and
wash, and are altogether too independent. Two-thirds of the workers
are outside people.”

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

Attitude of the local workers toward imported labor.

Some of the local workers resented the bringing in of imported labor
on the ground that it kept wages down. One man said, “ They import
labor because it keeps the wages down, and then they can force those
people out to work whenever they want to. We American people
aren’t going to be treated that way. They go to Louisiana and Balti
more and tell the people lies to get ’em here. We d get a living wage
and that’s all we wanh—if it weren’t for imported labor. Some of
the factories use almost all children; they do it to keep down the
men’s wages. They would rather pay 15 cents an hour to two chil
dren than give a man 30 cents for the same job.” Another man, who
had been crippled in the factory and whose family depended almost
entirely on the work of the mother and the occasional help of the
10-year-old daughter, said, “ The factories bring people down here
every winter from Baltimore, but it’s not necessary. There are
plenty of workers down here, and they bring in outsiders in order to
keep our wages down. They don’t need ’em. I t s just to keep down
the people who live here. They couldn’t get many this year; the
governor wouldn’t let them.”
THE HOUSING OF THE CANNERY WORKERS.
Crowding.

Many of the families were crowded into small, unsubstantial,
rickety quarters. Of the 423 families visited, 8 lived in one room,
53 in two rooms, and 136 in three rooms. In other words, 197, or
nearly half, the families occupied three rooms or less. Only 91, or a
little more than one-fifth, occupied more than four rooms. “ We’re
doing awful good with four rooms,” said one woman. One hundred
and fifty-three families, or more than one-third, lived 2 or more per
sons to a room. In 43 instances the rate was 3 or more persons per
room; in 4, it was 5 or more persons. Of these 4 cases of overcrowd
ing, the worst was that of a family of 9 living in a single room. In 2
instances families of 5 and 6, respectively, lived in 1 room. In one
instance a family of 10 occupied 2 rooms.
Because comparatively few imported workers were brought in
during the seasons studied by the Children s Bureau, families who
lived in camps were often allotted more space than had been custom
ary. Some employers allowed the camp people to take as much
room as they wished. In some instances camps were empty except
for one or two families. One camp, which had been built to provide
only one room to a family, had no connecting doors between th
rooms. Thus a family which occupied more than one room had to
go out of doors to get from one room to another. Some of the rooms
in this camp were fairly large, measuring 14 feet 4 inches by 16 feet.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

v 75

O ther rooms were m uch smaller, m easuring 10 feet 1 inch square
E ach room had one window.
In some instances camps were more overcrowded th an in form er
years. A Polish fam ily of seven, which had always had three rooms,
was given only two, since the employer had im ported French workers
from Louisiana to take the place of the usual Baltim ore supply.
On the whole, the room congestion was greater among the camp
families th an among the others, as Table X I shows.
Table

X I .— F a m ilies w ith specified place o f residence, by n u m ber o f person s p e r room .
F a m ilies liv in g —
P erson s per room .

T otal.
In
cam p s.

E lse
w here.

T o ta l...........

423

129

294

L ess th a n 1 ...........
b u t le s s th a n 2 .
b u t le s s th a n 3 .
3 b u t le s s th a n 5 .
5 b u t le s s th a n 7 .
7 b u t le s s th a n 10

47
223

41
161
67

1
2

62
43
18

110
39
3

21
3

According to this table nearly half the camp families lived two or
m ore persons to a room, whereas less th an one-third of the “ outside”
families were so crowded.
Table

X I I .— F a m ilies o f specified color, by p erson s p e r room .
P erson s p er room .

T otal.

W h ite.

Colored.

T o ta l...........

423

260

163

L ess t h a n 1 . . . . 7 .
b u t le s s th a n 2 .
b u t le s s th a n 3 .
3 b u t le s s th a n 5 .
b u t le s s th a n 7 .
7 b u t le ss th a n 10

47
223

18
134
77
29

29
89
33

1
2
6

110
39
3

1
1

10
2

According to Table X II, 108, or 42 per cent, of the 260 white
families lived two or more persons per room, while in only 45, or 28
per cent, of the 163 colored families was there such congestion. The
fact that nearly all the imported families who lived in company camps
were white is probably the explanation of this difference.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

ment. A few were fairly well constructed and as decent and habit
able as that type of building could be. Some were dilapidated and
sagging, in the last stages of decay, others not old were poorly and
cheaply built so that they did not protect the inhabitants from the
weather. “ I don’t get wet much when it rains,” said one woman,
“ but M rs.-------- ’s bed gets wet every time.”
The typical barracks were long, low, ugly, flimsily built frame
structures, without foundations, but usually raised from the ground
on a pile of bricks, or on wooden piles, at the corners. Thin, singleboard partitions divided the buildings into separate family quarters,
and the family space into rooms. Occasionally these partitions
did not reach the ceiling, but this shortcoming scarcely increased the
lack of privacy, since the partitions were so thin that any moving
about and any conversation in the next compartment was entirely
audible. Cracks between the boards of the dividing wall some
times further interfered with privacy. One woman said, “ The
people next door complain because I cough all night.”
The barracks were usually two or three rooms deep. In the latter
event a family dwelling would usually consist of three rooms, run
ning from the front to the back of the building; the middle room—
except in the compartments at the end of the building—had no
windows. In most of the camps there were no dark rooms. Some
times a building two rooms deep would be made into a “ double
camp,” in which case all families except those at the ends of the
buildings would have neighbors in adjoining rooms on three sides.
The barracks ranged from 26 feet to 194 feet in length and from 7
feet 8 inches to 56 feet in width. The room dimensions ranged
from 10 feet by 5 feet 8 inches to 28 feet by 10 feet 8 inches, the
latter an exceptionally large room in a camp allotting only one room
to a family.
The room crowding was usually aggravated by entire lack of
closets and often of cupboards. This meant that whatever clothes
the family were not wearing had to hang on the walls, and that all
the dishes and food had to be kept on tables or shelves, or on the
stove. These circumstances made it difficult for the best housewife
to keep a dwelling neat. A physician in one community said,
“ When both father and mother work all day long, they are too
tired at night to clean up their home, and there is no incentive for
them to do so. The camp is regarded as a temporary makeshift, a
place to sleep and eat when the family is not at the factory.” Never
theless one frequently found bright, tidy homes, showing evidence u
an effort at decoration.
The furnishings were usually most meager. Some families brought
furniture with them, but it was more common for them to make a
rude bed, a table, and a bench from lumber which the company

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

■

PLAY SPACE

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

furnished, and to get along with as little as possible. Boxes were
often used for chairs.
Sometimes the companies agreed to furnish the rooms of the
imported workers, except for bedding and dishes. One company
supplied a wide iron bedstead (without mattress), one stove, one
rough table, and several rough wooden benches. This was the extent
of the furnishings of the homes of the people living in this camp.
This was fairly typical of the meagemess of the furnishings, whether
company owned or not. Often, indeed, the luxury of an iron bed
stead was lacking, and wooden bunks, built up about 2 feet from the
floor, served as beds.
All the camps depended on oil lamps for lighting and on wood
stoves for heat. The defects in structure, however, Such as cracks
in the walls and floors, often rendered the little stoves quite inade
quate. Newspapers were sometimes pasted on the walls to keep
out the cold. One camp had no provision for chimneys. Window
panes had been broken and the stovepipes carried through the open
ings thus made.
None of the camps was equipped with plumbing; all had outside
privies and hydrants. The number and cleanliness of the privies
and the number and thè convenience of the hydrants varied, as did,
of course, the general conditions of the camp buildings and premises.
In a very few instances there was a toilet for each family in the camp;
in a few cases each family had a separate pump or hydrant; but such
instances were exceptional. Sometimes large numbers of families
Used the same toilet and the same hydrant. In one community
there was only one hydrant to supply the whole camp, which normally
housed 27 families.
; None of the camps visited was screened, and many of them were
infested with flies and mosquitoes. One community, being in a
cantonment zone, had recently had its sanitary provisions improved
under the direction of the Public Health Service. In this camp each
family had its own privy, built éo as to be fly and mosquito proof, and
there were strict rules, apparently obeyed, for the covering or screen
ing of garbage and against throwing away tin cans before six holes had
been punched in them. This camp was located on marshy ground,
however, and there was much stagnant water near by, some of it
covered with green slime, and the mosquitoes were numerous. “ The
situation was improved by the Public Health Service,” said a
physician, “ but it is impossible to draw off all the water, especially
as the soil is mucky. ”
The various camps had some individual advantages and disadvan
tages—one, for example, provided two-family cottages instead of
barracks but, on' the whole, the above statements supplemented

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

by the following descriptions and the illustrations facing pages
76 and 77, will convey a general idea of the housing provided by the
companies for their workers, sometimes free of charge, but usually
for the indefinite rent of a percentage of their earnings.
One of the best camps consisted of four barracks, a store converted
into a dwelling, and two small houses. These buildings were fenced
in; there was no grass, but the hard dirt was raked and swept clean
daily by the watchman. A few large palm trees near the main
entrance of the inclosure provided some shade and relieved the place
of the bareness which was characteristic of most camps.
The long, low buildings were fairly well built, were painted, and
had good corrugated-tin roofs. The barracks varied in size from
83^ feet by 22 feet to 150 feet by 21 feet. They were all one-story
buildings, 9 feet 6 inches and 9 feet 8 inches in height. Each build
ing had a porch running its whole length, and, though without a
wall foundation, each building was raised from the ground. On the
porches of the longer barracks were three barrels filled with water;
on the porches of the smaller barracks two barrels, to be used in case
of fire. Coal oil had been poured on the surface of the water to pre
vent the breeding of mosquitoes. These buildings were divided into
compartments by single board partitions, and the compartments
were divided into rooms in the same fashion, except that the dividing
wall within the compartments contained a doorway. Most of the
compartments were two rooms deep. Families in this camp were
usually alloted from one to three rooms. Each room had one out
side window and one outside door. The rooms ranged in size from 12
feet 8 inches by 13 feet to 10 feet 4 inches by 10 feet 8 inches. Theie
were no closets; clothing hung on nails about the rooms. Shelves
were provided for dishes.
The floors and walls were of rough, unfinished boards, without rugs
or wall paper or paint to relieve the bareness. In a few homes,
however, the occupants had tacked newspapers over the entire wall
space to keep out the wind and to make the room warmer.
Each family had a small stove for the combined purpose of heat
ing and cooking, and usually wood was piled behind the stove.
There was no plumbing, no running water, sink, nor drainage system.
The waste water was thrown from the porch and allowed to soak
- into the ground. Kitchens were usually supplied with a bucket of
water for drinking and cooking purposes. Few families had their
own furniture, most of them using the rough board furniture supplied
by or made from wood supplied by the company. In nearly ever
home the crude furnishings were as follows: One large table, one
* or two wide bunks built up about 2 feet from the floor, two or three
benches, one or two straight chairs, and occasionally supplementary
boxes.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

A few of the homes were im m aculately clean, w ith covered w ater
buckets, w hite spreads on the beds, oilcloth on the table, curtains
hanging from the shelves, colored pictures on the walls, and other
homelike signs. The general impression, however, which even this
exceptionally good camp gave was th a t of disorder, confusion, and
crowding; of rickety chairs and benches; of half-eaten food left
about on unw ashed dishes; of d irty clothes soaking; of old tin cans
standing about; of flies buzzing over the food, the uncovered w ater
bucket, and the grease spots on the floor.

At the time of the study there were about 25 families living in
this camp. Normally, however, the camp accommodates a much
larger population. One hydrant supplied each building with water,
and the ground below the faucet was always wet and muddy. There
were only 11 privies for the entire camp. These were cleaned three
tinges a week by the watchman, who said that almost immediately
after they were cleaned they were in a vile condition.
The a ttitu d e of the people tow ard the cam ps varied. Some of
them were content, others dissatisfied. Some families had moved
o u t of the camps and had rented dwellings, n o t only because it was
more profitable for them to p ay re n t and g et higher rates of pay
b u t because of the conditions in the camps. ‘ ‘We used to live in a
cam p; we had two rooms, b u t it was too jam m ed up. We were
glad to get out. * * * They used to bring people from B alti
more, and how they did pile them up! Pile ’em up and pile ’em up!
* * - * The houses are bad; they ought to be fixed up— they leak
in like a b ask et,” said one m other. A nother said, “ The houses
aren’t good enough for a horse. The roofs leak, and they won’t
even m end broken windows. I prefer to re n t m y house and keep m y
health .” “ I wouldn’t live in one of those camps. They live like
hogs over there,” said another.
Physicians in some of the com m unities condemned the cam p
conditions. The city physician of one tow n said, “ If I had any
au th o rity in the m atter, I should certainly no t perm it such living
quarters to exist as those in the cannery camps. The double
arrangem ent of apartm ents in the camp buildings is very bad, since
it does n o t give v e n t on two sides for a free ventilation of air. More
over, there should be b e tte r heating facilities b oth in cannery and
cam p.” “ I would discourage the building of cam ps entirely,”
said the county health officer. ‘ ‘They are bad m entally, m orally,
physically, and socially. The th in partitions separating one fam ily
yom another are n o t adequate. The common porch is another bad
feature. Isolated cottages are far better. * * * The over
crowding was very m uch worse two years ago, and b ad health con
ditions and vice were the result. This isn’t the same place as tw o

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IH

years ago. The camps have not been filled this year because it was
difficult to import labor. The former crowding will not be allowed
again, and the packers have been notified of this. * * * One
of the cities does not collect garbage on unpaved streets, so the
district where the workers live is excluded; but an effort is being
made to provide for this. At present the factories are held responsi
ble for their camps. In another city the city collects all garbage.
A physician in another community said, “ I consider the surround
ings of the camp unhealthy. The ground is low and mucky and
marshy. There always seems to be stagnant water, which is fine for
breeding mosquitoes. The combination with the near-by outhouses
is not desirable. The homes are not kept in very clean condition, but
I think it is not possible for them to be kept cleaner with the rough
kind of house and furniture which the cannery gives the people.
I think the mothers do make an effort to keep them in as good con
dition as possible.” Another physician in this same town said,
“ Though the people are ignorant of the laws of sanitation and
hygiene, the factory has done much this year toward the cleaning
up of tin cans and mosquitoes. Previous to this year there were
only one or two toilets for a row of houses. Now there is one for
every cottage. These are mosquito and fly tight, according to the
sanitary law applied to the zone around the naval training school.
I believe that these improvements will make a noticeable change
in the health of the camp people. Conditions for raising children
are far from ideal in the camps, however.”
In another town the city health officer said: “ During the canning
season the camp is overcrowded and sanitation is bad. The toilet
facilities are poor and we have to guard against this all the time.
There is no sewerage system, so the problem is a big one.”
The homes of the noncamp families—White.

The families living in their own houses, or in homes for which they
paid money rent and which were not connected with the canneries,
fared much better than the camp families. The great majority paid
from $4 to $7 a month for rent. Most of the houses were small,
single, one-story frame cottages, often unpainted, with a private
privy, a private pump, a little yard often planted with flowers, and
occasionally a vegetable garden, and inclosed by a picket fence.
Sometimes the fences were sagging and broken and the houses sadly
in need of repair. The condition of the interiors depended, of course
largely on the skill and leisure of the housewives. Many of the
houses had a rural air, straggling along a country lane or set off in
field.' Chickens and a family pig were not uncommon.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

The homes of the noncamp families—Negro.
The Negro districts presented in general a particularly ram shackle
appearance. They were often situated along the railroad tracks or
in swam py, isolated districts. The appearance was m uch more
rural th a n in th e w hite districts. The streets, even when the district
was near the center of th e city, were seldom paved nor were the
roads k ep t in good condition. Y et, despite the loose boards, the
sagging porches, and the general disrepair of the gray, w eather
beaten houses, tiny, neat, well-kept gardens which were th e rule
ra th e r th a n the exception, gave to the district a cheerful air. In
m any of th e yards were large black iron kettles in which the clothes
were boiled on wash days.
The interiors of the houses were usually n eat and clean, although
there were a few exceptions. Most of the cottages had three or four
rooms, divided, like the barracks in the cannery camps, by thin
wooden partitions, w ith uncovered floors and bare walls. Generally,
the furnishings were lim ited to the actual necessities, such as beds,
a chest of drawers, stove, table, and a chair or two. The beds were
comm only covered w ith im m aculate w hite spreads. Sometimes
vividly colored religious pictures hung upon the walls, and occasion
ally there were fu rth e r decorations, such as brig h t tablecloths,
doilies, and vases. Often, especially in th e homes of the Negroes
who took in washing, it was common to see a large washing piled
upon the beds. The first impression received in m any of the homes
was unfavorable, b u t this was generally due to the untidiness inci
dent to a lack of closets and to the confusion attending the lau n d ry
work.
Some homes were d irty and m iserable. A father, m other, and
nine children lived in three filthy, bare, dark rooms. The two beds
had no sheets, and the soiled blankets and quilts were piled on the
unm ade beds. The room seen by the Children’s B ureau agent con
tained two beds, two chairs, a lam p, and nothing more. A nother
house of unpainted boards presented a wrecked appearance. H alf
the boards were missing from the roof and floor of the porch. The
stairs were broken and lopsided. A great deal of bedding and cloth
ing, discolored and stained w ith age and wear rath e r th an dirt,
littered the interior. The fam ily th a t lived in this house were th a n k
ful th a t they owned it, although they had neither the tim e nor the
m aterials to m ake repairs. “ If we had the wood,” asked the father,
“ where would we get the nails
The Negro quarters in'A palachicola are situated about a half mile
in from the beach. The street on dry days was uneven w ith stones
and occasional grass plots; uncertain planks bridge the riverlets.
On w et days it was alm ost impassable. This condition was peculiar
56569°—22-----6

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS.

to the Negro section; complaints of Negro taxpayers to the town
council were reported to have brought no improvement. The head'
of the associated charities in this community said, “ The sanitary
conditions of the homes are not even fair. I consider them bad.
There is a town law compelling sewers, but it is not enforced. Fur
thermore, the sewerage pipes do not run out to ‘the hill’ (Negro sec
tion). The garbage is collected only once a week.”
The houses were almost all three or four room cottages, sitting
gray and unpainted behind the rosebushes and the honeysuckle which
overflow the fenced yards. From the gate of the average home one
saw the sunshine streaming through the hall which connected the
front porch With the kitchen porch. The interiors showed remnants
of furniture, chairs whose seats and backs had yielded to wear,
blankets dingy with age, and clean plank floors, warped and broken.
Sometimes the chairs were littered with clothing, for most of these
homes had neither closets, shelves, nor hooks. The housekeeping
was seldom dirty or slovenly, but there was much apparent shift
lessness. The Negroes did not appear to be contented'with these
conditions; they desired to move to a place where work was steady
and living conditions better in consequence.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CONCLUSION.
The m ovem ent in behalf of more and b e tte r schools, of b etter
com pulsory-education and child-labor laws, and of b e tte r enforcing
m achinery for such laws as are enacted, while longer delayed th an in
some p a rts of the U nited States, has been gaining ground in the
Gulf S tates in recent years. I t should be pointed ou t th a t, as in
other States, child labor and nonattendance a t school are more serious
in the cannery than in m ost other industrial towns. Still illiteracy
and child labor are n o t confined to the cannery com m unities of these
States. And even if it were confined to these cannery communities,
the facts revealed in this rep o rt dem onstrate the urgency of the need
for im provem ent in the S tate child-labor and school-attendance laws,
and, alm ost more im portant, adequate provision for their enforcement.

I t will be remembered that this study was made during the interval
which elapsed between the time when the first Federal child-labor
law was declared unconstitutional and the enactment of the present
Federal child-labor tax law. No subsequent investigations have
been made to determine whether the 10 per cent tax which the revenue
law provides the cannery, mill, factory, or workshop which employs
children under 14 years of age or children between 14 and 16 years
more than eight hours a day or before 6 a. m. or after 7 p. m. must
pay, has resulted in the elimination of the many young children
found at work at the time this study was made. However, as it is
still possible for the canneries to pay the tax and employ the children
so far as the Federal Government is concerned, it comes down to the
question, not of the welfare of the child but of the relative profitable
ness of child labor.
If the Federal child-labor ta x law has resulted in p u ttin g the
children ou t of the factories, it takes no steps tow ard providing the
schools th a t agents of the Children’s B ureau found were n o t available
in some com m unities or to lengthen the very short term s provided in
others. I t is tru e th a t experience shows th a t w ith the possibility of
employing children gone and the opposition of employers and parents
rem oved in consequence, b e tte r school-attendance laws and b e tte r
schools are m uch easier to secure. A direct as well as this indirect
contribution on the p a rt of the Federal G overnm ent tow ard securing
these ends is being dem anded b y an increasingly large num ber of
people.
83

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AJtfD THE WORK OF MOTHERS.

The U nited S tates has adopted the policy of providing Federal aid
for vocational education, b u t it has m ade no sim ilar provision fo r
stim ulating elem entary education. The percentage of illiteracy
among the m en assembled in the camps or exam ined by the d raft
boards during the W orld W ar resulted in a new appreciation of the
im portance of a national educational minimum .
To m eet the problem of the children of the m igratory families,
special provision is necessary. I t was in these families in the cannery
com m unities th a t ignorance was greatest and housing conditions m ost
serious. Like the children, who w ith their parents work in the beet
fields of the central and w estern S tates or who follow the fru it in
California, or who sometimes live in railw ay construction camps in
various p a rts of the country, neither the com m unity from which they
come nor the one in which they are tem porary residents feels respon
sible for their education and general welfare. I t would therefore
seem necessary for the State, in the case of m igrations from one p a rt
of a S tate to another, and for the N ational G overnm ent when the
m igrations are in terstate ones, to find some w ay of assuming this
responsibility.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

A p p e n d ix

Child-Labor and Compulsory-Education Legislation in
Effect in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi
on January 1, 1919

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

APPENDIX.
C H IL D LABOR A N D C O M PU L SO R Y E D U C A T IO N LEG ISLATIO N IN EFFECT
IN FLO R ID A , LO U ISIA N A , A N D M IS S IS S IP P I O N JANUARY 1, 1919.

F L O R ID A .
STREET TRADES IN CITIES.
MINIMUM AGE

E m p lo y m e n t o f boys u n der 10 a n d g irls u n der 16 in se llin g n ew spapers, etc., pro h ib
i t e d — N o boy under ten years of age, and no girl under sixteen years of age shall

distribute, sell, expose, or offer for sale (1) newspapers, (2) magazines, (3) periodicals
in any street or public place, in any city of six thousand population or more.. [Com
piled Laws 1914 section 2642a]
STORES, OFFICES, MESSENGER SERVICE, ETC., IN CITIES.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t un der 12 p ro h ib ited . —No child under twelve years of age shall be
employed, permitted, or suffered to work in, about or in connection with any (1)
''store, (2) office, or (3) in the transmission or sale of merchandise, (4) or in the trans
mission of messages, in any city of six thousand population or more. [C L 1914 s 2642b]

FACTORIES, WORKSHOPS, MECHANICAL ESTABLISHMENTS,
THEATERS, ETC.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t un der 14 pro h ib ited . —No child under fourteen years of age shall be
employed, permitted or suffered to work in, about or in connection with any (1) mill,
(2) factory, (3) workshop, (4) mechanical establishment, (5) laundry, (6) or on thé
stage of any theater. [C L 1914 s 2642c]

FACTORIES, WORKSHOPS, MINES, ETC.
EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES AND RECORDS.

Certificates a n d lis ts requ ired un der 16; lis ts to be posted ; certificates to be retu rn ed to
ch ild or p a re n t; p r o o f o f age m a y be requ ired f o r children a p p a re n tly un der 16; e m p lo y
m en t w ith o u t such p r o o f after n o tific a tio n co n stitu tes evidence o f v io la tio n . —No child

under sixteen years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any
factory, workshop, laundry, mine or mill, unless the person or corporation employing
him procures and keeps on file and accessible to the judicial and police officers of the
town or city, and to the State labor inspector, an employment certificate as hereinafter
prescribed, and keeps two complete lists of all such children employed therein, one
on file and one conspicuously posted near the principal entrance of the building in
which such children are employed. On termination of the employment of the child
so registered, and whose certificate is so filed, such certificate shall forthwith be sur
rendered by the employer to the child or its parent or guardian or custodian. The
State labor inspector may make demands on an employer in whose establishment a
child apparently under the age of sixteen years is employed or permitted or suffered
to work, and whose employment certificate is not then filed as required by this act
[s 2642a-2642x], that such employer shall either furnish him within ten days evidence
satisfactory to him that such child is in fact over fourteen years of age, or shall cease
to employ or permit or suffer such child to work therein. The labor inspector may
require from such employer the same evidence of age of such child as is required on
87 •

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOE AND THE WOEK OF MOTHEES IN

the issuance of an employment certificate, and the employer furnishing such evidence
shall not be required to furnish any further evidence of the age of the child. In case
such employer shall fail to produce and deliver to the inspector within ten days after
such demand such evidence of age herein required of him, and thereafter continue to
employ such child, or permit or suffer such child to work in such establishment, proof
of the giving of such notice and of such failure to produce and file such evidence shall
be prima facie evidence in any prosecution brought for violation of the provision that
such child is under fourteen years of age and is unlawfully employed: TO L 1914 s
2642d]
X
L iv
S ch o o l au th o rities to issu e certificates; exception s. —An employment certificate shall
only be approved by the county superintendent of schools, or by a person authorized
by him m writing, or, where there is no superintendent of schools, by a person
authorized by the school boardi P ro v id e d , That no member of a school board, or other
authorized as aforesaid shall have authority to approve such certificate for any
child then in or about to enter his own employment, or the employment of a firm or
corporation of which he is a member, officer or employee. [0 L 1914 s 2642e]
S ch o o l a n d birth records required; m eth od o f issu in g certificates; edu cation al qu alifica
tio n s; p h y sic a l com petence f o r w ork co n tem p la ted required. —The persons authorized to

issue employment certificates shall not issue such certificates until he has received
examined, approved and filed the following papers duly executed. (1) The school
record of such child properly filled out and signed as provided herein below. (2) A
passport or duly attested transcript of the certificate of birth or baptism or other
religious record, showing the date and place of birth of such child. A duly attested
transcript of the birth certificate filed according to law with any officer charged with
/o? mu ^ of recording births, shall be sufficient evidence of the age of such child.
(3) The affidavit of the parent, guardian or custodian of a child, which shall be
required, however, only m case such last mentioned transcript of the certificate of
birth be not produced and filed, showing the place and date of birth of such child,
which affidavit must be taken before the officer issuing employment certificates, who
is hereby authorized and required to administer such oath, and who shall not demand
or receive a fee therefor. Such employment certificate shall not be issued until such
child has personally appeared before and been examined by the officer issuing the
certificate, and until such officer shall, after making examination, file and sign in his
office a statement that the child can read and legibly write simple sentences in the
English language and that in his opinion the child is thirteen [sic] years of age or
upward and has received the normal development of a child of its age, and is in
sound health and is physically able to perform the work which it intends to do. In
doubtful cases such physical fitness shall be determined by a medical officer of the
board or department of health, or by the county physician. Every employment
shall be signed in the presence of the cmld in whose name it is issued.
[C L 1914 s 2642f]
C o n ten ts o f certificate.— S u c h certificate shall state the date and place of birth of the
child, and describe the color of the hair and eyes, the height and weight and any
distinguishing facial marks of such child, and that the papers required by the preceduig section have been duly examined, approved and filed and that the child named
m such certificate has appeared before the officer signing the certificate and has been
examined. [0 L 1914 s 2642g]
C o n ten ts o f school record; exception s to requ irem en t o f school record.— T h e school
record above mentioned shall be signed by the principal or chief teacher of the school
which such child has last attended and shall be furnished, on demand, to a child
entitled thereto. It shall contain a statement certifying that the child has regularly
attended the public schools or school equivalent thereto or parochial schools for not
less than sixty days during the sehool year previous to his arriving at the age of four
teen years or during the year previous to applying for such school records, and is able
to read and write simple sentences in the English language, and has received during
such period^ partial instruction in reading, spelling, writing, and geography and is
familiar with the fundamental operations of arithmetic up to and including common
fractions. Such school record shall also give the age and residence of the child, as
shown on the records of the school and. the name of its parents or guardian or custodian: Provided^ That upon the filing with the person authorized to issue employment
certificates of the affidavit of the applicant or of his or her parent, guardian, or custodian, showing that diligent effort has been made to obtain the school record hereby
required and that it can not be obtained, then the person authorized to issue the cerfafi^te may issue such a certificate without having received such school record, but
it shall be his duty, in such case, to examine the applicant as to his or her proficiency
in each oi the studies mentioned in this section; and in such case the employment
certificate shall show that such examination was had in lieu of the filing of the school
board [sic]. [C L 1914 s 2642h]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

FACTORIES, WORKSHOPS, MECHANICAL ESTABLISHMENTS,
THEATERS, ETC.
HOURS OP L'ABOR.

N in e hou rs a da y, 54 a week, 6 days a week, a n d n ig h t w o rk pro h ib ited , u n d er 16; hou rs
to be p o sted . —No child under the age of sixteen years shall be employed, permitted or

suffered to work in, about, or in connection with any establishment or occupation
named in section 3 (1) for more than six days in any one week, (2) nor more than fiftyfour hours in any week, (3) nor more than nine hours in any one day, (4) or [nor]
before the hour of five o’clock in the morning or after the hour of eight o’clock in the
evening. The presence of such child in any establishment during working hours
shall be prima facie evidence of its employment therein. Every employer shall post
in a conspicuous place in every room where such minors are employed a printed
notice, stating the hours required of them each day of the week, the hours of commenc
ing ana stopping work, and the hours when the time or times allowed for dinner or for
other meals Degin and end. The printed form of such notice shall be furnished by
the State labor inspector, and the employment of any minor for a longer time in any
day so stated shall be deemed a violation of this section. [C L 1914 s 2642i]
MESSENGERS.
HOURS OF LABOR.

N ig h t w o rk p ro h ib ited u n d er 18. —No person under the age of eighteen years shall
be employed, permitted, or suffered to work as a messenger for telegraph, telephone,
or messenger companies in the distribution, transmission, or delivery of goods or mes
sages before five o’clock in the morning or after ten o’clock in the evening of any day.
[CTL 1914 s 2642k]
REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT.

D u tie s a n d pow ers o f ju d ic ia l or police officers a n d labor in sp ecto rs. —County or city,
judicial or police officers may visit the factories, workshops, mines, and mercantile
establishments in their several towns and cities and ascertain whether any minors are
employed therein contrary to the provisions of this act [s 2642a-2642x] and they shall
report any cases of such illegal employment to the superintendent of schools and to the
labor inspector. Labor inspectors or any city or county officer may require that the
employment certificates and lists provided for in this act, of minors employed in such
factories, workshops, mines, or mercantile establishments, shall be produced for their
inspection. Complaints for offenses under this act shall be brought by the labor
inspector or other person in the same manner as provided by law for other offenses.
[C L 1914 s 26421.]

DANGEROUS, INJURIOUS, AND IMMORAL OCCUPATIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.

S p ecific o ccu p a tio n s p ro h ib ited u n der 16; co n stan t sta n d in g p ro h ib ited f o r g irls un der
16; e m p lo y m e n t m a y be p ro h ib ited by health officers in other o ccu p a tio n s. —No child under

the age of sixteen years shall be employed at sewing belts, or to assist in sewing belts,
in any capacity whatever, nor shall any child adjust any belt to any machinery; they
shall not oil or assist in oiling, wiping, or cleaning machinery; they shall not operate
or assist in operating circular or band saws, wood shapers, wood joiners, planers,
sandpaper or wood-polishing machinery, emery or polishing wheels used for polishing
sheet metal, wood turning or boring machinery, stamping machinés in sheet metal and
tinware manufacturing, stamping machines m washer and nut factories, operating
corrugated rolls, such as are used in roofing factories, nor shall they b e employed in
operating any steam boiler, steam machinery, or other steam generating apparatus, or
as pin boys in any bowling alley; they shall not operate or assist in operating dough
brakes, or cracker machinery of any description, wire or iron straightening machinery,
nor shall they operate or assist in operating rolling mill machinery , punches or shears,
washing or grinding or mixing mills, or calendar [calender] rolls in rubber manufac
turing, nor shall they operate or assist in operating laundry machinery, nor shall such
children be employed in any capacity in preparing any composition in which danger
ous or poisonous acids are used, and they shall not be employed in any capacity in the
manufacture of paints, colors, or white lead, nor shall they be employed in any capacity
whatever in operating or assisting to operate any passenger or freight elevator, nor shall
they be employed in any capacity whatever in the manufacture of goods for immoral

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

purposes, nor shall females under sixteen years of age be employed in any capacity
where such employment compels them to remain standing constantly. Nor shall any child under sixteen years of age he employed at any occupation dangerous or injurious
to health or morals or to lives [life] or limbs, and as to those matters, the decision of
the county physician or city health officer, as the case may he, shall be hnai. [C L
1914 s 2642m.]

MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.
MINIMUM AGE AND SAFETY.

Safety

contrivances

provided

where

children

under

are

employed;

cleaning

.—It shall be the duty of the owner of any manu
facturing establishment, where any person under sixteen years of age is employed, his
agents, superintendents, or other persons in charge of same, to furmsh and supply
when practicable, or cause to be furnished and supplied to him belt shifters or other
safe mechanical contrivance for the purpose of throwing belts on or off pulleys; and,
whenever practicable, machinery therein shall be provided with loose belts. All
vats, pans, saws, planes, cogs, gearing; belting, set screws, and machinery of every
description therein, which is palpably dangerous, where practicable, shall be properly
guarded ■ and no person shall remove or make ineffective any safeguard around or
attached to any planer, saw, belting, shafting or other machinery, or around any vat
or pan while the same is in use, unless for the purpose of immediately making repairs,
thereto, and all such safeguards shall be properly replaced. No person under eighteen
years of age «ball be allowed to clean machinery while m motion. [0. L. 1914 s 2b42n. j

m a c h i n e r y i n m o t i o n prohibited u n d e r 1 8

TOILETS AND DRESSING ROOMS FOR GIRLS.
S e v a r a t e toilets f o r th e s e x e s w h e r e girls u n d e r 1 6 a r e e m p l o y e d ;

separate dressing r o o m s

Suitable and proper washrooms and water-closets shall be provided
‘in all manufacturing establishments, where any person under sixteen years of age is
employed and such water-closets shall be properly screened and ventilated and be
kept at all times in a clean condition; and if girls under sixteen years of age be em
ployed in any such establishment, the water-closet shall have separate approachesand be kept separate and apart from those used by men. All closets shall be kept free
from obscene writing and marking. A dressing room shall be provided for such girls
when the nature of their work is such as to require any change of clothing. [L L
1914 s 2642o]
f o r avrls

if n e e d e d —

MANUFACTURING, MECHANICAL, AND MERCANTILE ESTABLISH
MENTS, ETC.
SEATS FOR GIRLS.

.—Every
Derson firm, corporation, association, individual, or partnership employing girls under
sixteen years in any manufacturing, mechanical, or mercantile industry, laundry,
workshop, renovating works, or printing offices in this State, shall provide seats for
the use of the girls so employed, and shall permit the use of such by them when not
necessarily engaged in the active duties for which they are employed. [C L 1914 s
S e a t s t o b e p r o v i d e d a n d their u s e p e r m i t t e d w h e r e girls u n d e r 1 6 a r e e m p l o y e d

2642P]

MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.
HEALTH OF MINORS.

T h e walls and
ceilings of each room in every manufacturing establishment where any person under
sixteen years of age is employed shall be lime-washed or painted, when, in the opinion
of the labor inspector, it shall be conducive to the health or cleanliness of the persons
working therein. [C L 1914 s 2642q]
C l e a n l i n e s s o f w a l l s a n d ceilings w h e r e m i n o r s u n d e r 1 6 ar e e m p l o y e d . —

REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT.
c o u n t y solicitors, eic.-^-Grand juries and county
solicitors of criminal courts of record, where such courts exist, shall have inquisitorial
powers to investigate violations of this act [s 2 6 4 2 a-2 6 4 2 x ]; also shall [sic] county
judges and circuit judges and judges of the circuit courts of the State shall specially
charge the grand jury at the beginning of each term of the court to investigate viola
tions of this act. [C L 1914 s 2642r]
Duties

a n d

powers

o f g r a n d juries,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

pfoZrf labor law to be p o ste d — A. copy of this act [s 2642a-2642xl shall be conepicuoiisly posted and kept m each workroom of every manufacturing establishment
°r W0i r 8h0P’ °r mercantlle or printing establishment, theatre, telegraph’
Pfub.h ^ messenger company or laundry in this State, where a^hUd
under the age of sixteen years is employed, and in every pool room ox billiard room
or bowling alley. [C L 1914 s 2642s as amended by 1915 C 69181
’
A p^ o in tm erU o f State labor inspector. —For the purpose of carrying out the provisions

the ° 3 c e of State labbr R e c t o r ÏÏÆ e b y S E d K X

office to be filled by any capable person, male or female, by appointment by the
governor for a term of four years, such term to begin from and after such appointS t nt’[CL T g ^ l e S t f ShaÜ haVG n0 P°Wer °r authority excePt as conferred by this
Act

n ot to interfere w ith industrial training in schools or w ith children engaged in

the i eUvery ° f daily VaP.ers.-Nothing in this act
[s 2642a 2642x] shall prevent children of any age from receiving industrial education
furnished by the United States, this State, or any city or town in thin State and
duly approved by the State superintendent of public instruction or by other duly
constituted pubhc authority ; nor shall any of the provisions of this act be considered
as applying to children engaged in agricultural or domestic employment. And noth
ing m this act shall apply to male children employed in the delivery of newspapers
to regular subscribers out of school hours. [C L 1914 s 2642w]
PP
REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
PENALTIES.

V io la tio n b y em p lo y er, p a re n t e tc .; e m p lo y m e n t after n o tific a tio n ; f a ilu r e to produce
certificates o r lis ts ; reten tio n o f certificates b y e m p lo y er; f a ls e sta tem e n ts— W h o e v e r

employs a minor child in violation of any of the provisions of this act Is 2642a-2642xl
and whoever having under his control such child permits such child to be employed
m violation of this act, shall for such offense, be fined not more than fifty dollars
and whoever continues to employ any child in violation of this act after being notified
by a labor inspector or other officer thereof, shall for every day thereafter that such
employment continues, be fined not less than five nor more than twenty dollars. A
failure to produce to any officer or labor inspector any employment certificate or list
required shall be prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of any person whose
employment certificate is not produced, and whose name is not so listed. Any eorP0i^ io n or employer retaining employment certificates in violation of section 4
[s2642d] of this act, shall be fined ten dollars. Every person authorized to sign the
certificate prescribed by section 5 [s 2642e] of this act, who knowingly certifies to
any materially false statement therein shall be fined not more than fifty dollars nor
less than ten dollars. [0 L 1914 s 3728a]
y
’
BUSINESS PURSUITS.
SEATS.

S e a ts to be p ro v id e d f o r a ll em p lo yees a n d their use pe rm itte d ; p e n a lty . —If any merchant
storekeeper, [or] employer of male or female clerks, salesmen, cash boys or cash girls or
other assistants, in mercantile or other business pursuits, requiring such employees to
stand or walk during their active duties, neglect[s] to furnish at their [his] own cost or
expense suitable chairs, stools or sliding seats attached to the counters or walls, for the
use oi such employees when not engaged in their active work, and not required to be on
their feet in the proper performance of their several duties; or refuse[s] to permit their
[his] said employees to make reasonable use of said seats during business hours, for pur
poses of necessary rest, and when such use will not interfere with humane or reasonable
requirements of their employment, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by
a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding sixtv
days. [C L 1914 s 3235]
6
J

DANGEROUS, INJURIOUS, AND IMMORAL OCCUPATIONS- PUBLIC
EXHIBITIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t u n d er 14 i n sin g in g , d a n cin g, ro p e w a lk in g , etc., p ro h ib ited ; exception sp e n a lty . —Whoever takes, receives, hires, employs, uses, exhibits or in any manner

or under any pretense sells, apprentices, gives away, lets out or otherwise disposes
of to any person any child under the age of fourteen years for or in the vocation

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

occupation, service or purpose of singing, playing on musical instruments, rope or
wire walking, dancing, begging or peddling, or as a contortionist, rider, acrobat, or
for or in any obscene, indecent or immoral purpose, exhibition or practice, or for or
in any business, exhibition or vocation injurious to the health or dangerous to the life
or limbs of such child, or causes or procures, or encourages any such child to engage
therein, * * * or has in custody any such child for any of the purposes aforesaid,
shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than six
months. Nothing contained in this section shall apply to or affect the employment or
use of any such child as a singer or musician in any church, school or academy, or at
any amatetxr concert or entertainment, or in learning the science or practice of music
and social dancing. [C L 1914 s 3237]
CHILD LABOR AND VAGRANCY.
P erso n s liv in g o n ea rn in gs o f their children declared va g ra n ts. —*

* * Persons able
to work but habitually living upon the earnings of their wives or minor children
* * * shall be deemed vagrants, and upon conviction shall be subject to the penalty
provided in section 3571. [C L 1914 s 3570]
P e n a lty .— * * * Any person * * * [convicted of vagrancy] shall be fined
not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, or by imprisonment [sic] not more than
six months. [C L 1914 s 3571]
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t u n d er 15 w ith o u t con sen t o f p a re n t, gu a rd ia n , etc., pro h ib ited ; p e n a lty .—

Whoever hires or employs or causes to be hired or employed any minor, knowing such
minor to be under the age of fifteen years and under the legal control of another w ith
out the consent of those having such legal control, for more than sixty days, shall be
punished by imprisonment not exceeding sixty days or by fine not exceeding twenty
dollars. [C L 1914 s 3728]
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

A p p r o v a l o f act to be decided by v o te . —Whenever one-fourth of the registered white
voters of any special tax school district, school board district, or of any county shall
file with a county board of public instruction a written petition asking for an election
to be held in such special tax school district, school board district, or county, to
determine whether'compulsory school attendance shall prevail in either of said dis
tricts or the county, it shall be the duty of the county board of public instruction to
order an election in either of said districts or the county, according as the petition
may request, to decide whether the following compulsory school attendance provi
sions shall be enforced in said special tax school district, school board district, or
county. [1915 C 6831 s l l
.
A c t i n effect. —Should three-fifths of the votes legally cast at any such election be
“ For Compulsory School Attendance,” then the compulsory school attendance laws
hereinafter prescribed shall be in force in such territory for two years, or forever there
after until another such election is held in compliance with the foregoing provisions;
and if three-fifths or more of the votes shall be cast “ Against Compulsory School
Attendance,” then school attendance shall not be compulsory in said territory until
otherwise determined by an election held in pursuance of this act: P ro vid ed , That
when any such election is held in a whole county, compulsory school attendance shall
be enforced in any school board district or districts of said pounty wherein a threefifths vote was cast “ For Compulsory School Attendance,” though a three-fifths vote
of the county as a whole was cast “Against Compulsory School Attendance”; P ro v id e d
a lso , That when any such election is held in a whole county, compulsory school
attendance shall not be enforced in any school board district or districts of said county,
wherein a majority vote was cast “ Against Compulsory School Attendance” though
the majority vote of the county as a whole was cast “ For Compulsory S chool Attend-,
ance.” [1915 C 6831 s 7]
N o tific a tio n .— The county board of public instruction of a county in which a com
pulsory school attendance election has been held and three-fifths of the votes legally
cast at such election in a special tax school district, school board district, or in the
whole county was for “ Compulsory School Attendance,” shall, at the first regular
meeting thereafter, publish that the following compulsory school attendance laws
will be in full force and effect thirty days thereafter in the special tax school district,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OUSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

school board district, or, in the county, as may have been determined by the said
election. [1915 C 6831 s 8]
Children .fro m 8 to 1 4 .—Every parent, guardian, or person in charge of or control of
a child or children, between the ages of eight and fourteen years and residing within a
special tax school district, a school board district, or a county advertised as under
the following compulsory school attendance provisions, shall cause such child or
children to attend regularly the public school of the district in which the child or
children reside not less than eighty days of each year, between the ages of eight and
fourteen years of each child [sic]; the period of compulsory attendance shall com
mence with the beginning of the school term nearest to the eighth birthday of each
child and shall cover a period of six consecutive years thereafter, except as herein
after provided. [1915 0 6831 s 9]
E q u iv a le n t attendan ce. —Continuous attendance upon some other school, public,
private, or church, for eighty days of each year during [sic] the ages of eight and
fourteen of any child, may be accepted in lieu of attendance upon a local public
school: P ro v id e d fu rth er, That any private or church school receiving for instruction
pupils between the ages of eight and fourteen years shall keep such record of attend
ance of said child or children and will render such reports of the same, as are herein
after required of teachers of public schools; otherwise the attendance upon any such
private or church school refusing or neglecting to keep such records and to make
such reports shall not be accepted in lieu of attendance upon a public school. [1915
0 6831s 10]
E x e m p tio n s o n accou nt o f p o v e rty co m p e llin g e m p lo y m e n t; other e x e m p tio n s — Lrúa

act shall not apply in any case in which the child’s physical or mental conditions
[sic], as attested by any competent physician before any cotut having jurisdiction
under this act, render its attendance impracticable or inexpedient; or in any case
in which the child resides more than two miles by the nearest traveled route from
the school house, and transportation is not provided; or in any case of extreme pov
erty, in which the services of such child are necessary for its own support or the
support of its parents, as attested by the affidavit of its parent or parents and of
such witnesses as the attendance officer may require; or in any case in which said
parent, guardian, or other person having charge or control of a child, shall show
before any magistrate by affidavit of himself and of such witnesses as the attendance
officer may require, that the child is without necessary books and clothing for
attending school, and that the parent is unable to provide the necessary books
and clothing: P ro vid ed , That when books and clothing shall be provided, through
charity or by other means, the child shall no longer be exempt from school attend
ance under this provision: P ro v id e d fu rth er, That when a teacher is charged with
inefficiency, misconduct or cruelty, such charge being made in writing and filed
with the trustees of the special tax school district, or with the county board of
public instruction by a parent or guardian of any child attending the school being
taught by such teacher, then the attendance of such child shall not be enforced until
after a full investigation of such charge has been made by the board with which
same was filed and the said teacher has been acquitted or exonerated. [1915 C 6831

s 11]

P e n a lty . —Any parent, guardian, or other person in control of a child or children,
violating the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con
viction by any court of competent jurisdiction shall be liable to a fine of not less than
one dollar and not more than three dollars for each and every offense. And upon
failure or refusal to pay such fine, said parent, guardian or other person in control of
a child shall be imprisoned not to exceed thirty days in the county jail: P ro vid ed ,
That the fine for any first offense may, upon payment of costs, be suspended and
not collected until the same person is convicted of a second offense: P ro v id e d fu rth er,
That after the expiration of three days from the time notice is served by the attend
ance officer, each and every day a parent, guardian, or other person shall wilfully
and unlawfully keep such child or children from school, or allow it or them to remain
out of school, shall constitute a separate offense and shall subject said person to the
penalties above described. [1915 0 6831 s 13]
.
E n forcem en t: a p p o in tm e n t o f attendance officers. —The county board of public in
struction of any county wherein any district or the county^ has adopted the compul
sory school attendance provisions of this act, shall have the power to appoint and fix
the compensation of an attendance officer or officers, and remove the same at will.
An attendance officer may be appointed for one school or for a number of schools, in
the discretion of the county board of public instruction, and may be a supervisor or a
trustee of a school, or any suitable person who will discharge the duties of the posi
tion, and the county board may assign an attendance officer such other duties as may
be deemed advisable. [1915 0 6831 s 14]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS*.
SCHOOL CENSUS.

E n u m era tio n o f children f r o m 6 to 21 . —It shall be the duty of every attendance
officer to take an accurate census of every child between the ages of six and twentyone years in his district in the month of June in each and every year on blanks fur
nished by the State superintendent of public instruction. He shall make three neat
and legible copies of this census roll, which shall give the name, sex, date of birth,
the name of the parent or guardian, with the post office, of every child and any addi
tional information demanded. One copy of this census shall be filed with the Statu
superintendent of public instruction, one copy with the county superintendent of
public instruction, by the first day of July in each and every year, and one copy
shall be preserved for his own use, and he shall furnish the principal of each school
within his jurisdiction with a list of the names of children due to attend the school
of which the principal is in charge, and the county hoard of public instruction shall
ascertain without charge the number of pupils contained in said list. [1915 0 6831
s 15]
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

E nforcem en t: du ties o f attendance officers. —The attendance officer shall serve a
written or printed notice, or partly written and parity printed^ notice, upon every
parent, guardian, or other person having control of a child or children, violating the
provisions of this act, and prompt compliance on the part of the parent, guardian or
other person shall be required. If any parent, guardian, or other person upon whom
such notice is served fails to comply with the law within three days thereafter, then
it shall be the duty of the attendance officer upon the recommendation of the board
of public instruction to prosecute forthwith such person in the name of the State of
Florida, before any justice of the peace, or coifhty judge, of any county, town, or
district in which the prosecuted resides. All fines collected shall be turned over to
the custodian of the county school fund, and may be used by the county board of
public instruction for the enforcement of this act, or for other purposes. [1915 0
6831 s 16]
„
.,
■
'

E nforcem en t: pow ers o f attendance officers; evidence o f age m a y be requ ired f o r e m p lo y edr
children a p p a re n tly u n der school age. —The attendance officer shall have the right to

visit and enter any office, factory, or business house employing youth, for the purpose
of enforcing the provisions of this act; when doubt exists as to the age of a child he
may require a properly attested birth certificate or affidavit as to the age of any
child. [1915 0 6831 s 17]
~
E nforcem en t: d u ties o f attendance officers; a n n u a l re p o rts. —Every attendance officer
shall keep an accurate record of all notices served, all cases prosecuted, and all other
services performed, and shall make an annual report of the same to the county board
of public instruction, on blanks furnished by the State superintendent of public
instruction, in the manner required, and oftener when demanded by the county
board. [1915 C 6831 s l8 ]
,
,
* t
; -y
E nforcem en t: d u ties o f p rin c ip a ls a n d teachers.—It shall be the duty of all principals
and teachers to cooperate with the attendance officer in the enforcement of this law.
To this end it shall be the duty of the principal or teacher in charge of every school,
in which pupils between the ages of eight and fourteen years are instructed, to keep
an accurate record of the attendance of all pupils, to render weekly reports to the
attendance officer and the county superintendent of public instruction, of all pupils
imperfect in attendance, showing all absences, excused and unexcused, and m the
case of an excused absence to state the reason for which the pupil was excused.
[1915 C 6831 s 19]
,
. ,
A ,
. . ,r . ,
..
A c t to be p u b lish ed .— It shall be the duty of the county board of public instruction
of each county to cause this act to be published, separate and distinct from the pub
lication of the acts of the legislature, in full in some newspaper published -in the
county if there be one, and if there be none, then to distribute and give it the
widest circulation in the form of a circular at least four weeks prior to the opening
of the school^ for the school year, beginning July 1, 1915, and annually thereafter if
in their discretion it be necessary. [1915 C 6831 s 20]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

L O U IS IA N A .

FACTORIES.
MINIMUM AGE.

O p era tin g or clea n in g m ach in ery i n m o tio n , etc., p ro h ib ited u n der 1 2 . —No

child under
the age of twelve years shall be permitted to operate or clean any part of the machinery
in a factory while such part is in motion by the aid of steam, water or other mechanical
power, or to clean any part of such machinery that is in dangerous proximity to such
moving part. [Wolff’s Revised Laws 1904 volume 1 page 991; 1892 Act 60 section 1]
P e n a lty . —Whoever, either for himself, or [as] superintendent, foreman, overseer or
other agent of another, violates the provisions of the preceding section, shall be pun
ished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars, or shall be sub
ject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding thirty days, or both at the discretion of
the court for each offense. [W R L 1904 v 1 p 991; 1892 A 60 s 2]
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
SEATS AND HOURS OF LABOR FOR GIRLS.

S ea ts to he p ro v id ed a n d their use p e rm itte d . —It shall be unlawful for any person,
firm or corporation doing business in the State of Louisiana, where female labor or
female clerks are employed, not to maintain seats, chairs or benches which shall be
-so placed as to be accessible to said employees, for their use during the times when
said employees are not actually engaged in the attention to their duties as employees
of such firm, person or corporation. [W R L 1904 v 1 p 992; 1900 A 55 s 1]
T h irty m in u tes f o r m id d a y m ea l requ ired i n re ta il establish m en ts. —All persons, firms
or corporations doing business at retail in,the State of Louisiana where female labor or
female clerks are employed, shall be required to give every employee each day,
between the hours of ten (10) a. m. and three (3) p. m. not less than thirty (30) minutes
for lunch or recreation. [W R L 1904 v 1 p 992; 1900 A 55 s 2]
N ote .—[See W R L Supplem ent 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 4]

P e n a lty . —Whoever

shall be found guilty of evading or disobeying any of the pro
visions of this actJ1900 A 55], shall be deemed guilty of a misdeameanor, and upon
arrest and conviction therefor shall be fined in a sum of not less than twentv-five ($25)
dollars nor more than one hundred ($100) dollars, and in default of the payment
thereof shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not less than five (5) days
nor more than six (6) months. [W R L 1904 v 1 p 992; 1900 A 55 s 3]
' ALL REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.

D u tie s a n d pow ers o f com m ission er o f labor, etc. —The duties of said commissioner
[of labor] and said assistant commissioners shall be to visit and inspect manufacturing
establishments, workshops, mills, mercantile establishments, factories and other
places where industrial work is being done for the purpose of enforcing the laws regulat
ing or dealing with the conditions of employment of labor of any kind, and to prosecute
an persons, firms, associations or corporations violating the labor laws of the State.
* * * [Wolff’s Revised Laws Supplement 1904-1908 volume 3 page 412; 1908 Act
155 section 2 as amended by 1914 Act 186]
D u tie s a n d pow ers o f com m ission er, etc.; a p p o in tm e n t o f fa c to r y in sp ecto r in N e w
rle a n s. —The commissioner or assistant commissioners shall have power to take and

preserve evidence, examine witnesses under oath and administer the same,, and in
the discharge of his duties may enter any public institution of the State, and at reason
able hours any factory, mill, workshop, mercantile establishment or other places
where labor may be employed. In the city of New Orleans the mayor shall appoint
a factory inspector who may be either male or female. The commissioner and each
assistant commissioner shall have power to investigate all cases where'violations of
95

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IJN

the laws pertaining to the conditions or employment of labor is complained of; and
it is hereby made the duty of said commissioner and assistant commissioners to order
the criminal prosecution in any competent court of any person, firm, association or
corporation, acting in violation of any laws of this State, regulating the conditions of
the employment of labor. [ WR L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 412; 1908 A 155 s 3 as amended
by 1914 A 186]
H in derin g co m m ission er, etc. —Any person who shall willfully impede or prevent the
commissioner or assistant commissioners in the full and free performance of his or
their duties shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction of the same
shall be fined not less than ten (10) nor more than fifty (50) dollars or be imprisoned
not less than five (5) or more than twenty-five (25) days in the parish jail, or both
at the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 412; 1908 A 155 s 5 as
amended by 1914 A 186]
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t u n der 14 proh ibited; a g ricu ltu ra l p u r su its excepted; p e n a lty . —It shall be
unlawful for a person, agent, firm, company, copartnership or corporation to require
or permit, or suffer or employ any child under the age of 14 years to labor or work
in any mill, factory, mine, packing house, manufacturing establishment, workshop,
laundry, millinery or dressmaking stores or mercantile establishments, or hotel, or
restaurants or in any theater or concert hall or in or about any place of amusement
where intoxicating liquors are made or sold or in any bowling alley, boot-blacking
establishment, freight or passenger elevators or in the transmission or distribution of
messages, whether telegraph or telephone or any other messages, or merchandise or
in any other occupation whatsoever: P ro vid ed , That the provisions of this act shall not
affect act 176 of 1908 [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 872]. The provisions of this act
shall not apply to agricultural pursuits. Any violations of this act shall be punish
able by a fine of not less than $25.00 or more than $50.00 or by imprisonment in the
parish*jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than 10 days or more than 6
months or both, at the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414;
1908 A 301 s 1 as amended by 1914 A 133 s 2]
'
Court d ecisio n .—The section of which the above is an amendment was held constitutional. Held th at
the word “ w ork” is comprehensive enough to cover any performance on the stage of a theater of a girl 10
years of age; the words “ where intoxicating liquors are made or soid” do not quahfy the word “ theater.”—
State v. Rose, 125 La. 462, 5i So. 496 (1910).
A p p lic a tio n o f a ct. —Nothing in this act [1908 A 301 s 1 as amended by 1914 A 133]
shall repeal any of the provisions of act 184 of 1912. [1914 A 133 s 8]
EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES AND RECORDS.

F actory in sp ecto rs to issu e age certificates; exception s; m ethod o f issu in g a n d conten ts
o f age certificates; evidence o f age required; records o f issu in g office; p e n a ltie s f o r o b ta in
in g certificates by f r a u d , etc.; certificates to be retu rn ed to ch ild. —The State factory

inspector or any factory inspector appointed by the mayor of the city of New Orleans
with the consent of the council acting in conjunction with the board of health and
school board in the parish shall have full power to issue an age certificate to minors
over 14 years and under 16 years of age seeking employment in any; part of this State:
P ro v id e d however, That no person authorized to issue an age certificate as hereafter
provided shall have authority to approve such certificate for any child then in or
about to enter his own establishment, or the employment of a firm or corporation of
which he is a member, officer or employee. The person approving these age certifi
cates shall have authority to administer the oath provided therein, but no fee shall
be charged therefor. Every person issuing or approving these age certificates shall
keep a record of the same, and shall forward to the office of the State factory inspector
a duplicate of each certificate issued or approved. All such age certificates shall be
subject to review by the State or other factory inspector, and may by him or her be
canceled if he or she finds that such certificates may have been obtained through fraud,
misrepresentation or falsification of facts, and whoever shall_obtain or assist in obtain
ing such age certificates by fraud, misrepresentation or falsification of facts, is hereby
declared to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction before a court of compe
tent jurisdiction shall be fined not less than $10 or more than $50. In such cases th
factory inspector shall give written notice to the employer, who shall at once cause
the minor affected to be dismissed from employment. Printed forms of the age cer
tificates hereinafter provided shall be furnished by the State factory inspector upon
request made by persons authorized to issue them. An age certificate shall not be
approved unless satisfactory evidence is furnished by a certificate of birth or baptism

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

of such child, the register of birth of such child with an officer of a city or town desig
nated to keep a register of births, or by the records of the public or parochial school
attended by such child, that such child is of the age stated in the certificate, or by a
certified copy of their passport from the commissioner of immigration: P ro v id e d , That
in cases where the above proof is not obtainable, the parent, guardian or custodian
of the child shall make an oath before the State factory inspector, or any factorv
inspector, or before a juvenile or district court as to the age of such child, and the
State factory inspector, or any factory inspector, or the court, may issue to such child
an age certificate as sworn to. A duplicate of such age certificate shall be filled out
and shall be forwarded to the office of the State factory inspector. The age certificate
shall be printed and shall be filled out, signed and held or surrendered in the follow
ing forms:
AGE CERTIFICATES.

This certifies that I am (father, mother, guardian or custodian) of (name oi minor)
and that (he or she) was born at (name of town or city) in the (name of county if known)
and (State or county [sic] o f ..........) on the (date of birth and year of birth) and is
now (number of years and months) old.
(Signature of parent, guardian or custodian.)
(City or town and date.)
There personally appeared before me the above-named (named of person signing)
and made oath that the foregoing certificate by (him or her) signed, is true to the best
of (his or her) knowledge. I hereby approve the foregoing certificate of (name of
child), height (feet and inches), w eigh t.........., complexion (fair or dark), hair (color),
having no sufficient reason to doubt that (he or she) is of the age therein certified.
Owner of certificate. This certificate belongs to (name of child and in whose behalf
it is drawn), and is to be surrendered to (him or her) whenever (he or she) leaves the
service of the corporation or employer holding the same, but if not claimed by said
child within thirty days from such time, it shall be returned to the office of the State
factory inspector for cancellation.
(Signature of person authorized to approve and sign with official character of
authority.)
(Town or city and date.)
Such certificate shall be issued without charge. * * * [ W R L Supp 1904-1908
v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 2]
ENFORCEMENT.

D u tie s a n d p o w ers o f com m ission er o f labor, etc. —It

shall be the duty of the * * *
[commissioner of labor] and his deputies, and such factory inspectors as will be ap
pointed in incorporated cities and towns by the mayor, with the consent of the
council, and in parishes, by the police jury, and they are hereby authorized and
empowered to visit and inspect, at all reasonable times and as often as possible all
places enumerated in section 1 [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 1 as
amended by 1914 A 133 s 2] of this act [1908 A 301], and to file complaint in any court
of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this act. and it shall be the duty
of the parish or district attorney to appear and prosecute all complaints so filed.
[ W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 3]
,

HOURS OF LABOR.

Ten hours, a d a y, 60 a week, f o r boys u n der 18 a n d g irls o f a n y age; tim e f o r m id d a y m eal
required; certain m erca n tile establish m en ts exem pted on S a tu rd a y n ig h ts; p e n a lty . —No

child or person under the age of 18 years, and no woman shall be employed in any of
the places and industries enumerated in section 1 [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414;
1908 A 301 s 1 as amended by 1914 A 133 s 2] of this act [1908 A 301] for a longer period
than ten hours per day of [or] 60 hours per week. There shall be one hour allowed
each day for dinner, but such dinner time shall not be included as part of the working
hours of the day. In case two-thirds of the employees so desire, time for dinner may
be reduced at their request to not less than 30 minutes: P ro v id e d , That this shall not
apply to persons working in stores and mercantile establishments on Saturday nights
in which more than 5 persons are employed. Any violation of this provision shall be
punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $50, or by imprisonment in the
parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days or more than six
months, or both, in the discretion of the court. [ W R L Supp 1904^1908 v 3 p 414;
1908 A 301 s 4 as amended by 1916 A 177]
N ote .—[See W R L 1904 v 1 p 992; 1900 A 55 s 2]

56569°—22---- 7

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

N ig h t w o rk p ro h ib ited f o r boys u n der 16 a n d g irls u n der 18; certain m ercan tile establish
m en ts exem pted o n S a tu rd a y n ig h ts; p e n a lty . —No boy under the age of 16 years and no

girl under the age of 18 years shall be employed at any work before the hour of 6 in
the morning or after the hour of 7 at night: P ro vid ed , That this shall not apply to per
sons working in stores and mercantile establishments on Saturday nights in which
more than 5 persons are employed. Any violation of this provision shall be pun
ishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100, or by imprisonment in the
parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than
six months, or both, in the discretion of the court. [ W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p
414; 1908 A 301 s 5 as amended by 1916 A 177.]
EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES AND RECORDS.

L is ts requ ired -under 18 where fiv e or m ore children are em ployed; lis ts to be posted;
age certificates requ ired over 14 i n certain occu pation s where m ore th an 5 perso n s are em
p lo y e d a n d i n theaters, concert h alls, e tc.; p e n a lty . —Every person, firm or corpora

tion, agent or manager of a corporation employing or permitting or suffering to work
five or more children under the age of 18 years and over the age of 14 in all places
of business or establishments or occupations enumerated in section 1 [W It L Supp
1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 1 as amended by 1914 A 133 s 2] shall post and keep
posted in a conspicuous place in every room in which such help is employed or per
mitted or suffered to work a list containing the names, age and place of residence
of every person under the age of 18 years employed, permitted or suffered to work
in such room, and it shall be unlawful for any person, agent, firm, company, copart
nership, corporation or manager of a corporation to require or permit or suffer or
employ in any mill, factory, mine or packing house, manufacturing establishment,
workshop, store, laundry, millinery, dressmaking or mercantile establishment in
which more than five persons are employed, or any theater, concert hall or in or about
any place of amusement where intoxicating liquors are made or sold, or in any bowling
alley or bootblacking establishment, or in any place where messages are transmitted
or distributed, or in any other occupation not herein enumerated which may be
deemed unhealthful or dangerous, any child over the age of 14 until an age certificate,
approved as hereinabove provided, has been produced and placed on file in any such
establishment or place of employment as heretofore mentioned in this section: P r o
vid ed fu rth er, however, That immediately upon the employment of any child in any of
the places enumerated in. this act [1908 A 301] the manager, superintendent, owner
or agent shall notify in writing, the factory inspector of the employment of said child
in the event proper age certificate is not filed, but such establishment or place of
employment must procure from said child within five days from employment the
age certificate provided for in this act. Any violation of this section shall be punish
able by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $50 or by imprisonment in the parish
jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than six months,
or both in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414 ; 1908 A 301 s 6]
P e n a lty f o r fa ls e sta tem en t by p a ren t, etc. —Any parent or guardian or person or per
sons having control of or being responsible for the care of any child or person under
the age of 16 who shall sign or swear or in any manner make false statement as to
the age of said child or person under the age of 16 for the purpose of obtaining em
ployment for said child or young person shall be deemed guilty of an offense for each
violation thereof and upon conviction for the same shall be punished by a fine of
not less than $10 nor more than $25 or by imprisonment in the parish jail (parish
prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, or both,
in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 7]
Certificates o f p h ysica l fitn e ss requ ired f o r children a p p a re n tly u n der legal age. —Any
child working in or in connection with any of the aforesaid establishments or in the
distribution or tr a n s m is s io n of merchandise or messages who appears to the inspector
to be under the legal age is required to procure from the city or parish physician a
certificate as to the physical fitness of said child to perform the work dr service he or
she is required to do. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s,8]
P resence to be evidence o f e m p lo y m e n t. —The presence of any child under 14 years of
age in any of the establishments enumerated in section 1 [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3.
p 414; 1908 A 301 s 1 as amended by 1914 A 133 s 2], except during the dinner hour,
shall constitute prima facie evidence of his or her employment therein. [W R L Supp
1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 9]
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.

P en a lty f o r h idin g, etc., children on approach o f in spector; em p lo yer or em ployee.— A n y

owner, manager, supervisor or employee in any of the aforesaid occupations who shall
hide or assist to escape or give warning of the approach of the inspector to any child or

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

young person or woman in said establishments shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $15 or by
inprisonment in the parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten
days nor more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court. [W R L Sudd
1904-1908 v 3 p414; 1908 A 301s 10]
S ta te m e n t o f n u m b er o f p erson s e m p lo y ed to be fu r n ish e d in sp ector; p e n a lty . —Any
person, owner, agent, firm, manager, copartnership or company in charge of any es
tablishment at the time of inspection shall be required to furnish the inspector a true
statement of the number of persons employed in such establishment and any person,
owner, agent, superintendent, firm, manager, company or copartnership who shall
fail or refuse to furnish such statement or willfully understate the number of persons
employed shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall
be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each offense or imprisonment [im
prisoned] for not less than ten nor more than thirty days in theparish jail (parish
prison in New Orleans) or both, in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 19041908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 11]
In sp e cto r to be n o tifie d o f occu pancy o f fa c to r y , etc., where children or w om en are em
p lo ye d ; p e n a lty . —Within one month after the occupancy of any factory, workshop or

mill or store or other aforesaid occupation [sic] or establishment where children,
young persons or women are employed the occupant shall notify the inspector in
writing of such occupancy. Failure' to do this shall constitute a misdemeanor and
shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $25 or by imprisonment
in the parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than
thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p
414; 1908 A 301 s 12]
*
TOILETS, DRESSING ROOMS, AND SEATS FOR GIRLS.

S ea ts to be p ro v id ed a n d their use p erm itted ; p e n a lty . —Every person who shall employ
any female in any factory, mill, warehouse, manufacturing establishment, workshop
or store or any other occupation or establishment hereinabove mentioned shall pro
vide suitable seats, chairs or benches for the use of the females so employed, which
shall be so placed as to be accessible to said employees and shall permit the use of such
seats, chairs or benches by them when they are not necessarily engaged in the active
duties for which they are employed, and there shall be provided at least one chair to
every three females. Failure to comply with this section shall be punishable by a
fine-of not less than $25 nor more than $50 or imprisonment in the parish jail (parish
prison in New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, or both,
in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 13]
D ressin g room s a n d separate to ile ts f o r the sexes to be p ro vid ed ; p e n a lty . —Every factory,
mill, manufacturing establishment, workshop, warehouse, mercantile establishment
or store and all other occupations and establishments hereinabove mentioned in which
five or more young persons or women are employed and every such institution in
which two or more children, young persons or women are employed shall be supplied
with proper wash and dressing rooms and kept in a cleanly state and free from
effluvia arising from any drain, privy or other nuisance and shall be provided, within
reasonable access, with a sufficient number of proper water-closets or privies for the
reasonable use of the persons employed and at least one of such closets shall be pro
vided for each twenty-five persons employed and wherever two or more persons and
one or more female person[s] are employed as aforesaid a sufficient number of separate
and distinct water-closets, earth closets or privies shall be provided for the use of each
sex and plainly so designated, and no person shall be allowed to use any such closet
or privy assigned to persons of the other sex, and said closets or privies shall not be
locked during working hours. Failure to comply with this section shall be punish
able by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $50 or imprisonment in the parish
jail (parish prison in New Orleans! for not less than ten davs nor more than thirty
days or both, in the discretion of the court. I W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414: 1908
A 301s 14]
FACTORIES, MILLS, AND WORKSHOPS.
HEALTH OF MINORS.

C lean liness where w om en a n d children are em ployed; p e n a lty . —Every factory, mill or
workshop in this State where women and children are employed shall be limewashed
or painted when deemed necessary and ordered by the heaith authorities. Failure
to comply with this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor
more than $50 or imprisonment in the parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for
not less than ten days nor more than thirty days or both, in the discretion of the
court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 16]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

100

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OE MOTHERS IN
M INIMUM A G E .

C lean in g m achinery i n m o tio n p ro h ib ited f o r m in o rs a n d w om en ; p e n a lty . —No

minor
or woman shall be required to clean any part of the mill, gearing or machinery in any
such establishment in this State while the same is in motion. Failure to comply
with this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $50
or imprisonment in the parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans), for not less than
ten days nor more than thirty days or both, in the discretion of the court. [W R L
Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908-A 301 s 17]
MANUFACTURING,

MECHANICAL, AND MERCANTILE
MENTS, ETC.

ESTABLISH

SA FET Y .\

O p en in g s o f hatchw ays, elevators, etc., where, w o m en a n d children are e m p lo y ed to be
protected; p e n a lty . —The opening of all hatchways, elevators and wellholes upon every

floor of every manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile or public buildings [build
ing] Where women or children are employed in this State shall be protected by good
and sufficient trapdoors of [or] self-closing hatches or safety catches or good strong
guard rails at least three feet high. Failure to comply with this^section shall be pun
ishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $50 or imprisonment in the
parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans), for not less than ten days nor more than
thirty days or both, in the discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3
p 414; 1908 A 301 s 18]
INJURIOUS OCCUPATIONS.
HEALTH OF MINOKS.

S ta te in sp ecto r m a y order m echanical m ean s o f v e n tila tio n where w o m en a n d c h ild ren
are em p lo yed ; procedure; p e n a lty . —In all establishments in this State wherein children,

young persons or women are employed where any process is carried on by which
dust, or smoke or lint is generated the inspector shall have the power and authority'
to order that a fan, or fans, or some other dust, or smoke or lint removing or consuming
contrivance or contrivances be so placed as to prevent the inhalation of such dust
or smoke or lint by the employees: P ro v id e d , That two mechanical engineers, one
chosen by the inspector and the other by the owner or Owners of the establishment,
phg.ll agree as to the necessity of such fan or fans or other dust or smoke or lint
removing or consuming contrivance or contrivances. Upon the failure of said two
mechanical engineers to agree, a third mechanical engineer shall be chosen to arbi
trate. Failure to comply with this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less
than $25 nor more than $50 or imprisonment in the parish jail (parish prison in
New Orleans) for not less than ten days nor more than six months or both, in the
discretion of the court. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 19]
MANUFACTURING, MECHANICAL, AND OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS
SAFETY.

A cciden ts to be repo rted where w o m en a n d children are em ployed; p e n a l t y — All acci
dents in manufacturing, mechanical or other establishments or places within this
State where children, young persons or women are employed which prevent the
injured person or persons from returning to work within two weeks after the injury
or which result in death shall be reported semiannually by the person in charge of
such establishment or place to the inspector. Failure to do this shall be deemed a
violation of this section and punishable by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than
$10 or imprisonment in the parish jail (parish prison in New Orleans) for not less than
twenty-four hours nor more than ten days, or both, in the discretion of the court.
[W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 20.]

ALL REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT.

Office, etc., to be p ro v id ed f o r in sp ecto r. —It shall be the duty of the city or town or
parish employing an inspector or inspectors to provide a suitable office for same and
pay for all necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of the duties of said office.
I W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 21.]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

101

A n n u a l rep o rt o f in sp ectio n s, etc. —There shall be an annual report of inspections made
and all work and. expenses in connection with said office forwarded to the commis
sioner of labor and [in] incorporated towns and cities to the mayor and council of the
cities and towns employing said inspector or inspectors. [W R L Supp 1904-1908
v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 22.]
A p p o in tm e n t a n d d u ties o f fa c to r y in sp ecto r in N ew O rleans. —The mayor of the city
of New Orleans, with the consent of the council, shall appoint a factory inspector,
who may be either male or female, to see that the regulations of this act [1908 A 301]
are observed and also to prosecute all persons who shall violate the same. Such
inspector shall be paid a salary of not more than twelve hundred dollars per annum.
[W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 414; 1908 A 301 s 23 as amended by 1912 A 61.]

MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS.
HOURS OF LABOR.

One hou r f o r m id d a y m eal required in reta il establish m en ts in certain cities. —It

shall
be unlawful for any proprietor or proprietors, firm or corporation doing business in
this State, in cities of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, engaged in the retail
business, or conducting retail department stores or retail establishments, not to
allow their clerks at least one hour of the day, between the hours of 10:00 a. m. and
3:00 p. m. for their midday meal, lunch or recreation. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3
p 426; 1904 A 195 s i . ]
P e n a lty . —Any proprietor or proprietors, firm or corporation found guilty of, or [sic]
evading, the provisions of this act [1904 A 195] shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars
($25) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100), and in default of payment thereof
be imprisoned not less than fifteen davs (15) nor more than six months (6). [W R L
Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 426;-1904 A 195 s 2.]
CHILD LABOR AND VAGRANCY.
P erso n s liv in g o n earn in gs o f their children m a y be declared vagran ts by m u n ic ip a litie s ,
etc. —The several municipal corporations and police juries of the respective parishes

throughout the State are hereby authorized and empowered to adopt ordinances
declaring vagrants and punishing as such * * * all persons able'to work who
do not work, but who live upon the wages or personal earnings of their wives or minor
children. [W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 897; 1908 A 205 s 1.]
P e n a lty . —It shall be lawful for the several municipal corporations and police juries
of the respective parishes throughout the State to punish vargrancy as authorized by
this act [1908 A 205] to be defined by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more
than thirty dollars, or by an imprisonment of not less than ten days nor more than
thirty days in the municipal or parish jails, or both, at the discretion of the court.
[ W R L Supp 1904-1908 v 3 p 897; 1908 A 205 s 2.]
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN NEW ORLEANS.

C hildren f r o m 8 to 14, in clu sive; f r o m 14 to 16 i f n o t reg u larly a n d la w fu lly em ployed;
excep tio n s. —Every parent, guardian or other person, residing within the boundaries of

the Parish of Orleans, having control or charge of any child or children between the
ages of eight (8) and fourteen (14) years, inclusive, shall send such child or children
to a public, private, denominational, or parochial day school each school year, during
the time in which the public schools of the Parish of Orleans shall be in session,
under such penalty for noncompliance herewith as is hereinafter provided. Said
child or children may be excused from such attendance by the attendance or truant
officers of the parish, upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence that the bodily
or mental condition of the child or children is such as to prevent or render inadvisable
attendance at school or application to study; or that such child or children are being
instructed at home in the common school branches, or that the child or children
have completed the prescribed elementary school course of study, or if the public
school facilities within twenty city blocks of the home of the child or children are
not adequate to accommodate such child or children: P ro vid ed , That no excuse from
attendance shall be valid for more than three months, except where the child has
completed the elementary course, or if the public school facilities within twenty
city blocks of the home of the child or children are not adequate to accommodate
such child or children. Every parent, guardian, or person in the Parish of Orleans

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

102

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OP MOTHERS IN

having charge or control T>f a child between the ages of 14 and 16 years who is not
regularly and lawfully engaged for at least six hours each day in some useful employ
ment or service, shall cause said child to attend regularly some day school according
to the provisions of this section. [1910 A 222 s 1 as amended by 1912 A 232]
P e n a lty for 'principal, teacher, p a re n t, etc. —Any principal, teacher, parent or guard
ian, or other persons having control or charge of such child or children, who shall
fail to comply with the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor, and upon conviction shall be liable, for the first offense to a fine of not more
than five ($5.00) dollars, and for each subsequent offense to a fine of not more than
ten dollars, and in default of payment of such'fines, to imprisonment in the parish
prison for a period not exceeding five days. * * * [1910 A 222 s 3]
E nforcem en t: D u tie s o f attendance or tru a n t officers.—The attendance or truant officers
of the parish shall on complaint of any person make a full and impartial investigation
of all charges against parents or guardians or other persons having control of any child
or children for violation of any of the provisions of this act. If it shall appear, upon
such investigation, and after "the three days notice hereinafter provided shall have
been given that any parent, guardian, or other person has violated any of the provi
sions of this act, it is hereby made the duty of said attendance or truant officers to
make and file, in the proper court, a complaint in legal form against such parent,
guardian, or other person, charging such violation, and to assist in the prosecution
of such charges by the proper authorities. [1910 A 222 s 5.]
E nforcem en t: A p p o in tm e n t o f attendance or tru a n t officers.—The board of directors of
the Parish of Orleans shall appoint, with the power to remove at pleasure, one or
more male attendance or truant officers, and shall fix their compensation, payable
from the school fund of said parish and shall prescribe their duties, not inconsistent
with law, and make rules and regulations for the performance thereof. [1910 A 222 s 6.]
N ote.—[Section 71, act 214 of the Acts of 1912, which repealed “ all laws or parts of laws in conflict,”
authorizes the board of directors of the public schools of the Parish of Orleans to “ select an attendance
officer, and employ such other officers, clerks, and assistants as m ay be necessary to properly conduct the
public schools of the parish.”]

E nforcem en t: D u tie s a n d pow ers o f attendance or tru a n t officers— T o aid in the enforce
ment of this act, the attendance or truant officers shall, in addition to the other duties
provided elsewhere in this act, have full police power, the authority to serve warrants
and to enter factories, workshops, stores, and other places^ where children may be
emploved, and do whatever may be found necessary for investigation and in the
enforcement of this act. It shall be the duty of the attendance or truant officers to
see that the provisions of this act are complied with, and when from personal knowl
edge, or report to them, or complaint from any resident or teacher of the parish under
his supervision, he has reason to believe that any child, subject to the provisions of this
act, is habitually absent from school, he shall immediately give written notice to the
parent or guardian or other person having control of such children, that the attendance
of such child is required at school and if within three (3) days such parent or guardian
or other person having control or charge of such child does not comply with the pro
visions of this act and enter said child in a school, said truant officer shall make com
plaint against such parent, guardian, or other person having control of such child or
children in the proper court, charging such violation, and shall assist in the prosecu
tion of such parent or guardian or [sic] by the proper authorities, and in the event of
such parent, guardian, or other person being found guilty by the court shall be pun
ished [sic] as hereinabove provided. [1910 A 222 s 7.]
SCHOOL CENSUS IN NEW ORLEANS.

E n u m era tio n o f children fr o m 6 to 18 — It shall be the duty of the assessors and the
board of assessors of the Parish of Orleans to make a correct enumeration by giving
the name of the educable children between the ages of 6 and 18 years in the respective
parishes and wards by race and sex. This list of educable children shall be made in
triplicate form and written in ink. One list shall be furnished to the auditor of public
accounts, one list to the State board of education, and one list to the'board of school
directors of the parish in which the enumeration is made. The said assessors of the
parishes shall also make a separate correct enumeration of the blind and deaf and
dumb children between the ages of 6 and 18 years in their respective parishes by wards.
giving the name, race, and sex of said children, and shall furnish to the State board
of education one separate list of said blind children and one separate list of said deaf
and dumb children. It shall be the duty of the assessors and the board of assessors
of the Parish of Orleans to swear to the correctness of said lists before a competent
officer, who shall attach a certificate thereof on each list before filing them. [W B L
Supp 1904-1908 s 3 p. 230; 1908 A 48 s 1.]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

103

DANGEROUS, INJURIOUS, AND IMMORAL OCCUPATIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.
E m p l o y m e n t u n d e r 1 7 i n b i l l i a r d o r p o o l r o o m s p r o h i b i t e d .—It shall be unlawful for
any person, whether as proprietor, agent, manager, employee, lessee or1otherwise,
conducting or carrying on any place where pool or billiard games of any sort are oper
ated, for pay or otherwise, to allow or permit minors under the age of 17 years within
such places, or to be employed therein * * *. [1912 A 25 s 1.]
P e n a l t y .—Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be regarded
as contributing to the neclect and delinquency of children and shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction for violation of any of the provisions of this act
shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100, or shall be sentenced to be con
fined in the parish jail or prison for not more than three months, or may be both fined
and imprisoned as above set forth, in the discretion of the court. [1912 A 25 s 2.]

DANGEROUS, INJURIOUS, AND IMMORAL OCCUPATIONS; PUBLIC
EXHIBITIONS.
MINIMUM AGE AND EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES.
E m p l o y m e n t

under

1 & in rope w a lking

acrobatic performances,' singing,

dancing,

the

a t r i c a l e x h i b i t i o n s , etc., p r o h i b i t e d ; p e n a l t y ; e x c e p t i o n s ; p e r m i t s m a y r b e i s s u e d b y j u v e n i l e
court e x e m p t i n g

children f r o m

p r o v i s i o n s r e l a t i n g to p u b l i c exhibitions,

etc.; c o n d i t i o n s ,

.—A person who employs or causes to be
employed, or who exhibits, uses, or has in custody, or trains for the purpose of exhi
bition, use, or employment of, any child actually or apparently under the age of six
teen years, or who has the care, custody, or control of such a child as parent, relative,
guardian, employer, or otherwise, sells, lets out, gives away, so trains, or in any way
procures or consents to the employment, or to such training or use, or exhibition of
such child; or who neglects or refuses to restrain such child from such training or from
engaging or acting: 1. As a rope or wire walker, gymnast, wrestler, contortionist,
rider, or acrobat, or upon any bicycle or similar mechanical vehicle or contrivance;
or, 2. In singing; or dancing; or playing upon a musical instrument; or in a theatrical
exhibition; or in any wandering occupation; or, 3. In any illegal, indecent, or immoral
exhibition or practice; or in the exhibition of any such child when insane, idiotic, , or
when presenting the appearance of any deformity or unnatural physical formation or
development; or, 4. In any practice or exhibition or place dangerous or injurious to the
life, limbs, health, or morals of the child; shall beregarded as contributing to the neglect
and delinquency of children and guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined in a sum not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred and
fifty dollars, or shall be imprisoned in the parish jail or parish prison for not more than
two years, or by [sic] both such fine and imprisonment: A n d p r o v i d e d f u r t h e r , That
any person, firm, or corporation licensed as or holding a license for any theater within
this State, who shall be convicted hereunder, shall, upon such conviction forfeit such
license. But this act does not apply, nor shall any act prior thereto apply, to the
employment of any child as a singer or musician in a church, school of [or] academy,
or in teaching or learning the science or practice of music, or in a theatrical exhibition
or as a musician in any concert, where a. permit therefor has first been secured from a
judge of a juvenile court, or a district court acting as a juvenile court. In the case of
a nonresident child no permit shall be granted unless such child be accompanied by
a parent or a guardian or a custodian duly designated in writing, attested by a notary
public by said child’s parents or guardian; nor shall said permit be granted unless
it be shown to the satisfaction of the court that said child is receiving and during the
period of said permit will receive proper instruction and teaching in common schoolstudies. The court granting such permit shall have the power to exact from the
employer of the child, as a condition precedent to the granting of such permit, under
such stipulations and conditions as may be determined by the judge of such court,
a bond in a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, to be executed in favor of the
State of Louisiana, and conditioned to secure and guarantee the proper tuition as
well as the moral and physical health of s.uch child while in such employment. Such
bond may be forfeited by showing a breach thereof in the State of Louisiana or else
where, and in such proceedings testimony may be taken as provided by law in civil
cases in the civil courts of this State. Such permit shall not be given unless previous
[sic] twenty-four hours’ previous notice of the application therefor shall have been
served in writing upon the society for the prevention of cruelty to children, if there
be one in the parish, and a hearing had thereof, if requested, and such permit shall
be revocable at the will and discretion of the authority granting it. The permit shall
m e t h o d s o f issuing,

a n d

contents o f p e r m i t s

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

104

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS.

specify the name of the child, its age, the names and residence of its parents, or
guardians, and its employers; the nature, time, duration, and number of performances
permitted, together with the place and character of the exhibition. But no such
permit shall be deemed to authorize any violation of the first, third, or fourth sub
divisions enumerated above. [1912 A 184 s 1]
N ote .—[Act 59 of 1892, prohibiting the employment of children under 15 in rope-walking, acrobatic per
formances, etc., appears to be superseded by this act, which raises the age lim it for such employment to
16 years. The act of 1892 also provides th a t no license shall be granted for a theatrical-exhibition or public
show in which children u n d er 15 are employed as contortionists, acrobats, etc., “ or where in the opinion
of the mayor of a city or town authorized to grant licenses, such children are employed in such a m anner as
to corrupt their morals or im pair their physical health.”]

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OUTSIDE NEW ORLEANS.

C hildren f r o m 7 to 14 years; exception s. —From and after September the first, 1916,
every parent, guardian, or other person residing within the State of Louisiana, having
control or charge of any child or children between the ages of seven and fourteen years,
both inclusive, shall send such child or children to a public or private day school under
such penalty for noncompliance herewith as is hereinafter provided. [1916 A 27 s 1.]
M in im u m session o f attendan ce. —The minimum session of attendance required under
this act shall be one hundred forty days, or for the full session of the public schools
where the public school session is one hundred forty days or less, and children shall be
required to enter school not later than two weeks after the opening of the session or
term. [1916 A 27 s 2.]
E x c ep tio n s. —The following classes of children between the ages of seven and four
teen years shall be exempted from the provisions of this act, the parish school board
to be the sole judge in all such cases: (a) Children mentally or physically incapaci
tated to perform school duties; (b) children who have completed the elementary course
of study; (c) children living more than two and one-half miles from a school of suitable
grade and for whom free transportation is not furnished by the school board; (d) chil
dren for whom adequate school facilities have not been provided; (e) children whose
services are needed to support widowed mothers. [1916 A 27 s 3.]
P en a lties.— All cases of violation of the foregoing provisions by any parent, guardian,
or other person having control of children, shall be tried in the proper courts having
jurisdiction, and the penalty for every violation of any of said provisions shall be a
fine not exceeding ten dollars, or not exceeding ten days in jail, or both, at the discre
tion of the court. [1916 A 27 s 4.]
T ru an cy defined. —Truancy as herein used is defined to be absence from school for
more than one week without cause. [1916 A 27 s 6.]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M IS S IS S IP P I.

ALL OCCUPATIONS.
MINIMUM AGE.

In d u c in g children to leave hom e f o r e m p lo y m e n t; p e n a lty . —Any person who «hall
persuade entice, or decoy away from its father or mother, with whom it resides any
child under the age of twenty-one years if a male, or eighteen if a female, being unmarried, tor the purpose of employing such child without the consent of its parents or
one of them shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty
dollars, or [by] imprisonment in the county jail not more than thirty days, or both.
[Code 1906 section 1080]

CHILD LABOR AND VAGRANCY.
P erso n s liv in g o n ea rn in gs o f their children declared va g ra n ts.— The

are and shall be punished as vagrants, v iz .:
*

following persons

(m) All persons who are able to work and do not work, but hire out their minor
children or allow them to be hired out, and live upon their wages. [C 1906 s 5055]
.P n fo r c e m e n t: d u tie s o f sheriffs, etc. —It shall be the duty of every sheriff, deputy
shenlf and constable in every county, and of the police, town marshal, deputy marsfials,_ and of other like officials in every county, city, town, or village^ in the State to
give information under oath to any officer empowered to issue criminal warrants of
all vagrants within their knowledge, or whom they have good reason to suspect as
being vagrants in their respective counties, cities, towns, and villages; thereupon the
said officer shall issue a warrant for the apprehension of the person alleged to be a
vagrant. [C 1906 s 5056]
E n forcem en t: charges b y citizen s, etc. —All informations charging vagrancy shall be
ujider oath; and while it is made the special duty of the officers named in section
5056 hereof to file the said informations whenever they shall have knowledge or good
reason to suspect that any person is a vagrant as defined by any clause or section of
this act [s 5055-5063], yet any information charging vagrancy may be charged under
oath by any resident of this State. [C 1906 s 5057]
P e n a lty . —Whenever any person shall have been arrested on a charge of vagrancy
he shall immediately be carried before a justice of the peace of the district in which
the offense occurs, or before the mayor or police justice ot any city, town, or village if
said offense occurs within the corporate limits of same, and on satisfactory evidence
2*
being a vagrant, the justice or mayor or police justice shall commit such person
to jail for not less than ten nor more than thirty days, and said person so committed
shall serve said sentence for the prescribed time, and shall not be liberated from such
sentence by payment for the tune required to be served by said sentence, unless
such person give bond, with sufficient security, to be approved by said justice or
mayor or police justice, in any sum not less than two hundred and one dollars, for
the future industry and good conduct of such person for one year from the date of giving
of such bond. * * * [0 1906 s 5058]
s
s
P e n a lty f o r second offense.— Whenever any person shall be convicted of a second
? of vaSr?,ncY> no. matter under which head of this chapter [ss 5055-5063], he
shall be committed to jail for not less than ninety days nor more than six months,
and shall serve said sentence for the prescribed time, and shall not be liberated from
_uch sentence by payment for the time required to be served by said sentence; and
-in all cases where any person shall be convicted of vagrancy, in addition to being
committed to jail as herein provided, such person shall also pay all costs, and shall
stand committed until same is paid, and this shall apply to all cases, whether such
persons give bond as herein provided or not. [C 1906 s 5061]
105

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN

106

MANUFACTURING AND CANNING ESTABLISHMENTS, ETC.
MINIMUM AGE.
E m p l o y m e n t o f b o y s u n d e r 1 2 a n d g i rls u n d e r 1 4 p r o h i b i t e d .—No girl under the age
of fourteen years or boy under the age of twelve years, shall be employed m p*
permitted to7 work in any mill, factory, manufacturing establishment or cannery in
this State. [1908 C 99 s 1 as amended by 1912 C 165]

HOURS OP LABOR.
a d a y , 4 8 a w e e k , a n d n i g h t w o r k prohibited, f o r b o y s u n d e r
—No boy under the age of sixteen years of age and no girl under the age
of eighteen years of age shall be employed or detained m any m ill factory, cannery
or manufacturing establishment within this State for more than eight hours m any one
day, or more than forty-eight hours in any one week, or be employed m or detamed
in any such establishment between the hours of 7 p. m. and 6 a. m. [1908 C 99 s 2 as
amended by 1912 C 165]
Eight hours

under

EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES.
A f f i d a v i t s r e q u i r e d u n d e r 1 6 .—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation
to employ or detain or permit to work in any mill, factory, cannery, or manufactunng
establishment in this State any child under the age of sixteen years without first
requiring said child to present the affidavit of the parent or guardian or person standing
inparental relation to such child, stating the place and date of birth of such child,
and also stating the last school attendance of such child and grade of studies pursued,
S d the name of school and name of teacher in charge. The employer shall Preserve
such affidavit and keep a complete register of all such affidavits showing all the facts
contained therein. [1908 0 99 s 3 as amended by 1912 C 165]

ENFORCEMENT ANB PENALTIES.
D u t i e s o f c o u n t y h e a l t h officers .—It is the duty of each county health officer to visit,
without notice of his intention to do so, all manufacturing establishments einploying
child labor within his county at least twice each year, and oftener i,f requestea by_the
sheriff and to promptly report to the sheriff any unsanitary condition of the premises,
anv child or children afflicted with an infectious, contagious, or communicable disease,
o? whose physical condition renders such child or children incapacitated to perform
the work required of them; and the sheriff shall promptly remove such child or children
from such manufacturing establishment and order the premises put in sanitary con
dition- and the judgment of the county health officer as to the physical condition of
the children and sanitary condition of the premises shall be final and conclusive.
llt
r
i W
S
S
a
*
ela i. be the ,d u ty o . £ circuit ju d g * *
specially charge the grand jury to investigate violations of this act. 11908 L yy s b

aS R ^ u ^ ^ i n f o m a H o n , et c .—Any officer, manager, or superintendent of any manufac
turing establishment, in which child labor is employed, who shall fail or refuse
true and correct information demanded of him by any of the officers hereinbefore
directed to inspect such establishments, or who shall fail or refuse to obev any lawful
order of the sheriff or health officer of the county in which such establishment is
located for carrying out the purposes of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
“
Î S 3 n , »hall L Sued not le » than ten: dollars nor more than one
hundred dollars. [1908 G 99 s 7 as amended by 1912 C 165]
A
.
I l l e g a l e m p l o y m e n t , et c .—Any person, firm, or corporation, er the superintendent,
manager or anv officer of a manufacturing establishment employing any child, or
on^eldld to be employed by or work in orbe detained m any mill, factory,
or 1m ^ffiact^ n^ est^ H slun m it^ n th!s°State contrary to law, shall be guilty of a
^ uuon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor
more than one hundred dollars, or may be sentenced to the county jail for not less
than tendays6nor more than sixty days or [snffer] both such fine and rmpnsonment.
[1908 C 99 s 8 as amended by 1912 C 165] .
fe
N ote -[S e c tio n s 4 and 9 of th e above a ct, p la tin g to e^ orcem en t exempting fruit cannefies, and,
defining the application of the act, were repealed b y section 8, chapter 163, A cts oi ihiaj

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER. AND SHRIMP CANNING COMMUNITIES.

107

MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, ETC.
HOURS OF LABOR.
T e n h o u r s a d a y ; a d m i t m a l e s h a n d l i n g perishable agricultural p r o d u c t s excepted; other

It shall he unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation engaged in manu
facturing or repairing to work their employees more than ten hours per day, except
in cases of emergency, or where necessity requires in such departments; but this
provision shall not extend to those persons, firms, or corporations engaged in handling
or converting perishable agricultural products in season who work adult male labor
only m connection therewith. [1912 C 157 s 1 as amended by 1914 C 168]
T e n h o u r s a d a y , 6 0 a w e e k ; e x c e p t i o n s .—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation engaged in manufacturing or repairing to work their employees more
than ten hours per day, except in cases of emergency, or where the public necessity
requires in such departments: P r o v i d e d , That persons may work not more than
thirty minutes additional each day for the first five days of the week, the additional
time so worked to be deducted from the last day of the week: P r o v i d e d , That persons
who work at night only, may work eleven and one-quarter hours for the first five
nights_of the week, beginning with Monday night, and three and three-quarters
hours Saturday night, but sixty hours shall constitute a full week’s work under the
provisions of this act.1 [1912 C 157 s 1 as amended by 1914 C 169 and 1916 C 239 s 1]
A p p l i c a t i o n o f a c t .—Nothing in this act shall apply to railroads or their employees
or to public service corporations. [1916 C 239 s 2]
P e n a l t y .—Any person, firm, or corporation violating this act shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten dollars
nor more than fifty dollars for each offense, and each day’s violation shall constitute
a separate offense. [1912 C 157 s 2 as amended by 1914 G 168]
exceptions.

C ourt d ecision s.—A former.act on the above subject was held constitutional. I t was held to apply to
cottonseed oil mills. If a workman is required to be on duty for more th an ten hours, although not
employed during the entire period, the act is violated.—Buckeye Cotton Oil Co. ». State, 60 So 775 09131
A former act on this subject was also held constitutional. The word “ m anufacturing" is used in its usuai
sense, and means an organized force of laborers working with machinery to produce from raw materials
^ / i f i s h e d produet. This includes a sawmill,—State v. Newman Lumber Co., 103 Miss. 263, 59 So. 923
and 60 So. 215 (1912).

ALL REGULATED OCCUPATIONS.
ENFORCEMENT.
A p p o i n t m e n t o f f a c t o r y i n s p e c t o r . — [ The] State board of health shall appoint and
may remove for cause a special inspector who shall have the title of factory inspector
and who shall be a person having competent knowledge of factories and capable of
performing the duties prescribed below. Such inspector shall execute bond in the
penalty of three thousand ($3,000.00) dollars, payable to the State, for the faithful
performance of his or her duties. [1914 C 163 s 1]
D u t i e s o f f a c t o r y i n s p e c t o r .—It shall be the duty of the factory .inspector to inspect
all factories and canneries where women and children are employed at least three
times each year. ^ Such inspector shall collect evidence of violations of the laws
of the State relating to the employment of women and children, and furnish such
information to the county or district attorney in the county in which said violation
occurred. Such inspector shall report annually, under the direction of the secretary
of the State board of health, the number of women and children employed in the
different cotton and knitting mills and canneries in the State, and the number of
violations found and disposition of each. [1914 O 163 s 3]
D u t i e s o f f a c t o r y i n s p e c t o r .—Said inspector shall report annually to the secretary
of State board of health the number of industrial establishments in this State which
it is made his duty to inspect, the number of employees, the number of inspections
made, the number of violations found, and the disposition of each, and such other
information as may be deemed valuable and necessary, and shall enforce the laws
of thé State in factories and other establishments where women and children are
employed. [1914 0 163 s 4]
P e n a l t y f o r r e f u s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n o r h i n d e r i n g i n s p e c t o r .—Any officer, manager, or
other agent of any factory, or cannery subject to the provisions of this act who shall
feil or refuse to give true and correct information demanded of him by the State factory
inspector, or who shall attempt to prevent the factory inspector from entering such
establishment in the regular performance of the duties of such inspector, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be fined not less than ten dollars nor
more than one hundred dollars. [1914 0 163 s 5]

1 This section was also amended b y chapter 168 of the acts of 1914, quoted above.
were approved on March 28,1914, and the penalty apparently applies to both.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Both am endments

108

CHILD LABOR AND THE WORK OF MOTHERS IN
COTTON AND KNITTING MILLS.
MINIMUM AGE.

E m p lo y m e n t o f boys u n der 12 a n d g irls u n der 14 pro h ib ited . —No boy under the age
of twelve years and no girl under the age of fourteen years shall be employed or per
mitted to work in any cotton mill or knitting mill in this State. [1914 C 164 s 1]
HOURS OF LABOR.

E ig h t hours a d a y, 48 a week, a n d n ig h t w ork pro h ib ited , f o r boys u n der 14 a n d g irls
u n d er 16; 10 hours a d a y, 60 a week, for other e m p lo y e e s — No boy under fourteen years

of age and no girl under sixteen years of age shall be employed or permitted to work
in any cotton mill or knitting mill more than eight hours in any one day, or more than
forty-eight hours in any one week, or be employed in or detained in any such estab
lishment between the hours of seven p. m. and six a. m., but all other employees of
cotton mills or knitting mills may be employed and be permitted to work not more
than ten hours in any one day or sixty hours in any one week-. [1914 C 164 s 2]
EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES.

A ffid a vits requ ired u n der 1 6 — It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation
to employ, or detain, or permit to work, in any cotton mill or knitting mill in this
State, any child under the age of sixteen years without first requiring said child to
present the affidavit of the parent or guardian, or person standing in parental relation
to such child, stating the place and date of the birth of such child, and also stating
the last school attendance of such child, the grade of study pursued, and the name of
the school, and the name of the teacher in charge. The employer shall preserve such
affidavit and keep a complete register of all such affidavits, showing all the facts con
tained therein; [1914 C 164 s 3]
»
ENFORCEMENT.

D u tie s o f sh eriffs— I t shall be the special duty of the sheriff of the county in which
the cotton mills or knitting mills employing child labor are located to visit, at least
once each month, such cotton or knitting mill, to see to the enforcement of this act.
|1914r C 164 s 4 ] '
D u tie s a n d pow ers o f sheriffs a n d health officers.—It shall be the duty of the county
health officer to visit, without notice of his intention to do so, all cotton mills and knit
ting mills employing child labor within his county at least twice each year or oftener
if requested by the sheriff, and to promptly report to the sheriff any unsanitary con
dition of the premises, any child or children afflicted with infectious, contagious or
Communicable disease, or whose physical condition renders such child or children
incapacitated to perform the work required of them, and the sheriff shall promptly
remove such child or children from such cotton mill or knitting mill, and order the
premises put in sanitary condition, and the judgment of the county health officer as
to the physical condition of the children and the sanitary condition of the premises
shall be final and conclusive. [1914 0 164 s 5]
.
,
P r o s e c u tio n — It shall be the duty of the circuit judge to specially charge the grand
jury to investigate violations of this act. [1914 0 164 s 6]
PENALTIES.

V io la tio n o f act or refu sin g in f o r m a tio n — Any officer, manager, or superintendent
of any cotton mill or knitting mill in which child labor is employed, who shall fail
or refuse to give true and correct information demanded of him by any officer herein
before directed to inspect' such cotton mills or knitting mills, or who shall fail or
refuse to obey any lawful order of the sheriff or health officer of the county in which
said cotton mill or knitting mill is located, for carrying out the purpose of this act,
shall be guilty of a misdeameanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars. [1914 C 164 s 7]
.
Ille g a l e m p lo y m e n t— A n y person, firm or corporation, or the superintendent, mansv
ger or any officer of the cotton mills or knitting mills employing tany child, or per?
mitting any child to be employed by or to work in, or to be detained in. any cotton
mill or knitting mill in this State contrary to law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred
dollars, or may be sentenced to the county jail for not less
*^2/ more
than sixty days, or [suffer] both such fine and imprisonment. [1914 0 lb4 s SJ

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OYSTER AND S H R IM P CA N N IN G C O M M U N ITIES.

109

APPLICATION OP ACT.

-'n A c t n o t to repeal la w o f 1912 .—* * * This act shall not be construed as repeal
ing any part of chapter 165 of the laws of 1912, except those parts relating to cot
ton mills and knitting mills. [1914 C 164 s 9]
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
HOURS OP LABOR FOR GIRLS.

Ten hours a da y, 60 a week; exception s .—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm
or corporation to work [sic] any female or girl in any laundry, millinery, dressmaking
store, office, mercantile establishment, theater, telegraph or telephone office or any
other occupation not here enumerated, to work such female labor or girl more than
ten (10) hours per day or more than 60 hours per week except in case of emergency or
where public necessity requires such. [1914 C 165 s 1]
P e n a lty .—Any person, firm or corporation violating this act, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $10.00, nor
more than $50.00 for each offense, or imprisonment [be imprisoned] in the'county
jail not less than five days nor more than thirty days, or [suffer] both fine and imprison
ment. And each day’s violation shall constitute a separate offense. [1914 C 165 s 2]
A p p lic a tio n o f act; dom estic w ork excepted .—This act shall not be construed to con
flict with the child labor law of the sheet Acts of 1912, chapter 165, nor to apply to
domestic servants. [1914 C 165 s 3]

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

Children f r o m 7 to 14 years .—On

and after the first day of September, 1918, every
parent, guardian or other person in the State of Mississippi having control or charge
of any child or children between the ages of 7 and 14 years, inclusive, shall be required
Tb send such child or children to a public school or to a private, denominational, or
parochial school taught by a competent instructor, and such child or children shall
attend* school for at least 60 days during each and every scholastic year: P ro vid ed ,
That the county school board, or in case of a separate school district the board of
trustees, shall have power to reduce the period of compulsory attendance to not less
than 40 days for any individual school: P ro v id e d fu rth er, That the period of compulsory
attendance for each school shall commence at the beginning of the school, unless
otherwise ordered by the county school board or by the board of trustees of a separate
school district, as the case may be. [1918 0 258 s 1]
E x c e p tio n s .—Any and all children who have completed the common school course
of study or the equivalent thereof shall be exempt from the provisions of this act,
and in case there be no public school within 2 \ miles by the nearest traveled road of
any person between the ages of 7 and 14 years, inclusive, he or she shall not be sub
ject to the provisions of this act unless public transportation within reasonable walking
distance is provided: P r o v id e d fu r th e r , That the teacher of any school with the ap
proval of the trustees of the school shall have the authority, in the exercise of their
discretion, to permit the temporary absence of children from the school between the
ages of 7 and 14, inclusive, in extreme cases of emergency or domestic necessity.
[1918 C 258 a 2]
E x c ep tio n s .—Any and all children who are physically or mentally incapacitated
for the work of the school are exempt from the provisions of this act, but the school
authorities shall have the right, and they are hereby authorized, when such exemption
under the provisions of this act is claimed by any parent, guardian, or other person
having control of such child or children, to require from a practicing physician a
properly attested certificate that such child or children should not be required to
attend school on account of some physical or mental condition which renders his
attendance impractical or inexpedient. [1918 C 258 s 3]
. E x c ep tio n s .—In case where because of extreme poverty the services of such children
are necessary for their own support, or the support of their parents, as attested by
affidavit of said parents, the teacher shall, with the consent of the trustees, spare
1ich child or children from attendance; or in case where such parent, guardian, or
other person having control of the child shall show before an officer by affidavit that
the child is without necessary books and clothing for attending school and that he is
unable to provide them, the said child may be excused from attendance until through
charity or other means books and clothing have been provided, and thereafter the
child shall no longer be exempt from such attendance. [1918 G 258 s 4]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

110

CHILD LABOR AND T H E WORK OF M OTHERS.

E n f o r c e m e n t ; d u t i e s o f p r i n c i p a l t e a c h e r s a n d c o u n t y s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s . —It shall be the
duty of the principal teacher of all schools to report to the county superintendent
all cases of nonenrollment and nonattendance in accord with section 1 of this act.*
In all cases investigated by the county superintendent, where no valid reason for
nonenrollment or nonattendance is found, it shall be the duty of the county super
intendent to give written notice to the parent, guardian, or other person having
control of the child, which notice shall require the attendance of said child at such
school within three days from date of said notice. [1918 C 258 s 5]
. E n f o r c e m e n t ; p o w e r s o f c o u n t y s u p e r i n t e n d e n t ; p e n a l t y . —If within three days from
date of service of such notice, the parent, guardian, or other person having control of
such child does not comply with the requirements, the county superintendent may,
if he deems it necessary, make affidavit against such parent, guardian, or other person
having control of such child before any justice of the peace, mayor, or police justice
of any town or city, as the case may be, in which such offense shall be committed,
which court is hereby clothed with jurisdiction over all offenders with full power
to hear and try all complaints, and on conviction punish by a fine of not less than $1
nor more than $10 for each offense and enforce their collection. [1918 0 258 s 6.]
R e p o r t s . —All school officers, including those in private, denominational, or paro
chial schools in this State, offering instruction to pupils within the compulsory attend
ance ages, are hereby required to make and furnish all reports that may be required
by the State superintendent of education and by the countv superintendent of edu
cation, or by the trustees of any municipal separate school district, with reference to
the working of this act. Every teacher employed in the public schools of the State
of Mississippi is hereby required to make a report to the county superintendent or
principal of a municipal separate school district in which he may be employed,
showing the names and addresses of all pupils who have been truant or habitually
absent from school during the previous month, and stating the reason for such truancy
dr habitual absence, if known. [1918 0 258 s 7.]
L i s t s o f c h i l d r e n a t t e n d i n g . —In order that the provisions of this act may be more
definitely enforced, the county superintendent of education shall, not later than 10
days before the annual compulsory attendance term, furnish to each principal of a
rural school and to the superintendent or principal teacher of the school ‘or school,
in any municipal separate district, a list of all thé children from 7 to 14 years of age,
inclusive, who should attend the school or schools under the charge of said principal
teacher of the rural school or of the superintendent or principal of the school or schools
in any municipal separate district, as the case may be, giving the name, date of birth,
age, race, sex, and estimated distance from the schoolhouse by the nearest traveled
road, the name and address of parents, guardian, or other person in parental relation
ship. [1918 0 258 s 9.]
A p p l i c a t i o n o f act. —The provisions of this act shall not be applicable to any county
in the State unless and until an election shall have been held to determine whether
or not the people of said county or of any supervisor’s district, separate school district,
or consolidated school district shall vote to come in under, same. [1918 0 258 s 9a.]
E l e c t i o n t o a d o p t act. —The board of supervisors of any county shall, upon petition
signed by 20 per cent of the qualified electors of said county, or 20 per cent of the
qualified electors of a supervisor’s district, or by 20 per cent of the qualified electors
of any separate school district, or by 20 per cent of the qualified electors of any consoli
dated school district of said county, order an election to be held in the county at large,
or in a separate school district, or in a consolidated school district, as the case may be,
to determine the will of the people as to whether said county or separate school district,
or consolidated school district shall come under the provisions of this act. *In the event
a majority of those voting in said election shall vote for compulsory school attend
ance, then the provisions of this act shall apply and not otherwise. [1918 0 258 s 9b.]
S u b s e q u e n t e l e c t i o n . — P r o v i d e d , That in any county, or supervisor’s district, or
consolidated school district, or separate1school district where a special election shall
have been held and carried in favor of the provisions of this act, no subsequent election
on the subject of compulsory school attendance shall be held within four scholastic
years after the date of-such election. [1918 0 258 s 9c.]
A c t i n effect.— This act shall take effect and be in force from and after September 1,
1918. [1918 0 258 s 10.]

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

INDEX,
Accidents, liability of children to—
During process of work, 6, 30-35.
Young children brought by mothers,
8, 35, 67.
Acid of shrimp, effect upon hands, 6, 31-34.
Age, minim um , for employment, 16.
S ee a lso Child-labor laws, State.
Ages of children in study, 5, 7,9,11,12.
Alum water, use in picking shrimp, 33-34.
expense to workers, 33, 57-58.
Appropriations for enforcement of labor laws and
for oyster industry compared, 17.
Babies of working mothers:
C a re Factory, 8, 64-68.
S ee a lso Accidents.
Home, 8, 64, 65, 67-68.
Nursery, 23-24, 65-66.
Barracks, 7, 75-80.
Bums, from acid in shrimp, 6, 31-34.
From peeling sweet potatoes, 35.
.damps:
Community life, 10.
Housing. S ee Housing.
Isolation, 9-10.
Recreation, 9,10.
Regulations, 8, 22-23, 53-54.
Sanitation, 7, 77,78, 79, 80.
S ee also Families, imported.
Canneries:
Conditions, 5-6, 15, 36-38.
Minimum age, 16.
Number visited, 9.
Oyster, description, 12-13.
^Principal products, 10.
: Regulations, 8, 22-26.
Canning in d u stry :
Effect of th e w ar upon, 8, 9,10,69.
' Irregularity, 5,7,21,24, 46-52, 56.
Principal products, 10.
Processes—
Oyster, 12-13.
Shrimp, 13-14.
Seasons, 10-11.
Care of babies and small children of working
mothers:
Factory, 8, 64-68.
S ee a lso Accidents.
Home, 8, 64, 65, 67-68.
Nursery, 23-24, 65-66.
.ietakers for children of working mothers, 8,23-24,
64, 65, 67-68.
Child labor:
A ttitude of employers, 18-21.
A ttitude of parents, 11-12,14-15,17-18.
E x ten t, 11-12.
Legality, 16-17.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Child labor—Continued.
Occasional—
Earnings; 7, 59.
Hours of labor, 14-15. .
Number of workers, 14.
P art tim e—
Earnings, 7, 15, 45, 59.
Hours of labor, 5,15,40.
Number of workers, 14.
Regular—
Earnings, 7, 59.
< Homs of labor, 15,21-30,40.
Comparison between cam p and resident
workers, 8, 22, 25, 29.
Number of workers, 5,14.
Relation of father’s death or desertion to, 6, 45.
Relation of property to, 6,41, 45-64.
Child-labor laws, S tate:
Enforcement, 16-17, 21, 83.
Appropriation for, compared w ith th a t for
oyster industry, 17.
Text, 85-110.
Violations, 16, 40.
Children:
As caretakers, 8, 64, 65, 67-68.
Employm ent. S ee Child labor.
Illiteracy, 5-6, 20, 44.
Camp families, 8, 39, 44.
Number below legal age of employment, 16.
Number in study, 5,10.
Imported workers, 69.
Under 6 years whose mothers were em
ployed, 8.
Under 16 years who were employed, 5,11.
Occupations, 5, 6,10,12-14.
Retardation, 8, 45.
SchooVattendance, 5,8,39-45
Sick, employment, 46.
Young, care—
Factory, 8, 64^68.
S ee a lso Accidents.
Home, 8, 64, 65, 67-68.
Nursery, 23-24, 65-66.
Communities studied:
Climate, 36.
Size, 9.
Community life in camps, 10.
Compulsory school attendance:
Laws, S ta te Enforcement, 39, 83.
Need for im provement, 39, 83.
T ext, 85-110.
S ee also School attendance.
Concessions to employed mothers w ith small chil
dren, 23, 27, 28.
Conditions in shucking and picking sheds, 5-6,15,
36-38.
Contract between im ported workers and row
boss, 71.
Cuts, frequency, 6, 12, 31.
Ill

112

INDEX.

Dampness in canneries, 5-6, 15,36-38.
Day nursery, care of children of working mothers,
'23-24,65-66.
Death or desertion of father, relation to child labor,
6,45.
Description of communities, 9-10.
Discomforts and hazards—
During process of work, 5-6,12,13,30-38.
Young children brought by mothers, 8,35,67.
Discrimination against imported labor, 8,22,52,53.

Expenses:
Additional, for workers, 31,33,57-58.
E xtent of child labor, 11-12.
Factories. S ee Canneries.
Factory inspectors, duties, 16.
Fear of, 11-12.
Families:
• Basis of selection, 9,39.
Imported—
Contract, 71.
Earnings, comparison w ith resident work. ers, 8,52,53.
S ee a lso Earnings.
Employers’ attitude toward, 72-73.
Employers’ discrimination against, 8,22,
52,53-54.
Hours of labor, comparison with resident
workers, 8,22,25,29.
S ee a lso Hours of labor.
Housing. S ee Housing.
Illiteracy, 8,39,44,84.
Number in study, 69. Preference for Polish workers, 7,72.
Recreation, 9,10.
Recruiting, 70-72.
Regulations, 8,22-23,53-54.
School attendance, 8,39.
Migratory. ( gee Families, imported.)
Nationalities, 10.
Number in study, 5.
Races, 10.
Resident, compared w ith camp, 8.
Father:
Death or desertion, relation to child labor, 6,45.
Earnings, 6,46-52.
Occupation, 6,10,46-52.
Federal Government and education, 83-84.
Florida:
Community studied, 9.
Laws—
Child-labor and compulsory-education legis
lation, 87-94.
Mothers’ pensions, 6,46.

Earnings:
Children—
Daily (individual cases), 11,15,19,21,45.
•Irregularity, 6-7,59.
Weekly—
Average, 7,59-61.
Maximum, 7,59,62-64.
F a th e r Irregularity, 6,46-52.
Relation to child labor, 6,46-52.
Weekly—
Average, 6,47-50.
Maximum, 6,50-51.
Mother—
Irregularity, 6-7,52,56,57,58.
Relation to child labor, 6.
Weekly earnings—
Average, 6-7,52-55.
Maximum, 52,55-56.
Education:
A ttitude of parents toward, 39,40-44.
Negroes, 39,42-44.
Education, literacy and schooling of children, 5,8,
20,39-45.
Education laws, compulsory, enforcement, 39.
Educational facilities for white and Negro, 42.
Employers:
A ttitude toward—
Child labor, 18-21.
Education, 18-19,42.
Im ported labor, 72-73.
Negro labor, 69.
Number interviewed, 9.
Employm ent between seasons, 56-57. *
Gloves:
Employm ent of children:
Lack of, for young children, 31.
E x ten t, 11-12.
Use in oyster shucking and shrimp picking,
Legality, 16-17.
31-32,57-58.
Occasional—
Expense to workers, 31,57-58.
Earnings, 7,59.
Grade in school, 44-45.
Hours of labor, 14-15.
Number of workers, 14.
H
ands, effect of shucking and picking upon, 6.
P a rt-tim e Hazards and discomforts—
Earnings, 7,15,45,59.
During process of work, 5-6,12,13,30-38.
Hours of labor, 5,15,40.
.
Young children brought by mothers, 8,35,67.
Number of workers, 14.
Heating, provisions, 36-38.
R e g u la rHigh cost of living, relation to child labor, 45,46,57.
Earnings, 7,59.
“ Hour workers,’’ 52.
Hours of labor, 15,21-30,40.
Comparison between camp and resident Hours of labor:
Irregularity, 6-7,21,24,46-52,56,59.
workers, 8,22,25,29.
Relation to low earnings, 6-7,56,59.
Number of workers, 5,14.
Occasional Workers, 14-15.
S ee also Child labor.
Part-tim e workers, 5,15,40.
Enforcement of State child-labor laws, 16-17,21, 83.
Regular workers, 15,21-30,40.
Enforcement of State school-attendance laws, 39,83.
Comparison between camp and resident
Establishments, num ber visited, 9.
8,22,25,29.
Principal products, 10.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

INDEX,
Housing:
Camps—
Cleanliness, 76,79,80.
Condition of repair, 7,74,76,78,79,84.
Congestion, 74-75,76,79,80.
Furnishings, 76-77,78-79.
Heating, 77,78,79.
Privacy, 7,76.
Sanitation, 7,77,78,79,80.
Type of houses, 7,75-78,79.
Ventilation, 79.
W ater supply, 77,78,79.
Noncamp homes—
W h ite Condition, 80.
Type, 80.
Negro—
Condition, 81,82.
Furnishings, 81,82.
Sanitation, 82.
Streets, condition, 81-82.
Type, 81-82.
Illiteracy, among children, 5,20,44.
Camp families, 8,39,44.
Among mothers, 44.
Im portation of families, 7.
Imported workers. S ee Workers, im ported.
Industries, shrimp and oyster:
Effect of the war upon, 8,9,10,69.
Irregularities, 5,7,21,24,46-52,56.
Principal products, 10.
Inspectors, factory, duties, 16.
Fearof, 11-12.
irregularity:
Canning industry, 5,7,21,24,46-52,56
Earnings—
Children and mothers, 6-7,52.
Fathers, 6,46-52.
Hours Of work, 6-7,21,24,46-52,56,59.
Relation to low earnings, 6-7,56,59.
School attendance, 5,8,39,40.
la b o r , imported, 7,9.
Employers’ attitude toward, 72-73.
Recruiting, 70-72.
Resident workers’ attitude toward, 74.
Labor unions, 48.
Laws:
Child-labor and compulsory-education legisla
tion—
Florida, 87-94.
Louisiana, 95-104.
Mississippi, 105-110.
Mothers’ pensions—
Florida, 6,46.
Legality of child labor, 16-17.
Lighting in canneries, 38.
Literacy and schooling of children, 5,8,20,39-45.
Illiteracy in camps, 8,39,44.
School grade, 44-45.
Living conditions, comparison between camp and
resident workers, 8.
Location, scope, and method of study, 5,8-11.
[isiana:
Communities studied, 9,10.
Laws—
Child-labor and compulsory-education legisIation, 95-104.

56569°—22----- 8

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

113

M axim um hours of work, 26.
Method, location, and scope of study, 5, 8-11.
Migratory families. S ee Families, imported.
Minimum age for employment, 16.
S ee a lso Appendix.
Mississippi:
Communities studied, 8-9
Laws—
Child-labor and compulsory-education legis
lation, 105-110. <
Mosquitoes, prevalence in camps, 77, 78, 80.
Mothers:
A ttitude toward child labor, 11-12,14-15,17-18.
Desertion of, relation to child labor, 6,45.
Illiteracy, 44.
Statem ents concerning extent of work done by
children, 11-12,14-15.
Widowhood, relation to child labor, 6,45.
Employed, concessions allowed, 23,27,28.
Earnings, 6-7,52-58.
Hours of labor , 21-30.
Comparison between camp and resident
workers, 8,22,25,29.
Number in study, 52.
Nursing of infants, 8,64,65, 66,67.
Occupations, 5, 6,10,13,14, 52.
Relation of irregularity of work to low earn
ings, 6-7.
Unemployed, num ber in study, 52.
Mothers’ pension laws, 6, 46.
Nationalities of families, 10.
Native born, num ber in study, 10.
Negro labor, attitude of employers toward, 69.
Negroes, education, 39,42-44.
Number of children in study, 10.
Number of mothers in study, 10.
Night schools, attendance of working children, 41,
42,43, 44.
Nursery, care of children of working mothers, 23-24,
65-66.
Nursing of infants by mothers employed, 8, 64, 65,
66, 67.
Occasional workers. See Workers, occasional.
Occupations:
Children, 5,6,10,12,13,14.
Father, 6,10,46-52.
Mother, 5,6,10,13,14,52'.
Oyster canneries, possibility of improved working
conditions, 38.
Oyster canning, processes, 12-13.
Shucking, effect upon hands, 6,31-32. .
Packing, processes, 13,14.
Parents, attitude, toward child labor, 11-12, 14-15,
17-18.
Toward education, 39,40-44.
Part-tim e workers. S ee Workers, part-tim e.
Pay, rate of, fluctuation, 6,52,57,58.
Comparison between camp and resident
workers, 8,52,53-54.
Pay schools, use of, by Negroes, 42-44.
Peeling shrim p. S ee Picking shrimp.
Pension laws, mothers’, 6,46.
Period included in study, 8,9,16.
Picking shrimp, disagreeable features, 5-6,15,33-34.
Effect upon hands, 6,31-34.

114

INDEX.

Plum bing, 38, 77-80.
Polish workers, preference for, 7, 72.
Poverty, relation to child labor, 6,41, 45-64.
Relation to nonattendance a t school, 6, 41.
Privacy, absence in camps, 7,76.
Privies in camps, 77,79,80.
Processes, in oyster canning, 12-13.
In shrim p canning, 13-14.
Public schools, dissatisfaction of Negroes with, 43.
Bace of families in study, 10.
Rate of pay, comparison between camp and resi
d en t workers, 8,52,53-54.
Fluctuation, 6,52,57,58.
Recreation in camps, 9,10.
Recruiting labor, 9,70-72.
Regular workers. S ee W orkers, regular.
Regularity of children’s employment, 5,14-15.
Regulations in camps, 8,22-23,53-54.
Resident workers. S ee Workers, resident.
Retardation of camp children, 8,45.
“ Row boss,” 51,70-71,74.
S an itary conditions:
Camps, 7,77-80.
Canneries, 5-6,15,36-38.
School attendance, 5,6,8,39,40,41.
Laws, State—
Enforcement, 39, 83.
Need for im provem ent, 39,83.
Text, 85-110.
SchooJ grade, 44-45.
School term s, length of:
White, 42.
Negro, 42-44.
Schools:
Lack of, 10,39.
Night, attendance of working children, 41, 42,
43,44.
P ay, use b y Negroes, 42-44.
Public dissatisfaction with, 39,43.
Retardation of camp children, 8,39,45.
Salaries of teachers, 42,43.
Scope, location, and method of study, 5 ,8 —
Hi
Seasons for canning, 10-11.
Seats in canneries, lack of, 5-6,13,15.
Sheds, shucking and picking, conditions, 5-6, 15,'
36-38.
Shrimp canning, processes, 13-14.
Picking, disagreeable features , 5-6,15,33-34.
Effect upon h a n d s,6,31-34.
Shucking, effect upon hands, 6,31-32.
Sick children, employment, 46.
Stagnant water in camps, 77,80.
Stalls, use in oyster shucking, 31,32.
Expense to workers, 57-58.
Standing, constant, in canneries, 5-6, 13, 15, 35, 36.
State child-labor law s:
Enforcement, 16-17,21,83.
Appropriation for, compared w ith th at for
oyster industry, 17.
Text, 85-110.
Violations, 16,40.
S ee a lso A ppendix, 85-110.
State compulsory-education laws:
Enforcement, 39,83.
Need for improvement, 39,83.
Text, 85-110.

Teachers, salaries of, 42,43.
Temperature in communities studied, 36.
Unem ploym ent between seasons, 56-57.
Unions, labor, 48.
Ventilation:
Camp houses, 79.
Canneries, 38.
Violations of State child-labor laws, 16-17.
Wages:
Children, 6-7,11,15,19,21,45,59-64.
Father, 6,46-52.
Mother, 6-7,52-58.
War, World, effect upon canning industry, 8,9,10,69.
W ater supply, 77,78, 79.
Wetness of work, 5,15, 36-38.
Widowhood and desertion, relation to child labor,
6,45.
Widows’ pensions, absence, 6,46.
Work:
Hours of, 21-30.
S ee a lso Hours of labor.
Irregularity—
Children and mothers, 5,6-7,56.
Fathers, 6,46-52,56.
N ature—
Children, 5,6,10,12,13,14.
Fathers, 6,10,46-52.
Mothers, 5,6,10,13,14,52.
Of children, desire to conceal, 11-12,14.
Workers:
Imported—
Contract, 71.
Earnings, comparison w ith resident work
ers, 8,52,53.
•■'f
S ee a lso Earnings.
Employers’ attitu d e toward, 72-73.
Employers’ discrimination against, 8,22,52,
53-54.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Full text of Child Labor and the Work of Mothers in Oyster and Shrimp Canning Communities on the Gulf Coast, Bureau Publication No. 98

FRASER