CHILD LABOR LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES INTRODUCTION. All child labor legislation in force on October 1, 1915, in the States and outlying possessions of the United States is brought together in this compilation, which is divided into two parts-first, a comparative tabular analysis of the most important legal provisions; and, second, the text' of all laws by States. In the first part in addition to two summary charts, the first covering minimum and regulated ages and the second hours of labor, there are seven tables covering all legal provisions relating to (1) minimum ages, (2) requirements for entering employment, (3) working papers, (4) hours of labor, (5) compulsory school attendance, (6) regulations governing street trades, and (7) regulations governing employment in theaters and public exhibitions. In the second part is given the text of all laws used in the tables and of other laws which, either because they represent a type of legislation not general throughout the States or because they were not considered of primary importance for the present purpose, were not tabulated. In order that the exact scope of this compilation may be understood, some explanation is necessary of the method of selection and rejection. In the first place, new laws are often passed without specifically repealing old acts, and confusion therefore results as to the exact legal provisions in force at any given time. Usually when old acts are not specifically repealed the new law repeals "all acts or parts of acts inconsistent" with its own provisions, and even when there is no such general repealing section the later enactment supersedes by a rule of law any earlier enactment with which it is in conflict. Care has been taken to include all laws which have not been either specifically repealed or superseded on all important points by later legislation. If a test suit were brought in court, a doubtful section might of course be declared no longer in force. But, in the absence of a court decision or an official opinion of the attorney general of the State, it was thought best to give, with explanatory notes, sections which might by such a decision be declared valid. Some acts are therefore included which, although they may not be actually enforced at the present time, appear to be valid laws which might or ought to be enforced. In a considerable number of other cases notes are inserted summarizing the provisions of laws which, though not definitely repealed, are probably superseded in all except certain minor details. Whenever the part of a section superseded could not 1 The text of the laws is not contained in the reprint entitled Separate No. 1-Analytical Tables. be determined, the section is accompanied by a note referring to the superseding act. In order to make the compilation as nearly accurate as possible, a list of all the sections included and copies of the tables for each State were sent to the attorney general of that State for verification. For the subjects covered in the tabular analysis the basis of selection and rejection is most conveniently considered in connection with the tables. Any method of tabulation is more or less arbitrary, and each legal provision must be considered in relation to all other legal provisions to which it is logically related. For example, a minimum age of 14 years for employment in factories does not necessarily permit any child 14 years of age, regardless of education or physical condition, to work in a factory, nor does it preclude a minimum age of 16 years for employment in many occupations in factories. A certificate for the employment of a child in "any occupation" does not permit his employment in an occupation elsewhere forbidden by law. MINIMUM AGE: For legal purposes the age at which childhood ends can be conveniently fixed only at the age at which minority ends. For not only is the power of the State over a minor universally held to be greater than its power over an adult, and on a more certain legal basis, but because of this common basis for the exercise of special authority over all minors of whatever age, differences between States in age limits to which legal regulations of all kinds apply have almost universally as the upper limit the age when the minor becomes an adult. This age, moreover, is the only limitation on such differences between States. Under laws establishing minimum ages, therefore, are included all laws with certain exceptions mentioned later which prohibit in particular occupations the employment of minors, whether or not the exact age is specified. Laws prohibiting the employment of "females" in certain occupations are also included because they apply to girls and are of the same character as other laws which apply to both women and children or only to minors. Under the common law persons of either sex are minors until they become 21 years of age. This is the age at which both sexes attain their majority in 32 out of the 53 political divisions of which the United States is composed, and in 10 of these 32 divisions this commonlaw age has been confirmed by statute. In the remaining 21 political divisions, however, the common law has been superseded by legislation leaving 21 years as the age of majority for males but providing that 18 years shall be the age for females. The age of majority is, 1 These 53 political divisions are the 48 States of the Union, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands. therefore, 21 years for males throughout the territory of the United States and for females in all but 20 States and Hawaii, where it is 18.1 These 20 States, which include, in addition to Vermont, Ohio, and Illinois, all the States west of the Mississippi River except Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Wyoming, are, in alphabetical order, as follows: All laws establishing minimum ages for employment in particular occupations or industries are included except those which seem to be designed primarily for the protection of the public rather than of the children, as laws establishing minimum ages for chauffeurs, motion-picture operators, or masters, pilots, and engineers of steam vessels; for the protection of other employees, as laws establishing minimum ages for hoisting engineers in mines; or for the protection of both the public and other employees, as laws establishing minimum ages for steam-boiler engineers. This division according to the purpose of the law, whether for the protection of the child or of others, was not always easy to make, and in some instances other practical considerations governed. In a law regulating the age at which an elevator boy may be employed, for example, protection of the public is probably a more important factor than protection of the boy. Nevertheless, operating an elevator is an occupation in which young boys are so frequently employed that these laws are included. Laws forbidding employment agencies to send women or minors to immoral resorts are given as attempts to enforce an age limit, either for girls or for both. sexes, in certain occupations where they will be exposed to immoral influences. Similarly, laws which prohibit the overworking of children or provide that girls shall not stand constantly mean practically the establishment of minimum ages for certain kinds or degrees of intensity of work. In general, laws establishing minimum ages for employment in saloons are included even for prohibition States, but the prohibition States are noted in the tables. The fact should not be overlooked that the minimum age for employment in certain dangerous, injurious, and immoral occupations is not necessarily that specified by law. In a number of States the State board of health, the industrial commission, or some other body is authorized to determine what occupations are dangerous, injurious, or immoral for children and to prohibit employment under certain ages in these occupations. In most States administrative In some States both sexes and in others only females become of age on marriage, and in a few States an act of the legislature or a court decree may confer the privileges of majority for specific purposes. regulations on the subject can only increase the number of occupations classified as undesirable for children of the younger age groups, but in Wisconsin the industrial commission has entire control over the establishment of minimum ages for employment in all occupations. The provisional scale established by the Wisconsin law has not been changed, however, by the industrial commission, and so little use has been made in other States of powers of this kind that there seems as yet little occasion to consider the establishment of minimum ages through administrative regulations. Two classes of laws establishing minimum ages for employment are omitted in the belief that they belong properly in a publication devoted to legal provisions governing qualifications and training for particular occupations—a publication which would cover the legal aspects of vocational education in its broadest sense. These are laws establishing minimum ages for obtaining licenses to practice professions and skilled occupations-not only the so-called learned professions, but such occupations as trained nurse, barber, or plumber— and laws relating to apprenticeship and to industrial and vocational education which are not so interwoven with laws regulating employment as to make their inclusion necessary. REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING EMPLOYMENT. All provisions relating to requirements for entering employment, other than those which relate specifically to vocational education for the particular occupation, and also all administrative features of such regulations are included and are summarized and compared in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 shows the conditions which must be fulfilled before or at the time of entering employment, the documents, if any, which must be produced to prove compliance with these conditions, and also the similar conditions, such as physical examination or school attendance, which are or may be imposed after employment. If school attendance, however, is or may be required during employment, the details relative to such attendance are summarized in Table 5, which covers all compulsory school-attendance laws. Table 3 is a continuation of Table 2 and should be read in connection with it, for Table 3 relates only to the administrative details provided by law for the enforcement of the standards shown in Table 2. These two tables together are meant to summarize the regulations governing employment of children between the minimum ages permitted by law and the age of attaining majority except as regards hours of labor and compulsory school attendance, the legal provisions concerning which are summarized in Tables 4 and 5. HOURS OF LABOR. All laws regulating hours of labor are included except those stating the number of hours to be considered a day's work in the absence of contract, and those regulating periods of exposure to compressed air, prohibiting labor on Sundays, and relating to public employment. The recent "one day of rest in seven" laws are also included, both in the text and in the tabulation. Laws prescribing maximum hours of labor for railroad employees and street car employees are included in the text but are omitted in the tabulation. Meal-time regulations are included both in the text and in the tabulation. As in the case of minimum ages, the question of hours of labor is considered as it relates to all minors, of both sexes and all ages. Owing to differences among States in the ages of children whose hours are regulated, a table of hours which included only so-called child labor laws would be incomplete and misleading. For one State may have a 10-hour day for children under 16 and another an 8-hour day for children under 18 years of age. At one time California had a 9-hour day for children and an 8-hour day for all "females." A State, moreover, which has a 10-hour day for children may have an 8-hour day for all persons engaged in certain occupations, e. g., for miners. If, therefore, a cross section were made of regulations governing the hours of labor of young persons 17 years of age, it would be found that in some States they are covered by the so-called child labor law while in other States girls in certain occupations are regulated by the woman's work law, and boys, in certain other occupationsfrom some of which girls are usually excluded entirely, as in the case of mining-by general laws for all employees in those occupations. In order, therefore, to obtain a picture of the legal provisions relating to hours of labor of all minors, laws are necessarily included which regulate the hours of labor of females and also those which regulate the hours of labor of all employees in special occupations. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. All provisions requiring school attendance, whether at day, evening, or continuation schools, are included. Exemptions from schoolattendance requirements are also included whenever they are of such a character as to make it possible for the exempted children to be employed, either legally or illegally. Provisions relating to the exemption of physically defective children, such as the blind and the deaf, and to the attendance of such children at special schools are omitted, and provisions permitting the substitution for school attendance of some other form of instruction during school hours are generally included in the text but omitted from the tables. The minor questions of school attendance, which are more often determined by local regulations than by State law, are omitted, as it is not possible adequately to present them in a compilation confined to State legislation. Thus provisions specifying the length of time schools shall be in session, defining regular attendance, and pre |